East tops West as District 16 Little League baseball tournament opens

The District 16 Little League Baseball Tournament kicked off on Friday with East Lynn topping West Lynn American, 3-2, in Nahant.Luke Mannion got the nod for the East Lynn squad and threw 4 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and scattering five hits. West Lynn American grabbed its two runs in the first on a throwing error, but after that, Mannion settled in. He was lifted after 85 pitches for Anthony Mateo, who went the final inning and a third, striking out two.The East Lynn team grabbed a run in the third as Sanel Castro drove in Cole Story, and added two in the fifth, with Deirian Arias driving in a run.WLA starter Jeff Hill threw a complete game, striking out seven over six innings.Saugus American 8, Wyoma 1A tough first inning put Wyoma in a 6-0 hole, but Andrew Luciano came in and gave up just two runs through the final five innings.Wyoma managed just four hits on the day, with Jared DiFilipo coming through with two of them and Connor Stevens and Billy Norcross reaching on infield singles.SOFTBALLMarblehead 12, Salem 2In the District 16 Softball All-Star Tournament, a seven-run second inning built a commanding lead in a four-inning Marblehead victory on Friday.Maeve Sogoloff allowed two runs on two hits, striking out four.”She had a great changeup, getting a strikeout and a nice ground ball with it,” said Marblehead coach Adam Sogoloff.Leadoff hitter Emmy Smith went 1-for-1 with a walk and scored three runs. Third baseman Emma Ferrante went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs, and Olivia Cleary had two hits, two RBIs, and scored twice.Maddie Monahan, who played solid defense at shortstop, had a hit and an RBI. Catcher Jolie Quintana drove in two runs with a single and scored a run, and first baseman Zoe Rubino went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.The Marblehead team, who is the defending District champion, will play the winner of Saturday’s Wyoma and Salem game on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the finals.Wyoma 4, East Lynn 1Pitcher Abby Fila allowed one run in six innings, striking out five for Wyoma.MacKenzie Shea doubled and Sophia Lebert hit a three-run inside-the-park home run to give Wyoma a 3-1 lead. Amanda Wilkins scored on Katherine Clancy’s single in the fifth. The Brazell sisters, Kristen in left field and Andrea in right, were outstanding on defense, said Wyoma coach Chad Wilkins.Wyoma 5, Swampscott 0Abby Fila went the distance, allowing two hits with five strikeouts as Wyoma stayed alive on Thursday.Julia Nickalou drove in a pair of runs while Fila and McKenzie Shea drove in one run each as Wyoma scored twice in the first and added three in the fifth.Salem 8, East Lynn 2Kristen Napierkowski threw a complete game for Salem, which also got some big hits from Angelica Rago along with solid defense from third baseman Ashley O’Leary.Salem 9, Swampscott 1Naperkowski and Jenna Tremblay each worked three innings to propel Salem into the winners’ bracket final. Tremblay also hit well, according to manager Dave Horgan.