LYNN — In a closely-contested Little League matchup between Peabody West and Lynnfield, it was West advancing to the finals in a 4-0 final on Wednesday evening
Both coaches acknowledged the scoreboard didn’t reflect how tight things were, and respect was shown on both sides.
“For a 4-0 game, I felt it was a pretty tight game,” Lynnfield Coach Dave Polcari said. “We were right there.”
“Lynnfield fought hard. That was a closer game than even the score showed,” West Coach Keith Slattery said. “We had one inning where we scored most of our runs. I tip my cap to them, but I’m happy to move forward.”
After West got out of an early first-inning jam, Peabody struck in the first inning thanks to an RBI-double from William Slattery to bring home CJ York.
“It could have gone either way. In the first inning, we had guys on first and second with nobody out, but we couldn’t bring them home,” Polcari said. “I think if we put the ball in play and moved the runners along, I think the outcome could have been different if we made them sweat.”
West then added three insurance runs in the third. Danny Lancaster hit a single to right field before stealing second base. A Sean Jagodynski walk meant Quinn Woodson had two runners on with only one out. Woodson layed down a bunt and Lynnfield overthrew the ball, allowing Lancaster to score.
Then came the big play. Ben Ouellette hit a two-RBI single to give West a commanding 4-0 lead, the eventual final score.
“That was special,” Slattery said. “That was the bottom of the order and they produced perfectly when we needed them. It was a total team win because of that.”
After the third inning, it was all about pitching and defense on both sides.
Both starting pitchers, William Slattery (9 strikeouts) for West and Paul Tappon (6) of Lynnfield threw hard and received praise from their coaches.
“Our starting pitcher (Tappon) threw hard, but locating has been a problem for him,” Polcari said. “They worked up his pitch count which didn’t help. He competes hard and is a good player. He works hard at his game and there’s nobody else I would rather have out on the mound tonight.”
“Our starting pitcher came up big. He pitched the whole game and threw a shutout,” Slattery said. “He was a beast. He was a workhorse when we needed him – plain and simple.”
Slattery also credited his outfield, an area that improved as the season progressed.
“Our outfield played outstanding. There were amazing throws and catches,” Slattery said. “It’s good to see the things that you worked on all year come together.”
Despite elimination, saying Polcari enjoyed coaching the team is an understatement.
“I’m proud to coach these guys. We put a lot of work and effort in. Myself, along with the other coaches, have enjoyed this experience,” Polcari said.
West will now face Swampscott on Thursday, a team it’s played before – most recently in a 6-1 loss on Sunday.
“We saw Swampscott and they saw us,” Slattery said. “They played one of the most perfect defensive games I’ve seen. We’re hoping to get some gap hits and some seeing-eye singles to get on base a few times against them.”
