DANVERS — Thanks to some timely hitting and solid team pitching Lynn defeated Peabody, 5-2, in 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball at Twi Field in Danvers on Wednesday.
Kyle Barnard got the win for Lynn, pitching the first three innings and giving up just one run on two hits. Brett Bucklin came on in relief, giving up one run on one hit.
?I was impressed with our defense; we played really well defensively tonight,” said Lynn manager Leon Elwell.
Lynn got on the board right away. In the top of the first, after two walks and a passed ball got two in scoring position, Barnard stepped up and knocked a two-run single to give Lynn an early 2-0 lead. Third baseman Dayshon Anderson followed with a double, but the Lynners couldn?t capitalize anymore.
Peabody came right back to threaten in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with just one out. But Barnard kept his cool and got a strikeout and a groundout to get out of the inning unscathed.
Lynn loaded the bases again in the second, but only grabbed one run on a walk to make it 3-0.
Peabody got on the board in the bottom of the third. After Chris Ruggerio walked and stole second, Sean Cardello knocked him in with a line-drive single to cut the deficit to two. Barnard again kept his cool and got the next three batters out in succession to end the rally.
Peabody grabbed another in the bottom of the fifth. After two walks and an error loaded the bases, Chris Masta grabbed an RBI on a groundout to bring the score to 3-2. Bucklin, who had entered in relief at this point, recovered and struck out the next batter to end the rally.
After a quick sixth inning, Lynn came up in the top of the seventh looking for some insurance. After two singles to lead off the inning, shortstop Christian Burt hit an RBI single to give Lynn a two-run cushion. After Barnard flew out to right field, Anderson stepped up and smashed an RBI double to put the score at 5-2.
?We got the timely hits at the end there,” Elwell said. “A 5-2 lead going into the last inning feels a lot better than a 3-2 lead.”
Bucklin took care of the rest, moving through the last two innings in order. He grabbed two strikeouts in the seventh to seal the win.
?I thought Brett pitched great tonight,” Elwell added. “He only had that one hiccup there in the fifth inning. He did a great job.”
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.