LYNN — Lynn’s Babe Ruth 15-Year old All-Stars soundly defeated the Newton 15s 5-1 at Breed Middle School Wednesday.
With the win, Lynn is now in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 seed in the tournament and further solidified itself as a force to be reckoned with.
“We had already advanced; we are 3-0, now it is just all about getting the No. 1 seed so we can have home field throughout,” said Lynn coach Rich Avery.
This game was all Lynn from the jump as the All-Stars opened up the scoring early in the bottom of the first inning. The leadoff hitter Seth Sullivan doubled into the gap, and Christian Figueroa moved him over with a high fly ball to right field.
The next batter was Kyle Cummings, who delivered in a big way with an RBI single to left field to give Lynn a 1-0 lead.
Like the offense, the pitching for Lynn was a significant part of the win. Starting pitcher Josh Doney, who went the distance to get the win, was spectacular. Doney ended up finishing with 11 strikeouts allowing only one run in seven innings.
On Doney’s stellar performance, Avery said, “Josh pitched an incredible game. He threw first-pitch strikes pretty much to every batter, so it kind of made that easy.”
Doney’s dominance did not stop on the mound either. He helped stretch the Lynn lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the third with an RBI single. The hit drove in Figueroa, who was fortunate to score after Newton’s catcher Jack Harrild dropped the ball on the tag.
Even after quickly falling behind 2-0, Newton did not necessarily fold, striking back in the top of the fourth, scoring on a passed ball, making the score 2-1 Lynn. However, that run proved to be the only bright spot for Newton as its bats stayed quiet and Lynn’s bats heated up.
“We needed a couple key hits that we did not get; it was a close game. We had our chances to keep it close, go ahead, make some noise, and the key hits just did not come,” said Newton Coach Elliott Loew.
As Doney continued his dominance on the mound, hidden offense from the bottom of the lineup and the bench put Lynn over the top.
Gilly Galva, batting ninth, drove in Matt Lewis with an RBI double to left field in the bottom of the fourth to stretch the lead to 3-1. Then in the bottom fifth, Lynn began to pour it on and shut the door on Newton.
Jared Paone, off the bench, hit an RBI single to make the game 4-1, and Shea Newhall hit an RBI single where Paone scored from second. Doney went on to finish Newton in the final two innings, not even allowing a hit, and Lynn took the victory 5-1.
The offensive help from the bottom of the lineup and off the bench is a crucial benefit for a team looking to make a deep tournament run.
“One of our best attributes on this team is the depth that we have. We got guys, depending on the pitching matchup, we got different guys coming off the bench, and everyone that is on the bench just knows when they get in there to make it count, and you saw it tonight they did,” said Avery.
Although Avery felt like the team had left a few too many runners on base, he did say, “Overall, we were pleased with the effort, especially as we had been off for like six days. So coming back after six days was kind of nice.”
