The Lynn Junior Legion post 291 baseball team made a comeback for the ages in the state final Wednesday night at Wilbraham’s Farrell Field. After dropping the first game to Sandwich, 6-5, the Lynners fell into a six-run hole in the “if necessary” second game.
Not so fast, said Lynn.
With seven runs in the final two frames, Lynn earned a 10-9 walk-off victory to claim the state crown. Colby Magliozzi delivered the game-winning hit with a RBI single, scoring Ryan McMahon.
“Ryan came off the bench in the fifth inning,” Lynn manager Tony Luciano said. “He gave us a spark with two huge hits and four RBI. He was the main reason for our comeback. On top of all that it was his birthday. What a birthday he had.”
Lynn advances to the regional round, which begins next Friday and will be played in Concord, New Hampshire.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Luciano said. “These kids are a resilient group. After losing the first game they were a bit down. We were down 9-3 in the fifth inning in the second game. They didn’t want to give up. They wanted to make every at-bat count and they did it.”
In game one, the Lynners jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first inning. Back came Sandwich with a three-run second inning before Lynn knotted the score at 3-3 in the third frame. Sandwich pushed across two runs in the fourth and tacked on one more in the fifth to grab a 6-3 lead in the closing stages. Showing no quit, Lynn made things interesting with two runs in the seventh before Sandwich, on its heels, hung on to its one-run lead for the 6-5 win.
Nico Galeazzi led Lynn’s nine-hit attack with two base hits and three RBI. Aidan Dow had one base hit and one RBI, while Jared DeFillipo contributed with one RBI. Andrew Luciano got the nod and went the first four innings with one strikeout. Luke Mannion followed in relief, tossing two innings.
“We made three or four costly errors in the first game and that’s uncharacteristic of our team,” Luciano said. “If we cut those in half, we get out of there earlier. All four of our pitchers threw the ball well. That Sandwich team can hit the ball. We might see them in the regional again because they qualified as the runner-up.”
Lynn showed its heart, again, in game two. Trailing 9-3 in the sixth inning, Lynn battled back with a four-run rally to close the gap to 9-7. Lynn scored two more runs in the seventh to even the score at 9-9 before plating the game-winning tally on Magliozzi’s clutch single.
“Magliozzi was the MVP of the tournament,” Luciano said. “In three of our wins he had the game-winning hit. We have to give credit to the guys in front of him for getting on. Everyone does their job on this team. That’s what makes them special. I can’t say enough. It’s a joy to coach them.”
McMahon powered the offense in game two with four RBI and Dow chipped in with two base hits. On the mound, starter Terrence Moynihan pitched the first two innings. Kyle Durant held down the fort with three strikeouts over five innings of relief.
Luciano said his team will enjoy the memorable victory for the next few days before gearing up for the regional.
“We’ll get back at it,” Luciano said. “The kids earned a break. They give all they have every day. Everyone contributed in this tournament. That’s what you need up and down your roster. You need everybody contributing, and everybody did.
“We’ll go to regionals and our goal is to represent Lynn the best way we can.”
