LYNN — Lynn’s quest to defend its 2016 Ray Gallant Invitational Baseball Tournament begins tomorrow.
The 34th Annual Gallant Baseball Tournament kicks off Friday evening, and this year’s edition includes a major change. Traditionally, the tournament has been played at O’Grady Field at Salem’s Forest River Park. This year, the tournament has been moved to Harry Ball Field in Beverly due to construction work in Salem.
Coaching the defending champion Lynners is Jeff Earp, who has been at the helm of the team for the past 10 years. Lynn began practicing last week and Earp believes it’s just a matter of time before the team begins to click. His hope is that the players mesh together in time to get the ball rolling when it plays against Beverly Friday night (7:30).
“With only a week, it’s hard for all of it to come together,” Earp said. “You’re putting together a team in a week. It’s a real good group of kids. It’s a nice group.”
Earp added, “You never know how you’ll play until you get over there. That’s what I say every year. I didn’t think we were going to win it last year but we went over there and started to click.”
Competing against Lynn in the tournament this year are Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead Salem and Peabody. Per usual, Earp expects the tournament to include top-notch competition.
“The competition looks tremendous,” Earp said. “The two Peabody teams in District 16 are combined. Beverly beat (eventual champion) Gloucester in (a) District 15 (game); Danvers combined its two teams so the competition is tremendous.”
This year’s Lynn bunch is a different group when compared to the one that took the championship last summer. While the 2016 team boasted a lineup packed with power from top to bottom, this year’s group will look to manufacture runs and play smart on the bases.
“Last year we had a lot of home runs,” Earp said. “This year it doesn’t seem to be like that. We’re going to hit and be smart on the bases. We’ll get on base any way we can. We need to get some timely hitting and knock in some runs.”
Lynn, which has won three of the last four Gallant Tournaments, will also rely heavily on its pitchers. Thus far, Earp has been impressed by the arms on his roster.
“The pitching can be very good,” Earp said. “We’ve been working with them and they’re very receptive to learning. Yordy Contreras, I’d say, is the ace of our staff. Hopefully our pitchers will keep us close and throw strikes. We have to play good defense behind our pitchers. We’re not just going to lineup and hit the ball out of the park.”
Prior to gathering the team for practices, Earp was tasked with selecting the 12 kids to represent Lynn in the Gallant Tournament. The process of picking the right combination of 12 players was no easy task.
“We were looking for good kids,” Earp said. “The Gallant Tournament is a tournament of prestige. The coaches and the leagues, we have to really thank a lot of them. We’re looking for the best of the best. The top pitching, the top catchers, the top hitters. The best of the best. It’s really what it is, the best of the best.”
Earp added, “It’s extensive, almost like an investigation. We really go overboard in talking to people from various leagues to find out what kind of kids they are and what they can do. I must get 10-15 opinions for every kid.”
Having coached the Lynn team for 10 years, Earp has been able to gather a strong idea of what makes the Gallant Tournament a special event. The tournament’s history, Earp said, is what stands out to him the most.
“It’s really the first time that the five Little Leagues in Lynn come to play together,” Earp said. “There’s just something about this tournament. If you grew up in Lynn and played in this tournament, you understand. There’s just so much history involved.”
Earp also acknowledged Tom Dill, who owns the Lazy Dog Sports Bar, for the support he has provided over the years for the Lynn team. Dill’s support has helped Lynn cover a handful of necessities.
“We couldn’t do this without the support of Tom and Lazy Dog every year,” Earp said. “He picks up our expenses. We don’t even ask and he just does it. He’s won awards for his support to youth sports.”
The tournament begins Friday and runs through Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday if necessary.
