East Lynn LL holds on to top Revere

LYNN – With its back against the wall, East Lynn turned to some of the youngest players on its roster to stay alive in the District 16 Little League tournament.A pair of 11-year-olds, Luke Mannion and Dairian Arias, handled the pitching while eight different players recorded at least a hit as East Lynn pounded out 14 hits to take an 11-5 win at Pine Hill?s Chris Spagnoli Field.?Both (Luke and Dairian) pitched well,” East Lynn manager Jeremy Polonia said.It was not easy by any means for the East Lynners, however, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Revere fought back to make it a game at 8-5. That?s when Nate Espinal connected for a 2-run homer in the top of the sixth to finally allow his team to breathe a sigh of relief.?It was great to see Nate finally get one,” Polonia said.East Lynn got off to an ideal start in the top of the first as Marcus Tucker (3-5, 3 RS, SB) led off with a single. After he stole second, catcher Miguel Ramos-Acosta (2-3, 2 RS, 2 RBI) singled with one out.Jack Calnan then hit a chopper to short, allowing Tucker to score from second on the fielder?s choice that saw no out recorded. Ramos-Acosta then stole home to make it 2-0 before two strikeouts ended the inning.It stayed 2-0 into the third when East Lynn added to its lead.Once again, Tucker was the instigator as he led off with another single. Arias followed with a hit before a wild pitch moved both up 60 feet. That proved pivotal when Ramos-Acosta singled both home for a 4-0 lead.Calnan upped the lead to 5-0 when he singled home Ramos-Acosta before Revere starter Tyler Minehan got the next three batters to stop further damage.Revere, meanwhile, couldn?t get anything going against Mannion as he worked three hitless innings to begin his outing on the mound. His teammates added to the lead in the top of the fourth on a two-run triple from Arias that scored Dylan Garcia and Tucker.In danger of being run out of the game, Revere needed a rally and got it in the bottom of the fourth.Bryan Espinosa?s one-out walk got things started. Santiago Garcia followed with a single before an error on a grounder to short scored Espinosa. Anthony Sawaya then roped a two-run single and the lead was quickly cut to four.East Lynn got a run back in the top of the fifth but Revere answered with a pair of its own in the bottom half to make it 8-5. Revere could have had more but Arias came on with no outs and got out of the jam.East Lynn finally was able to relax when Calnan doubled to start the sixth. Espinal then rocked a long shot over the left-center fence to make it 10-5. Sannell Castro?s RBI single scored Mannion later in the inning to plate the final run of the game.?These guys were into this game right from the start,” Polonia said. “They didn?t get down when a couple of things went bad.”East Lynn is back in action tomorrow (5:45) when it takes on Saugus National at Grabowski Field in Saugus.Pine Hill 9, Pea. White 8At O?Grady Field at Forest River Park in Salem on Saturday, Colin Reddy?s walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth kept the Hillies alive on Elimination Saturday.Pine Hill ran out to a 7-1 lead in the third inning before lifting Reddy at 35 pitches. Peabody fought back with four runs in the top of the fifth and three more in the sixth to send the game to extra innings.In the bottom of the sixth, Nate Pagan led off with a walk. Dan Gisonno followed with a double to put two in scoring position before Reddy?s single ended it.Aidan Dow was 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Hillies. Aubry Collins added a solo homer.In other action, Lynnfield rolled past Salem at Lynn Shore?s DeMarco Field to advance to a date tonight (5:45) against West Lynn American at Peabody West.