PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Classical’s Brandon Devin slashes a fly ball to right field for the Agganis South team.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN — The Agganis Games are perfect showcases for the area’s best athletes, and at Sunday’s 22nd-annual baseball game, it was the offense on display.
The North erupted for 11 runs and held off a powerful South lineup for a 11-6 win at Fraser Field during the opening afternoon of this year’s Agganis Games.
Pentucket’s Kiernan Haley won the North MVP, going 2-for-2 with a double in the first and a triple in the fifth. He also scored the winning run on Richard Gray’s (Georgetown) RBI single in the fifth.
Danvers infielder Tim Unczur was the South MVP, ripping an RBI double in the fourth and scoring a run that tied the score at 6.
It was not an easy day for the pitchers. North starter JP Reiling (Bishop Fenwick) and a one-out walk to Swampscott’s Matt Hubauer came back to haunt him. Hubauer scooted to second on a groundout, and came home as Salem’s Sammy Arias-Ramirez ripped a single up the middle that nearly took Reiling’s head off.
It wasn’t any easier for the Big Blue’s Corey Bleau, who walked the first two North batters he faced. An errant throw on a botched double play allowed one run to score, and Haley’s double put two on for North Andover’s Chris Keane. Keane singled to knock in both runners.
Arias-Ramirez was next up on the mound for the South, and pitched well, but an error and a wild pitch hurt the South. Ipswich’s Alex Morris extended the North’s lead to 4-1 with a sacrifice fly.
Lynnfield’s Nick Colucci allowed one hit in his inning of work to maintain the North’s lead. But the South’s bats came alive in the third against Masco’s Cameron Zavaski.
Peabody’s Ben Irvine and Beverly’s Nick Cotraro singled, and Saugus’ Kyle Autilio doubled to bring them both in. St. Mary’s Donnie Weisse and Peabody’s Aaron Dollin singled as well, loading the bases with no outs.
Lynn Tech’s Enderson Jimenez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but knocked in Autilio to tie the game.
Classical’s Matt Stanley relieved Peabody’s Vasili Stefanopoulos, who pitched a scoreless third, to start the home half of the fourth. Stanley allowed two runs on a walk, two hits and an error, and the North regained a 6-4 lead.
His Classical teammate, Andre Gaudet, picked him up in the fifth, crushing a leadoff double that bounced to the fence. He came around on Unczur’s double, and Stanley helped himself out with a RBI groundout that tied the score at 6.
Autilio came on for the fifth, and struck out the first two batters. That brought up Haley, who smacked a triple. He came home on Gray’s RBI single, giving the North a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Autilio escaped the inning only allowing the one run, but he was hit hard in the sixth. With the bases loaded, Georgetown’s Ryan Slack put the game away with a bases-clearing triple. A wild pitch brought him in to cap the scoring.
Essex Tech’s Michael Mitchell shut down the South in the seventh, striking out two of three batters.
North coach Kevin Canty (Fenwick) said that when it comes to games like this, his job is to get out of the way and let the players show what they can do.
“I just had guys up there, free swinging,” he said. “If they wanted to swing (with the count) 3-0, they could. These games, you just let the players perform, that’s all you’ve got to do.”
“It’s just a great opportunity for these kids to play with each other after competing against each other for three or four years,” said Beverly coach Dave Wilbur, the South skipper. “The outcome isn’t really important, both teams played well, both teams had their moments, and it’s just an honor and a great day of baseball for everybody.”
