Saugus Babe Ruth 14s defeat Lynn in showdown of unbeatens

DANVERS – The Saugus Babe Ruth 14-year-old all-stars maintained a spotless record on Wednesday evening at Twi Field, defeating Lynn, 7-2, in the paramount match-up of the District 1 tournament?s pool-play schedule.Saugus never trailed in the ballgame, twice holding leads of two runs before a three-run sixth provided some breathing room.?We?ve come to play in every game and it?s paid off,” explained coach Mike Mabee Sr., whose team improved to 3-0.Jack O?Brien hammered the final nail into the visitors? coffin with a double to deep left, scoring Jake Straticos (reached on error) and Darien Correia, who reached on his third single of the game.An ensuing single from Steve Pettenati plated O?Brien before Correia wrapped up a complete-game effort (7 hits, 7 strikeouts) in the seventh.?I told him yesterday that this was his game to win,” said Mabee of the righty. “He struggled against this team last season, but Darien commanded the strike zone today and our defense made the plays behind him.”Saugus jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Lynn?s starter, Tom Cash, in its first trips to the plate.Correia opened with a base hit through the right side before stealing second and scoring on O?Brien?s single to center. The latter came across after a sharply hit ball by Pettenati deflected off second baseman Josh Mateo.A solo run in the second, courtesy of some erratic throws from the visitors, preceded the start of a Lynn rally in the following frame.After a two-out single and ensuing swipe of second, Correia broke for third on a wild pitch before scoring when Ryan Turenne?s throw sailed into left.?We finally had a couple of breakdowns defensively,” lamented Lynn (2-1) coach Pete Dawson. “Those are a part of the game but it was the mental mistakes that proved costly.”The following half-inning began with Cash drawing a walk before a bunt single from Bill Allen drew a bad throw to first, allowing both runners into scoring position.Travis Ryan reached on a dribbler down the third-base line, leaving the bases loaded for Dax Billingsley, who earned an RBI after a groundout to O?Brien at shortstop before a flip to Andrew Mikedis at second.Allen scored on a John Nicosia single, cutting the deficit to one.A pair of scoreless frames gave way to the hosts grabbing an insurance run in the fifth via a Paul Stamatopolus RBI single to left-center.Three tremendous plays from catcher Nick Dascoli proved a big difference in the win, none bigger than cutting down Briston Maynard at second after backing up a wild throw to first following a ground ball to O?Brien.Saugus? backstop caught Billingsley stealing after a single to begin the game and picked off David Hunter at first for the second out of the seventh inning.?Nick has been playing very well behind the plate and the hustle he showed to back up first base in the sixth inning was something special,” Mabee said.Both teams are back in action on Saturday when Saugus takes on Salem while Lynn awaits a meeting with Peabody.