Good Will Hunter leads Lynn Babe Ruth 13s

MARBLEHEAD — Despite notching only two hits through the first five innings and falling behind late, the Lynn Babe Ruth 13-year-old team came back to defeat Peabody, 4-2, at Seaside Park.
Will Hunter pitched a complete game for Lynn, giving up two runs on eight hits and grabbing the win. He was also 2-for-4 at the plate with a stolen base and a run scored.
?I thought Will did an excellent job on the mound,” said Lynn coach John Nerich. “He battled through some tough situations today.”
Peabody got shutout pitching through the first six innings from Joe Castrichini and Jordan Anzuoni. But some late defensive lapses let Lynn back into the game.
Peabody struck first in the bottom of the fourth. First baseman J.C. Espinal led off with a walk, then stole second and third on one wild pitch. Catcher Tatum Perez was up next, and he ripped a grounder into the hole at short. It took a bad hop and ended up in the outfield, scoring Espinal from third.
Peabody came back to score another in the bottom of the fifth. After two singles and a groundout to lead off the inning, third baseman Jake Murphy knocked an RBI single into center field to give Peabody a 2-0 lead.
But Lynn saved its best for the final innings. After two singles to start the top of the sixth, runners stood on second and third with no outs. A balk was called on the next pitch, bringing in a run to cut the deficit in half. After a groundout moved a runner to third, first baseman Miguel Acosta hit a hard grounder to the right side to bring in Hunter and tie the game, 2-2.
The developments gave Lynn new life on defense, as Hunter cruised through a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth.
After Tim Nerich led off the top of the seventh with a walk and stole second, right fielder Connor Donahue dropped down a bunt to move the runner over. But a throwing error brought Nerich all the way around to give Lynn a one-run lead. Three batters later, third baseman Andy Diverge got an RBI single on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze attempt and Lynn was up, 4-2.
?We told them from day one, we?re going to take every extra base and work for every run,” Nerich said. “Some of these kids were like, ?Coach, what?s a suicide squeeze?? at first. But you saw how well it worked right there.”
Peabody was able to get a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but Hunter forced the next batter to fly out and Lynn walked away with the win.
?It was such a great game,” Nerich said. “Two evenly matched teams, you can?t ask for anything better than that.”Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.