Saugus Little League softball tops Lynn, reaches District 16 final

MARBLEHEAD – The Saugus Little League softball all-stars have broken new ground.The team defeated a relentless Lynn combine team, 18-11, at Marblehead on Tuesday to advance to tonight?s District 16 Little League final against Marblehead at Wyoma?s Lynn Woods Field (6). This is the first Saugus team to reach the championship game.?The girls were a little tired tonight (having played the night before and on Saturday), but they did what they had to do,” manager Steve Almquist said. “They had a big sixth inning, put some runs on the board and gave (pitcher) Emma Howard a little breathing room.”It looked like Saugus had this one wrapped up before Lynn even got to the plate. Saugus scored nine first-inning runs to take what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Lynn was in trouble, but the team followed some age-old advice. When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging, and that?s what the East Lynn/West Lynn/Pine Hill contingent did, at least for a while.Lynn scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 9-4 and for the next few innings, Saugus would score a couple of runs and Lynn would come back with a few. Saugus couldn?t quite salt it away and Lynn couldn?t quite catch up. Lynn cut the deficit to three runs three times, once at 11-8 after two innings, once at 13-10 after three and again at 14-11 after five, but Saugus nailed it down with four runs in the top of the sixth.?It got a little hairy,” Almquist said. “We jumped ahead 9-0 and then kind of fell asleep.”Almquist was happy to see his team fighting.?We kept fighting. Every time they scored, we put a few on the board,” he said.Lynn manager Robin Hoggard was happy to see her team keep fighting its way back into the game after seemingly being down for the count.?It was a tough loss, but I?m really proud of the girls, the way they kept hanging in there. They really fought hard to the end,” she said.Caitlin Wood, an 11-year-old, got the start for Saugus. She struggled a bit at times, but Howard was able to come on in relief and keep Lynn from doing too much more damage. She seemed to get stronger as the innings wore on. She ended up striking out five of the last nine batters she faced.?She?s a competitor,” Almquist said. “She?s tough. She made the pitches when she had to.”Lynn starter Lauren Wilkinson lasted two-thirds of an inning with Pam Dimis coming on in relief. Dimis did a nice job containing Saugus for four innings, giving her team a chance to get back in the game, but Saugus? four-run sixth put the game away for good.Tessa Palermo was the big hitter for Saugus with three hits and three runs scored. One of her hits was a base-clearing double in the first inning. Rebecca Walker had a hit, walk and three runs scored for Lynn and Madison Dana had two hits. Lynn struggled defensively with five or six errors; Saugus also had its defensive lapses, but they didn?t prove quite as costly.Almquist was thrilled to see his team make the District 16 final.?I?m extremely happy for the kids,” he said. “We have 14 kids on the roster. We wanted to give as many kids as possible an all-star experience.”Saugus has already played Marblehead once during all-stars and lost, 8-2.?They have a solid team and solid pitching,” Almquist said. “They play great defense and they hit the ball well.”If there is an if-necessary game, it will be at Swampscott on Thursday.