SALEM — Swampscott baseball coach Joe Caponigro knew his team had a tough stretch ahead this week. The Big Blue started that stretch with a bang Monday in a 14-3 Northeastern Conference win over Saugus at Salem State.
Swampscott’s bats did damage from the start in this one, scoring 13 runs in the first four innings, with a 6-run rally in the second and a 5-run spurt in the fourth.
“We went through a tough stretch where we couldn’t find the timely hits,” Caponigro said. “It cost us the ability to close out some games. Someone starts hitting and it gets everybody going. A big part is Ryan Graciale. He’s gotten very hot and everybody follows. It’s contagious and it’s been fun to watch.”
Swampscott starter Tyler Marshall tossed five innings and allowed three earned runs on 10 hits. Fred Juden pitched two scoreless innings of relief, sending Saugus three up, three down in each frame.
“Fred has worked extremely hard to get himself where he is,” Caponigro said. “I have to give credit to our pitching coach, Eric Fields. He works extremely hard with all the pitchers. I think Fred has really seen the fruits of his labors. He wasn’t seeing much time at the beginning of the season. He’s done very well. He’s throwing strikes.”
Aside from a 2-run rally in the bottom of the third, Saugus didn’t have much offense in this one. The Sachems had runners on base in each of the first five innings but lacked timely hits.
“When we make mistakes, those errors aren’t single errors,” Saugus coach Joe Luis. “They turn into doubles and triples, and that makes the difference. Outfield mistakes really hurt us. From the get-go our pitching wasn’t ready to go. We weren’t ready to play in general. Swampscott, give credit to Coach Caponigro, his kids were ready to play.”
Dylan January (3-for-5, three RBI) got Swampscott started with a 2-RBI double in the top of the first. Jonathan Oriakhi (2-for-3, two RBI) added a RBI single in the top of the second and a Saugus error gave Swampscott another run for a 4-0 Big Blue lead. Swampscott proceeded to tack on four more runs in the inning and carried an 8-0 lead after two innings.
“We have to do it with pitching and defense,” Luis said. “We’re not going outhit the other team. Playing on turf helps in that the ball gets through the field a bit faster. But Swampscott was a much better team (Monday). They’re getting prepared for the tournament, rolling on all cylinders and we’re not. It was kind of a wake-up call and hopefully we respond.”
CJ Graffeo’s (1-for-4, RBI) RBI single put Saugus on the board in the third. Zack Falasca scored on a fielder’s choice, slimming Saugus’ deficit to 8-2.
Swampscott put things out of reach in the top of the fourth. Oriakhi and Cam O’Brien (2-for-4, RBI) laced RBI singles, Anthony Rakauskas (3-for-3, five RBI) roped a 2-RBI double and Drew Olivieri (1-for-4, RBI) hit a RBI double. When it was all said and done, Swampscott pushed its lead to 13-2.
RBI singles from Swampscott’s Rakauskas in the top of the fifth and Saugus’ Jack Devereaux (3-for-4, RBI) in the bottom half of the frame sealed the scoring. Juden’s two scoreless innings finished the 14-3 win.
“We’re going to need Fred if we’re going to do anything,” Caponigro said. “I’m very proud of him and I’m excited to see him to continue to improve.”
Swampscott (9-5), one win away from qualifying for the state tournament, hosts Peabody Tuesday (6:30).
“That’s always the No. 1 goal, qualifying for the tournament,” Caponigro said. “At one point we were 2-5 and we couldn’t get the timely hit. The kids are resilient. They believe in the process. We started hitting and it has spiraled in the right direction for us.”
Saugus (11-4) hosts Beverly Tuesday (4:30).
“Hopefully we can come back out Tuesday and execute with pitching and defense,” Luis said.
