ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Michael Federico and the Pioneers took down North Reading with a 9-2 win.
By HAROLD RIVERA
LYNNFIELD — With a spot in the state tournament secured and the Cape Ann League Kinney Division already clinched, the Lynnfield baseball team’s looking to end the regular season on a positive note in hopes of carrying momentum into the postseason. Tuesday afternoon’s 9-2 win over CAL foe North Reading at Pioneer Stadium certainly contributed to Lynnfield’s cause.
Behind a seven-inning performance on the mound from starting pitcher Nick Aslanian and a three-run home run off Cooper Marengi’s bat in the sixth inning, the Pioneers earned their 17th victory of the season on the team’s senior day.
Aslanian allowed just two hits and one walk in his outing, and forced the Hornets to go down in order in four of his seven innings of work.
“Nick threw very well,” Lynnfield coach John O’Brien said. “He fell behind in the count sometimes but he was able to come back and even up those counts. He was mixing all his pitches and kept them off balance.”
Both teams were kept off the board in the first inning, but the Pioneers were able to strike for three runs in the bottom of the second.
Bryant Dana walked to lead off the frame and Marengi followed with a double. Michael Federico brought Dana and Marengi home with a 2-RBI triple, good for a Lynnfield 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Jonathan Luders plated Federico with a RBI single that stretched Lynnfield’s edge to 3-0.
“I think we hit the ball pretty well,” O’Brien said. “We put it in play and we only struck out once. Our approach worked for us today and the kids were pumped to play on Senior Day.”
A RBI sacrifice fly from Jeffrey Mejia slimmed the Pioneers’ advantage to 3-1 in the top of the third.
Lynnfield responded with a pair of runs in the fourth. Luders poked a double down the left field line to score Andre Padovani for the 4-1 lead. Two batters later, Mike Stellato hit a laser for an infield single and scored Luders to make it 5-1.
North Reading inched back with another sac fly in the top of the sixth, hit by Alex D’Ambrosio and bringing home John Day, who walked to lead off the inning.
Lynnfield put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, when the Pioneers scored four runs to break the game open at 9-2. Luders reached on an error to start the inning and advanced to third on a single by Justin Juliano. As Juliano stole second, Luders raced home with Lynnfield’s sixth run of the afternoon. Dana followed with his second walk of the game, setting Marengi up for the three-run blast.
“That (home run) gave us some breathing room,” O’Brien said. “You never know, I’ve seen teams and coached teams that have had big leads and then teams come back. That’s why we never let up until the game’s over because you never know.”
“Cooper hit the ball real well today,” O’Brien added. “He had a beautiful double and then the home-run. He had three really good at-bats.”
With a seven-run lead at 9-2, Aslanian calmly sent the Hornets down in order in the seventh to seal the win.
“It was a nice win for us today,” O’Brien said. “North Reading always comes ready to play. We always battle these guys close.”
Lynnfield improves to 17-1 and visits Belmont on Friday for the Brendan Grant tournament.
Tuesday’s game was a chance for the Pioneers to honor the 10 seniors on their roster in Aslanian, who’ll attend Salem State, Alex Boustris (Endicott), Matt Collins (Quinnipiac), Dana (Westfield State), Federico (Holy Cross), Kyle Hawes (Northern Essex), Juliano (St. Joseph’s), Padovani (Emerson), Tom Powers (UNH) and Stellato (Endicott).
“We have 10 seniors and all of our seniors do a great job in whatever their role is,” O’Brien said. “I’m proud of them. To finish the league at 15-1, that’s a great accomplishment for us.”
