Saugus beats Lynn to move on in Babe Ruth 15s tournament

SAUGUS – Robbie Shields Jr.was stellar on the mound and the Saugus bats came alive in an 11-1 win over Lynn Sunday in the Eastern Mass. Babe Ruth 15s tournament at World Series Park.
With the win, Saugus advances to the Eastern Mass. tournament as the No. 2 North seed with a 3-1 record and will travel to Plymouth today to play the No. 1 seed from the South at 5:30 p.m.
?We try to tell them to go out there and play a good game,” said Saugus coach Mike Mabee. “Offensively, have good at-bats, defensively, make some plays out there behind the pitcher, and pitchers, throw strikes. We put it all together today.”
Lynn struck first in the top of the first. After second baseman Eric Pedro singled and advanced to second on a passed ball, first baseman Briston Maynard knocked an RBI double into center field to give Lynn the 1-0 lead.
But Shields settled down after that, and he kept Lynn off balance the rest of the game. He went on to retire 11 of the next 12 batters he faced, giving up only one walk.
Saugus answered back in the bottom of the first. With runners on second and third with two outs, Shields stepped to the plate to try and help his own cause. He did, cracking a two-run double to give Saugus the lead. Saugus grabbed two more runs on throwing errors and led, 4-1, after one inning.
Saugus kept it going in the second inning. With runners on second and third, left fielder Steven Pettenati knocked a two-run double. The next hitter, first baseman Nick Dascoli, drove in Pettenati to make it 7-1.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the field, Saugus was back at it when Darion Correia singled and John Torres walked. Then center fielder Vincent Coppola smashed a two-run double to left. After the next batter reached on an error, Pettenati stepped up and hit a long sacrifice fly to plate another run.
Saugus picked up another run in the bottom of the fourth when Jack O?Brien singled in Shields.
Up 10 runs, Saugus just needed to get through the top of the fifth to take home the win under the mercy rule. Shields did just that, striking out two of the last three batters and getting a 1-2-3 inning to end the game.
?I just talked to them before the game about coming out and playing loose,” said Mabee. “Everyone who played in the game played loose and we?re able to move on to tomorrow.” Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.