Lynn Babe Ruth 13s pick up where they left off

QUINCY – It took the Lynn 13-year-old all-star team one more inning longer than its become accustomed to but the end result was all too familiar. The locals opened the Babe Ruth State Tournament with a six inning, 15-5 triumph over Winchester on Thursday evening at Coletta Field.Tied at five after as many innings, the visitors exploded for a 10-run sixth to secure the win. Lynn faced its first two deficits of the summer.”Our guys finally faced a bit of adversity today but they responded well,” said manager Leon Elwell. “Winchester played us tight for five innings but in the end, our guys did what they have done from the start.”From the bottom of the order, Zack Elwell and Kevin Durant drew full-count walks to open the game-clinching frame before leadoff man Dan Lilja reached on a perfectly placed bunt to load the bases.Aedon Leydon and Christian Burt followed delivered ensuing RBI singles, leading to a strikeout of Dayshon Anderson.A 3-2 pitch to David Barnard missed its mark, forcing in Lilja before James sunk the dagger into the host’s heart, ripping a two-run single to left.The barrage continued with a RBI base knock from pinch-hitter Jack Yanakakis that led to Durant’s two-run single. Lilja capped the inning with a run-scoring rip through the 5-6 hole.”I say it after every game but I’m extremely proud of the quality at bats we’ve put together on a consistent basis,” said Elwell whose team forced 14 full-counts, seven of which preceded walks.”That’s a heck of a lot of pitches for the opposing team,” he concluded.Barnard provided Lynn with a 2-0 in the first, launching a double to deep left-center, scoring Lilja and Anderson who reached on free passes.Winchester wasted little time in answering back, putting up a three-spot in its first tries against Burt who struggled with control issues early.Brendan Curran plated Will DeAngelo (walk) before beating a throw home from Leydon who cut off a throw to second, which Gavin Dauer stole. The latter came across after a wild pitch.Elwell offered his thoughts on Burt’s outing, which featured a total of nine free passes to go along with five stranded runners in scoring position.”It’s unlike Christian to walk many batters. He was struggling to find the plate, especially in the early innings and Winchester took advantage.”Poor mound conditions were tended to during a lengthy delay after the inning was completed.The teams exchanged leads one more in the second.Leydon’s RBI single to left got passed Sam Tolke, allowing Eric Ubri and Lilja to score in the top half before Nate Badger drove in Tolke with a RBI single before scoring on a one-out balk.Lynn grabbed the equalizer in the third, courtesy of an error on the pitcher, DeAngelo, that allowed Burt, who was hit by a pitch, to score from third.Friday morning will see the Lynners back in action against Plymouth at Adams Field in Quincy (11:30).