With a District 1 championship under its belt, the Lynn Babe Ruth 14s baseball team now begins play in the EMass State Tournament.
The 14s face Winchester today (8) in game one of pool play. Lynn plays Newton Saturday morning (9:30) and Braintree on Sunday (4:30). All games are at Quincy.
“We haven’t seen these teams this year except for Braintree,” manager Steve Moccia said. “They beat us last year in the semifinals.”
Last year, as 13s, Lynn placed second in its district, but reached the states as the host city. The previous group of 14s, now 15s, won its district last year.
Moccia described this year’s 14s as “pretty deep, with a lot of talented individuals. We’re pretty solid on defense. We can hit the ball. We’re a very good team on paper, but you don’t play on paper. We have to execute on the field.”
This season, Lynn won its district by defeating Marblehead, which won district and state crowns as 13s last year. In Lynn’s 5-4 win, Kyle Autilio scored the winning run on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch that made it 5-2. Lynn outlasted a two-run Marblehead rally in the top of the seventh.
On the field, Autilio plays first base and pitches. He is the lone lefty in the rotation, which also includes Antonio Felix, Herbie Newton and Andrew Moccia. The manager said he is “not quite sure” who will start today.
“We have a pretty good lineup of pitchers,” he said. “There are like three or four kids who could get the call.”
Behind the plate, catcher Matt Lauria “works very well with the pitchers,” Moccia said. “He’s seen them a lot. He’s very familiar with them.”
When it comes to the batting order, Moccia said, “We have some speed at the top and bottom, and power in the middle.”
He praised the speed of leadoff hitter Felix and No. 8 hitter Stefan Gravely, adding that No. 9 batter Kenny Sanchez has a mix of power and speed. As for cleanup hitter Newton, “He hits the ball hard,” Moccia said. “He doesn’t get cheated on too many at-bats.”
The 15 players on the roster attend schools such as St. Mary’s, Pickering and Breed, with some going into high school.
“I think we can compete very well if we keep mistakes to a minimum,” Moccia said. “Most teams don’t get to this level by making a lot of mistakes.”
