Babe Ruth softball wins N.E. title

The Lynn Babe Ruth 14U softball team captured a New England championship after a dramatic weekend.?They?re a great bunch of girls,” manager Jim Giguere said.Lynn played seven games in the tournament, the final one being a 4-3 victory over Plymouth, Mass., in the 10:30 a.m. championship game on Sunday.?It was a very good defensive game for both teams,” Giguere said.Lynn scored two runs, including the eventual game-winner, in the third inning to go up 4-2. Plymouth scored one run in the top of the sixth. In the final inning, Lynn?s Johnna Calder got Plymouth 1-2-3 on a popup to herself; a bunt that she underhanded to the first baseman; and a line drive to the hole, which shortstop Emily Stephenson dove for and snagged.A day earlier, Lynn beat Plymouth 5-2 to reach the final. It was the third game – and third win – of the day for the Lynners. Calder struck out four and recorded 10 ground-ball outs.?Her changeup was working,” Giguere said.Meghan Leavitt got Lynn started in the second when she hit a two-run double to score Jillian Gentile (leadoff single) and Taylah Piazza (single). Plymouth got single runs in the first and third. The game remained tied 2-2 until the seventh. Piazza walked, Leavitt singled, Olivia Bourgeois reached on an error, with a run scoring, Janna Robertson hit a sacrifice fly and Julia Jordan hit an RBI single.That, however, did not eliminate Plymouth. Plymouth next faced a game against the Way North team at 8 a.m. on Sunday, which Plymouth won 11-2. Plymouth needed to beat Lynn twice Sunday – in games scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. – to win the title.?I told the girls, ?Listen, we had a great run the whole tournament. Let?s not stop now,?” Giguere said. “Let?s make this our last game and let?s go out on top.”That is just what the Lynners did.As intense as the last two games proved, the road to the final stages had its challenges as well.Lynn lost its first two games of the tournament and faced a must-win situation against Souhegan Valley (NH) on Saturday. Lynn responded with a 13-0 mercy-rule 5-inning victory that not only evened its record at 2-2, but allowed it to dispatch one of its losses. That?s because of a tournament scheduling issue that had eight of the teams playing three games and a ninth playing four to accommodate everybody (this decision was made randomly). That ninth team wound up being Lynn, but it was able to throw out one of its losses.Lynn advanced to the crossover round, and defeated Way North, 9-8, with Calder delivering the game-winning single in the last of the seventh. Robertson singled that inning to lead off, Allie Giguere bunted, and errant fielding resulted in Robinson taking third and Giguere second. Alaina Gridley popped up to the second baseman, but Calder singled to win the game.Calder did not pitch that game due to arm soreness, Giguere said. Jordan got the start and Piazza came on in relief with the score 7-6. Way North took an 8-7 lead but Lynn tied it in the fifth. Two games later, the Lynners had their championship.This is the farthest Lynn can go as U14s. The U16 level features a World Series in Pittsfield; this year, Joe Gill of Lynn is the head umpire. Gill called the Lynn U14s? fourth game on the bases this past weekend.Giguere thanked his assistants Rusty Jordan and Glen Calder, as well as St. Mary?s assistant Don Harp, “who helped the three of us,” he said. He also thanked the players, parents and community.