Little League: Peabody West reaches D16 final

Scoring seven runs in the fifth inning, the Peabody West Little League baseball all-stars defeated Lynnfield, 9-5, at Nahant on Sunday.Peabody West advanced to the District 16 finals on Thursday at Nahant (5:45).Danny Marshall came on in relief of Jonathan Polignone. Marshall shut the door on Lynnfield as Peabody West rallied from a 5-2 deficit.Substitute player Chris Ruggiero hit an RBI double in the fifth that also advanced runners to second and third with one out. Christian Cummings caught a fly ball against the fence in right field with two on to end the game.For Lynnfield, Matt Relihan hit a two-run single and Aidan Kelly had a two-run double. Pitcher Colin Simoneau struggled in the fourth and was relieved by Cole DiSilvio, who escaped a jam in that inning but faced a tough fifth inning that included an error on a potential double-play ball.Lynnfield plays the Wyoma-Peabody Blue winner on Tuesday.Peabody Blue 9, Pine Hill 3At Forest River Park, Mason Zeuli hit a home run for Peabody Blue. Caleb Dollin had two hits and two RBI and Tyler McGregor reached base three times. Zeuli got the win, pitching five innings, while Mike Panzini closed out the game.Peabody plays Wyoma at Saugus American today (5:30).On Saturday, Peabody defeated Salem, 5-4. McGregor pitched well and Panzini closed it out. Chris Masta showed grit playing catcher in the heat.”It was definitely a battle with the heat,” Peabody Blue manager Eric Dollin said. “We kept him hydrated.”Dan Lilja pitched well in relief for Pine Hill, only giving up one run.”The whole team didn’t give up,” manager Pete Dow said. “They fought till the end ? I’m proud of the way they played and the effort they gave me.”Wyoma 20, Lynn Shore 10At Revere, Wyoma saw two players, Christian Burt and James Wilkins, each hit two home runs (with each of Burt’s going into a separate parking lot), while David Barnard hit one home run. Bobby Alcock got the win.Wyoma manager Leon Elwell said the weather was hot, but “not as much as it was on Friday. It was still hot, but not as hot as it has been.”Lynn Shore showed resilience after trailing 17-1. Shore scored seven runs in the fourth inning as Kendrick Jean-Francois walked and Jomar Moreta singled; then, with one out, Brayan Rodriguez walked, Andy Duverge walked and Julien Silvestre hit an RBI single. Erick Ubri hit a 2-run double, Dayshon Anderson walked and Elias McDonald hit a 2-run single.”Every one of our kids was a scrappy type of kid who showed heart and stuck together,” Shore manager Ryan Gendron said.On Saturday, Shore defeated Saugus National 15-9. Standouts included Duverge (4-5, 3 singles, 1 double, 3 RS), Silvestre (2-4, 3 RBI) and McDonald (1-3). McDonald, the catcher, drew praise from Gendron after enduring a fall from his bike on July Fourth and getting hit by a pitch on the lips Saturday.”He laughed it off,” Gendron said. “He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever seen.”Max Gieg won his third game of the tournament, Jean-Francois played well at first base and hit a 2-run double, and Seth Menard had a key hit.Shore awaits the regular league playoffs to determine City Series matchups.Gendron thanked his coaches, Justin Bilton, Charlie Bilton and Mark Sullivan. He also said the team got “great parent support,” and added, “We always had the loudest fans.”SOFTBALLPeabody 5, Woburn 4At Woburn in the Mass. Tournament, Section 2, on Saturday, Peabody trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth before scoring four runs to win it.Makayla Iannolfo bunted for a hit and stole second. Kaycie Groom reached on an infield hit. Groom took second on an error that scored Iannolfo. Olivia Keane doubled, scoring Groom. Mallory LeBlanc walked and Amanda Crawford hit an RBI double. Kristina Rossignol then hit the game-winning RBI single.Keane pitched a complete game. She played well defensively, as did LeBlanc, Rossignol and Iannolfo. Molly Staunton made two great catches in left field. Groom scored the first Peabody run on LeBlanc’s RBI single.Peabody plays W