Swampscott/Marblehead Legion loses

SWAMPSCOTT ? If the Swampscott/Marblehead American Legion team intends to make the playoffs, it can’t afford to squander many more opportunities.After last night’s 8-3 loss to Middleton at the Forest Avenue complex, Swampscott/Marblehead’s record is 12-8, with four games left in the regular season, starting with Andover today (5), and three games next week against Lynn, Lawrence and Methuen.”We need to put a few wins together,” Swampscott/Marblehead manager Tim Cassidy said. “The rest of our schedule is pretty tough. It’s a good league this year.”Middleton (13-6-1) proved its status as one of the better teams in the zone, banging out 10 hits, including a 3-run homer from Edison Thayer that put the visitors in command. Middleton also took advantage of some shoddy defense by Swampscott/Marblehead, as four of Middleton’s runs off Marblehead/Swampscott starter Bradon Engstrom were unearned.Conversely, Middleton starter Greg Jain was relatively efficient, allowing only a 2-run double by Robert Serino in the fourth. Jain yielded just four hits over five innings.”They’re a good team and they always come to play hard,” Cassidy said. “It’s always fun playing them because they’re such a competitive team.”Middleton broke on top with a run in the top of the second. With two outs, Chris Rich reached second base on an error and scored on a single to center by Kyle Kowalski, who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored in the eight hole. The visitors added two in the fourth on a bizarre play that featured four errors by Swampscott/Marblehead. With Bob Woodworth on first, Kowalski singled past third base and by the time Swampscott/Marblehead had finished kicking the ball around, both runners scored.Serino got two runs back for Swampscott/Marblehead in the bottom of the fourth when he stroked a double into the gap in right-center, bringing home Sean O’Brien (two hits; three times on base) and Trey Blackmer, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.Middleton came right back in the top of the fifth. After a single by Greg Dougherty and a walk to Mike Manni, Thayer laced the first pitch he saw in the at-bat over the fence in right-center to make the score 6-2. The visitors added another unearned run in the sixth, and Rich brought home Thayer with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.Swampscott/Marblehead scratched out a run in the bottom of the seventh off Middleton reliever Ethan Dyer, who didn’t allow any hits but walked four in the two innings he pitched. Andrew Raisner and Connor Green drew walks to open the seventh, and after a wild pitch, Mike Lan drove in Raisner with a groundout to short.