Swampscott Sox earn solid victory

Summer baseball may be winding down, but for the Swampscott Sox and the other teams that comprise the North Shore Baseball League, the good stuff is yet to come.The league, which features a mix primarily of past, present and future college ballplayers, starts its playoffs this Sunday and as has been the case every year since the team was formed 30 years ago, the Swampscott Sox will be in the mix.The Sox defeated the Manchester Marlins, 6-2, Tuesday at Swampscott. After a shaky first inning that saw the Marlins take advantage of an error and put two runs on the board, the Sox settled down. Ben Kendrew of Lynnfield, a senior on the Salem State baseball team, tossed a four-hitter with 11 outs coming on ground balls.Swampscott got one of the runs back in the bottom of the first when former English High player Esteban Paula, who played college ball at Faulkner University in Alabama, walked and ended up beating out a throw to the plate on a ground ball to third by Clemente Parra, another English High graduate, who spent the summer playing for an independent league team in Texas.The Sox tied the game in the second inning when Chris Cole (English/Framingham State) singled and scored on a single to center field by Bobby Serino (Swampscott High). Paula put the Sox up for good in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run single to left field that scored Cole, who had singled, and Serino, who had also singled. Cole made it happen again in the fifth with an RBI single up the middle and Teghan Malionek capped off the scoring with a squeeze play, scoring Serino, who had reached on a single to left field.Former English High and Stonehill College player Ryan Healey and manager Joe Caponigro have overseen the Sox turnaround. After starting off the season 2-6, Swampscott has been on a tear and has now won five straight and eight of the last nine games. The team has one regular season game remaining tonight. There are 12 teams in the league and the top eight will make the playoffs. Swampscott is currently tied for fourth.?It?s been very competitive,” Healey said about the league.Caponigro is optimistic about the playoffs.?A little pitching, a little hitting. We play some defense and we?ll see what happens,” he said.The Sox have been helped out by some talented young players this season, including Kyle O?Connor, who is entering his senior year at English; and former St. Mary?s High players Dan Donovan (St. Joseph?s College in Maine) and Joe Kasper (Worcester State), who have been hitting the ball well this season.Also factoring into the team?s success is Doug Spofford, who has been in the league since 1989 and still swings the bat well; Salem High?s Malionek, who is heading to Salem State after starting out at Wheaton College; Al Wallach from Swampscott High, who is heading to Southern Maine, where he?ll be playing; Bryan Maynard (English/College of St. Rose) and Junior Santos (English), who is heading to Minnesota State after playing in junior college.