SALEM — Up, up, and away. A Swampscott ball went up and over the fence at Forest River Park, and the Big Blue 12s went up and over Peabody West 6-1 in the District 16 Little League winner’s bracket final.
With fans scattered throughout the outfield hill Sunday evening, both teams left it all out there. Swampscott, however, left with the win.
“What a win,” Swampscott Manager Dave Paster said. “We’ll have, probably, a day off.”
The play of the game came early in this one. After Swampscott’s Gavin Cerrutti handled a hot ball down the first-base line to end the top half of the first, teammate Michael Hall took advantage at the plate.
Hall saw his pitch and made West pay, sending one out of the ballpark in left field for a 2-0 Swampscott lead.
“It was a 3-2 count, hacking, and it was a strike right down the middle,” Hall said. “[It] felt very good.”
His teammates swarmed him at home plate, and Paster – who also credited Hall for making “a ton of really good plays” at third – couldn’t have been happier with the shot.
“I think that really set the tone and I think we kind of caught Peabody West off guard,” Paster said.
West Manager Keith Slattery said it’s rare for pitcher Ben Ouellette to get caught like that.
“Ben was throwing heat and they were hitting them,” Slattery said. “That’s pretty rare. It’s pretty rare for Ben to get hit that much.”
Swampscott’s Beckett Brown connected for an RBI-single to make it 3-0 in the second. He was dealing on the mound, too, finishing with 80 pitches across all six innings.
It was his first start of the tournament, no less.
“We were thinking he was going to be a little rusty [and] we had another pitcher ready, but he dominated,” Paster said. “He had a 10-pitch inning in the second and an eight-pitch inning in the third, and we just cruised from there.”
Cruised, indeed. With Swampscott’s Jett Nichols and Elias Delacruz getting involved in the action, the Big Blue doubled their lead to 6-0 after three.
“A lot of hits,” Paster said. “We manufactured some runs and did what it took to win this game.”
West never quit, however. William Slattery smashed a double along the wall for an RBI to make it 6-1.
“I’m not upset with the guys at all,” Keith Slattery said.
He couldn’t have been upset with CJ York, either, who made a diving play at shortstop before making an out at first.
“We prepared well, too, and hopefully, we get to see them again,” Slattery said.
In the end, Swampscott’s defense was too much for West, with Hall and Nichols – who made nine of 18 outs – leading the charge.
“Their defense was incredible,” Slattery said. “They really made every play. They made plays that, sometimes, you just don’t make. Diving, playing from their knees, they made all the great plays.”
Slattery said “you have to tip the cap” to Swampscott.
“We expected a tough game,” Slattery said. “We’re going to have to get back to work.”
