Whittier trumps 8th-inning Saugus comeback, advances in tourney

HAVERHILL — Hopefully, today, after about 36 hours of separation, Saugus can look back on its season and be satisfied.”We hadn’t been a 10-win team since, I believe, 1994,” said head coach Tom Gaeta of his 11-10 Sachems. “We were one of only five NEC teams to win 10 games and we were happy to qualify for the tourney the regular way (rather than via the Sullivan Rule as before).”Positive feelings would have been difficult last Saturday evening when the Sachems’ tourney aspirations traveled the most heartbreaking of roller-coasters. Authoring its second three-run rally of the day against Whittier, this time in the eighth inning, Saugus was three outs away from a berth in the Division 3 North quarterfinals. But the host Wildcats wouldn’t be denied, erupting for four runs in the bottom of the extra frame and an improbable 7-6 victory.Behind a sturdy defense and gutsy pitching from No. 1 hurler Andrew Wells (complete-game 10-hitter with 10 strikeouts), the Commonwealth Conference Large champions gave up three hits and a hit batter over the first five innings but only faced one Saugus batter over the minimum.Whittier was slightly more productive, creeping to a 2-0 lead on RBI singles from Anthony Licciardello in the first inning and Jorge Martinez in the third.But Saugus took advantage of a couple of sixth-inning cracks in the Wildcat defense to take the lead. With Nick Enos (error) at third base and pinch hitter Victor Dematteo (single) at second, Jay Cub Lever hit a comebacker to Wells. A double-take seemed to catch Enos straying too far, but Wells’ throw sailed wide, scoring Saugus’ first run. Peter Pulicari then kicked off a late run of personal heroics with a two-run single to centerfield.After Whittier tied it in the sixth, Saugus opened the door again in the eighth. Pulicari laced a one-out single, then tried to steal second. Catcher Licciardello’s throw beat the senior, but a deft slide to the outfield side of the bag left him untagged and safe. Tom Trainor (two hits) tagged a wicked one-hopper through Martinez at first and when the ball was juggled in the outfield, Pulicari scored. A flyout later, Kory Dominick (two hits) smashed a two-run homer onto the track 40 feet beyond the left field fence for a seemingly safe three-run cushion.But Whittier (17-6) snatched victory away from the Sachems simply with a stronger will to win. The Wildcats got their first six batters on base. Alex LoGiudice drove in a run with a single through the shortstop hole and Licciardello drew an eight-pitch walk that brought hard-working starter Dom DiPesa’s day to an end after eight hits, five walks, seven strikeouts and 125 pitches.”This was Dom’s fourth year pitching in the state tourney,” said Gaeta. “He worked hard on a hot day and didn’t give an inch. He didn’t want to come out, but the last thing I want is for him to throw too many pitches and get hurt. With none out, the best decision baseball-wise and health-wise was to take him out.”Looking dead-red against reliever Dominick, Wells laced a tough pitch to left field for a two-run single that retied the contest. After Jaylin Deveau was intentionally walked to reload the bases, Ralph Francesconi lofted a fly ball to center deep enough to score Licciardello with the game-winner.”This was a tough one,” Gaeta said. “Obviously, everybody’s disappointed at the end of the season except the one team that wins that last game. We didn’t want our season to end, we didn’t want it to end (Saturday). You have to give credit to Whittier, they made the plays.”