Swampscott knocks off Burlington to advance to Division 2 North final

Christina King had three RBIs and Hannah Leahy pitched five innings as the Swampscott Big Blue defeated the No. 6 Burlington Red Devils, 8-7, to advance to the Division 2 North final. No. 10 Swampscott (16-9) is continuing a bit of a Cinderella run through the tournament, having already beaten three of the top 10 seeds. The Big Blue beat No. 7 Wakefield, 8-7, in the first round, then beat No. 2 Marblehead, 4-3, in the quarterfinals.
It was a close game against Burlington until the third inning. Sam Rizzo, who went 1-for-3, started it off with an RBI single. The Big Blue got a few runners on base for King, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. King knocked a two-run triple to extend the lead.
Olivia Capone, who went 1-for-4, came through with a big RBI in the fifth inning to bring the lead to 8-3 Swampscott.
Leahy scattered a few hits and runs through her five innings of work, but she was able to keep Burlington off balance most of the time. She came out in the fifth inning, but returned to finish the game in the seventh. Rizzo pitched the two innings in relief.
?This is one of the biggest wins in the school?s history,” said Swampscott coach Frank Kowalski. “I?m so proud of these girls. They?ve worked so hard.”
The Big Blue will move on to face No. 1 Reading (20-3) in the Division 2 North final on Sunday at Martin Field in Lowell. Reading has had a good run through the tournament so far, beating Dracut, 9-6, and Danvers, 3-0, before beating Tewksbury, 9-3, in the other semifinal game.
?We don?t know much about Reading at this point,” Kowalski said. “We?re going to have to ask around and try to look at some tape. We?re just happy to be in the game, and we?ll be ready for it.”Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.