Two tied for lead in Lynn Little League Home Run Derby

LYNN – There was no breeze at the Wyoma Little League field Friday evening, but the baseballs hit by the Lynn Little Leaguers soared over the fence like they were riding hurricane winds and landing like hail stones on the rooftops of the Meadow Court apartments.It wasn’t thunder neighbors heard yesterday; it was the sound of bats crushing baseballs at the 14th annual Lynn Little League Home Run Derby.A lineup of sluggers clashed in the first round with Liam Johnston of Pine Hill and Dax Billingsley of Wyoma clocking seven home runs each.Smooth-swinging lefty Bryston Maynard of East Lynn followed with six, with Fernando Barrientos of Lynn Shore (5); AJ Reyes of Wyoma (3); Dion Rodriquez of Pine Hill 2, and Coach Pete Dawson’s grandson Josh Mateo of Pine Hill (1) next.”Josh is a talented kid but more of great line drive hitter,” said Dawson, who pitched.The Derby second round is today (Saturday) at 3:30 with bashers from East Lynn and the West Lynn Americans on display.The batters select their own pitcher, and many chose their fathers. Brian Billingsley, the father of Dax, threw to his son.Brian, very athletic, knows something about the long ball. He hit 18 round-trippers one season as a youth in the Saugus Little League. His son Dax hit nine for Wyoma this summer.”We never had a home run derby like this when I was a kid,” Brian Billingsley said.Several adults on the field were asked about thier home run prowess during their own Little League days.Tony Luciano, the Wyoma president, and Dan Gisonno of Pine Hill and Derek Durant, a Pine Hill coach, each confessed they never hit any at all. Zero. Goose egg.”The strong wind over the Saugus River in the outfield at Edmunds Park (on the grounds of Barry Park) in West Lynn was always blowing in hard when I played,” joked Durant.Former Wyoma president Chad Wilkins and Eddie Cash, who starred for the Wyoma Red Sox when he was a boy, each recalled hitting just one home run each.Both said, “it was a big relief” to finally hit one late in their final seasons at the age of 12.Dave Dorgan, president of Lynn Shore, hit a handful of Pine Hill Little League home runs, he said modestly.DERBY TIDBITS: Many younger Little Leaguers brought their gloves to shag the hard hits like a swarm of bees in the green and pristine park. And their fielding was fantastic ? Wilkins handled the public address duties, Luciano kept stats and and Gisonno was the field judge. Also, the non-batting catchers made the show go smoothly ? After Saturday’s round, hitters with the top totals will face off for The King of Swing trophy next Friday, also at Wyoma.