Lynn pitcher Aedan Leydon tossed a complete game Wednesday against Columbia Basin, Wash., allowing just two runs. Photo by John Geyerman
By Steve Krause
WILLISTON, N.D. — The Leydon-at-Large family was on tenterhooks all afternoon Wednesday once it found out their son, grandson and nephew Aedan was going to pitch.
“I’m think going to be sick,” said his mother, Kerry Cook, who brought her parents, Barbara and Buzzy, down to Williston with her.
His grandfather, Frank Leydon, a Babe Ruth veteran who coached the 2000 softball team that made the World Series, is in Williston with his daughter, Meaghan, who was on that team. They were on pins and needles.
“Now I can exhale,” Frank Leydon said, when the game was over and Leydon saved Lynn’s bacon in the 2016 Babe Ruth World Series. He pitched Lynn to a 5-2 win over Columbia Basin, Wash., propelling them into tonight’s single-elimination quarterfinal against Eau Claire, Wisc.
Leydon’s story is the stuff of boyhood dreams. Although he can pitch — obviously — he hasn’t done it much this summer. In fact, he hasn’t done it at all.
That’s partly because Lynn’s two studs, Christian Burt and David Barnard, dominated the local post-season and manager Leon Elwell didn’t have to dip into his deep reservoir of pitchers too often.
But if you’re going to win in a tournament such as this, you need that reservoir to be stocked and functional.
So there was Leydon, being asked fill the void. Even though he has a 15-year-old kid’s confidence, he didn’t think he’d last seven innings.
“I pitch to contact,” he said. “I don’t strike out too many batters. I just figured I’d go as hard as I could for as long as I could.”
Leydon made a few appearances on the mound for the St. Mary’s jayvees this spring, but hurt his thumb early in the District 8 Tournament in Saugus. He was forced to miss a game because of it.
“It actually felt good to be back on the mound,” he said after pitching a complete-game six-hitter.
Lynn suffered an excruciating loss Tuesday, 11-7, to Tallahassee, Fla., in which Barnard threw 117 pitches. There was no way he could pitch Wednesday. Burt threw four innings Monday, and even though they weren’t incredibly difficult, it would have been a lot to ask for him to pitch on only two days rest.
Lynn has several other pitchers, including Leydon, A.J. Luciano, Matt Gisonno, Brett Bucklin, Mike Leavitt and Erick Ubri. Manager Leon Elwell considered all the factors and chose Leydon.
If Elwell’s decision fazed others, it didn’t faze Leydon. He looked at it analytically.
“I knew I just had to go in there and throw strikes,” he said. “And I knew I could rely on my teammates.”
His teammates had a few things to prove to themselves, and they did so marvelously. That excruciating defeat came about because Lynn made six errors, and all of them led to runs. As far as the Tallahassee team was concerned, it was Christmas in August.
The Lynners made sure it didn’t happen again. They were on their game, making only one miscue that came in the seventh inning with two outs.
Leydon’s grandfather pointed out that one of his best attributes in Wednesday’s game was the ability to keep his cool. Whenever he got into trouble, which wasn’t too often, he stepped off the mound until he was composed, and ready to step back up.
“That’s just me trying to relax,” Leydon said. “Just take a deep breath, focus on the next hitter, and focus on getting the next out.”
Leydon’s performance has several ramifications. First, all those other pitchers who would’ve had to come in and relieve him on a brutally hot day (some car thermometers hit 100) didn’t have to, and are now available later in the week should Lynn win today.
Elwell was aware that he might have to use Burt to get a few outs if the need arose, but he didn’t have to. That leaves him a little fresher for tonight’s game.
After that? Who knows? But it’s single elimination, and all anybody has to do at this point is worry about the next game.
And that’s tonight.
