LYNN – It was a sad night for East Lynn’s Little League All-Star team as it bowed out of the District 16 tournament Friday, losing to Lynnfield, 10-0, at Pine Hill’s Spagnoli Field.
However, despite being eliminated, the kids were still smiling as they left the dugout.
“How proud we are and how hard they worked,” said Manager Paul Hartford.
Being asked if they had fun, Hartford replied, “they’re all getting slushes right now. Because at the end of the day that’s what it’s about. Having fun.
“But you want to let them know that you appreciate all the work they put in and try to have their heads held high because you can’t win every game. Every team is going to lose except the champion.”
The East Lynn team struggled to put the ball in play this time around.
“We fell behind and made a mistake early in the game. Our pitcher didn’t have his stuff so I took him out and once A.J (Velazquez) got hurt he was pitching with guts alone,” said Hartford. “They (Lynnfield) can hit. A heck of a team.”
Velazquez, who came in as a relief pitcher in the game and closed the last game, had a line drive ball come back and hit him in the thigh during the bottom of the third.
“It’s gonna be sore but he’s a tough kid. It’s gonna tighten up and he’s gonna be sore the next couple days but he’s gonna be okay,” said Hartford. “You feel so sorry for them. You hope that he’s not hurt badly. It’s just scary. You don’t care about anything else, Just making sure that he’s okay.”
Lynnfield on the other hand came out swinging to the fences.
“Our bats were finally connecting tonight,” said Manager Don Hubbard. “In the West Peabody game, we had one inning where we were able to get our bats moving. I think this game we had them moving. Every inning we had them going. So, that was good.”
Lynnfield started off a little shaky with going in order in the first. However, in the second inning Ben Reister hit a double, allowing Chase Mcewen to score and starting the fire underneath them. The third inning was when their bats really started swinging. Mikey Hubbard hit a triple, bringing in two runs. Cam Doherty also hit a triple. Mikey Barrett sent a ball to the back fence, allowing him to score as well as his teammates Jason Ciolfi and Doherty.
“We feel pretty good. The kids are energized which is good to see,” said Hubbard.
