Marblehead-Swampscott opens Gallant action tonight

The Gallant Invitational Tournament gets underway tonight at Stephen O?Grady Field at Forest River Park in Salem.The action begins at 7 p.m. when Marblehead plays Swampscott and continues with two games Friday night beginning with Lynn vs. Wakefield at 5:30 p.m. and Peabody vs. Salem at 7:30 p.m.Play will continue through the weekend with four games on Saturday and four on Sunday. There will be single games on Monday and Tuesday with the if-necessary game slated for Wednesday.This year?s tournament will be different from past years in that the players will use wooden bats, which have been supplied by the tournament. Teams were given bats to use in practice prior to the tournament, so players have had an opportunity to get accustomed to the change.?It?s totally different,” Lynn manager Jeff Earp said. “The ball explodes off the composite bats, but with the wooden bats you?ve got to hit it in the sweet spot … it?s been a big adjustment, but the kids realize everyone?s in the same boat.”Lynn has four players on the team who played last year: Christian Burt, David Barnard, Zach Elwell and Spencer DiVirgilio. All four were on the Wyoma Little League All-Star team.Earp said you never know what to expect heading into the Gallant. He said he had a team in the past he didn?t think would fare that well that won it and teams that he thought would do very well that went two and out.?You never know what you?re going to do till you get there,” he said.This year?s tournament will feature teams from Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem, Amesbury and Wakefield.Rosters are as follows:Lynn: David Barnard, Brett Bucklin, Christian Burt, Spencer DiVirgilio, Zachary Elwell, Anthony Luciano, James Wilkins, Mike Leavitt, Aedon Leydon, Lou Vidal, Ethan Labbe; Daniel Lilja, Luke Boisselle and Kevin Durant. Manager: Jeff Earp. Coaches: Leon Elwell, Sean Leydon and Bryan Wilkins.Swampscott: Drew Olivieri, Graham Inzana, Ryan Graciale, Dylan January, Connor Tidd; Owen Maguire, Owen Nuegent, Jake McIntire, Christian Emmerich, Anthony Rakauskas and Chris Legere. Manager: Lou Olivieri. Coach: Derek January.Marblehead: Eli Cohen, Ryan Dombal, Chris Gally, Joey Feracci, Jake Granata, Jake Miller, Jacob Bornstein, Charles Ahern, Charlie Khan, Noah Dorsey-Sorofman, Max Freedman and Michael McEachern. Manager: Greg Dombal. Coaches: Joe Kahn, Mark Cohen and Keith Gally.Peabody: Wil Aylward, Christian Buckley, Eddie Campbell, Sean Cardello, Christian Cummings, Nick Federico, Michael Johns, Michael Panzini, Joe Richard, Chris Ruggiero and Tyler Wallace. Manager: John Federico. Coaches: Ed Campbell, Adam Buckley, Steve Johns and junior coach Garrett Wallace.Salem: Lesandro Pacheco, Billy Beauregard, Andrew Fournier, Aaron Fournier, Kyle Ouellette, Bryan Palacios, Bryan Pena, Matthew Silva, Ruben Baez, Jayco Pena, Jhoan Vago and Jack Gilligan. Manager: Sean O?Keefe. Coaches: Steve Ouellette, Jeff Lajoie and Frank Baez.Wakefield: Nick Lamberti, Jake Regan, Colin Jaena, Eric Hickey, Anthony Forziati, Brian Chambers, Kevin DeLeary, Jake Nardone, Dan Cataldo, Luke DiMella, Joe Greenwood, Josiah Brown and Kevin Lucey. Manager: Aldo Lamberti. Coaches: Carl Jaena, Mike Nardone and Bill DeLeary.Amesbury: Derek Beaupre, Shane O?Leary, Blake Bennett, Joe Ward, Derek Doherty, Patrick Birmingham, Thomas Flanagan, Logan Burrill, Casey McClaren, Dane Webber, Will Connolly, Peyton O?Leary and Matt Nardone. Manager: Fran Beaupre. Coaches: Jim O?Leary and Tim Randall.