Felix fires no-hitter in Lynn 15’s frustrating loss

BRAINTREE – Baseball can be a cruel and unjust game on any given day, and nobody in the 15-year-old Babe Ruth State Tournament understands this better than Lynn?s Antonio Felix.The local right-hander pitched a no-hitter on Saturday afternoon at Veteran?s Memorial Field, only to come away with the loss in a 1-0 setback against Newton, which scored the winning run in the top of the seventh.?I doubt any of us will ever see an outcome like this ever again,” said Lynn manager Steve Moccia of the disheartening defeat. “Antonio was phenomenal (Saturday), completely lights-out. This is obviously a tough loss to swallow.”After six scintillating innings, Felix issued a leadoff walk to Ronney O?Connor in the final frame. An errant pick-off attempt allowed the runner to reach third before Matt Swain became strikeout victim No.10.Thomas Joyce followed with a fly ball to shallow right, which O?Connor faked a tag-up on before Kenny Sanchez? throw sailed to the backstop, allowing the contest?s lone tally to come across.Felix threw just 90 pitches, walked two and hit a batter while allowing just one runner to reach second. His best work came in innings three through five, which featured five strikeouts and just 25 pitches, including six in the middle frame.?It came down to two plays which we didn?t make,” lamented Moccia.Newton starter Brendan Mignone countered Felix? gem with some magic of his own, going the distance on just 78 pitches. The hosts? righty yielded just three singles, walked one and struck out five, including the side in the sixth.Mignone needed just eight pitches in the third before he and his counterpart exchanged 10 tosses apiece in the following frame. The former?s quickest inning was a seven-pitch fifth, which included an infield single from Evan Reddick.Herbie Newton had the visitors? other two hits, in the first and seventh, respectively.Lynn?s best chance to score was snuffed out on an unfortunate albeit athletic play by Joyce, who sprung out from behind the plate to catch a sacrifice bunt attempt from Tyler Way before doubling off Felix (walk), who was heading for second.?We hit the ball hard on multiple occasions, but right at their fielders,” reflected Moccia. “We simply have to give Newton credit for making all the plays.”Felix?s batterymate, Matt Lauria, turned in a terrific defensive effort from behind the plate, throwing out O?Connor (walk) and Jimmy Hodgson (hit by pitch) in the first and sixth innings, respectively.?He?s very smart and obviously has a strong, accurate throw,” lauded Moccia. “He called a heck of a game for Antonio. They execute from start to finish.”