PEABODY — The Lynnfield 12-year-old All-Star team’s bats were on fire Sunday, pounding out 15 hits in a 14-2 win over Winthrop to stay alive in the District 16 tournament Saturday at Lt. Ross Park.
Mike D’amelio (3-for-3, triple, 4 runs, RBI) and Joey Polcari (3-for-4, double, 3 runs, RBI) led the offense with three hits each.
Owen Burke (RBI, run) went the distance for the Pioneers. He struck out seven in six innings, giving up just four hits with no walks and one earned run.
“Owen threw great again,” Lynnfield Manager Dave Polcari said. “He mixed his pitches up very well and kept them off balance. I think we put them on their heels early and we hit some balls really hard. I felt we just started really strong.”
Winthrop Manager Greg Sullivan knew he was facing a tough team in Lynnfield.
“They are a strong team and they were making solid contact one through 12. We had some chances,” he said. “We had some guys that, a different hop here or there maybe, things are different. It’s been a great ride. They’ve been working their butts off for the past month and they’ve grown a lot as players, as young men and as a team.”
Lynnfield got the bats going early.
Leadoff hitter D’amelio singled and stole second to start the game. Polcari then blasted a long shot to the left field fence for a double, scoring D’amelio. Paul Tappen (2-for-2, 2 doubles, 2 runs, RBI) followed with another double to deep right against the fence, plating Polcari. After reaching third on a wild pitch, Tappan scored on a dropped third strike.
Winthrop cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second. Bryce O’Brien reached on an error and scored on a single by Ethan Staff (1-for-2).
Lynnfield bumped the lead to 5-1 in the top of third. D’amelio singled and scored on a base hit from Danny Murphy (2-for-3, 3 RBI, run). Polcari followed with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Paul Tappan to center fielder Chase Triant, who made a backhanded catch with the bases loaded that, no doubt, saved three runs.
“He made a couple of nice plays and I was happy to see that,” Polcari said. “He really kept them in the game defensively. I was almost mesmerized with the catch he made off Paul in the third inning. He was terrific.”
For Lynnfield, Danny Murphy (2-for-3, 2 RBI, run) and Chase Austin (2-for-3, double, run) had two hits each. Evan Swales (run, RBI double), Henry Morgan (2 walks, run), Mike Mattia (1-for-3, double, 2 RBI) and Evan Swales (run, double, RBI) and Kevin Geary all played parts. Will Noumi also had a base hit.
Lynnfield now moves on to play the winner of Sunday’s night game between Saugus and Salem (TBD).
