Summer baseball still going strong

The 31st annual Ray Gallant Memorial Tournament gets underway tonight at O?Grady Little League Field at Forest River Park in Salem.The eight-team tournament features some of the top Little League players from Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Marblehead, Revere, North Reading, Swampscott and Danvers. Play begins at 5:30 p.m. with North Reading vs. Salem. Peabody plays Swampscott at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, Revere will play Danvers at 5:30 p.m. followed by Lynn vs. Marblehead at 7:30 p.m. Lynn is the defending champion.The tournament will continue with four games on Saturday and four games on Sunday. Games continue Monday with the championship game on Tuesday. The “if-necessary” game will be played Wednesday.Those who are wondering what happens to many of the players they saw putting the ball over the fence as 12-year-olds in the Gallant Tournament need only look to the North Shore Baseball League.The NSBL features a mix of college players, those who played in college but have been out for a while and a few top-notch high school players who have their sights set on playing at the college level. Many of the guys on the local teams are Gallant Tournament veterans.The Kingston Night Owls have already earned a spot in the NSBL finals, but Peabody Champions and the Beverly Recs are still battling it out in their best-of-five series. The two teams looked to settle it Tuesday night, but the score was tied, 4-4, at the end of regulation. Beverly finally broke the tie in the top of the 10th inning, but the game had to be suspended with two outs and runners on first and third for Beverly. The lights automatically go out at 10:30. The game was scheduled to be resumed Wednesday, but was postponed due to the rain. The teams will try again tonight at 7:30 p.m. (tentatively) at Peabody High School.