SALEM — You won’t find a Little League game – or, frankly, any game – stranger than the one at Forest River Park in Salem on Thursday. That said, that doesn’t mean it was bad.
In a game for the ages, the Peabody West 12s threw the no-hitter, but Swampscott won the District 16 Little League Championship 1-0.
“Very peculiar,” Swampscott Coach Dave Paster said. “We got the District 16 Championship and the boys are very excited. There’s not many chances where we get no-hit and win 1-0.”
Yes, there was the traditional victory lap with the championship banner in-hand as the Big Blue faithful watched from the bleachers and tailgated cars.
“They were having a great time, the fans were having a great time, and Swampscott had a great turnout today,” Paster said. “The whole community was out supporting us tonight.”
The players of the hour – almost literally, as the game took just 49 minutes – were Swampscott pitcher Michael Hall (1 hit allowed) and West pitcher CJ York (no-hitter).
Paster said he “can’t stress enough” how strong Hall was, while West Coach Keith Slattery praised his own.
“He’s (York) just amazing. The kid is amazing, he’s a gamer, and it’s in his blood,” Slattery said.
His first name says it all. Swampscott’s Jett Nichols scored the lone run of the game in the first inning, speeding around the bases for a 1-0 cushion.
“Jett Nichols walked, I think he got to second on a passed ball, and then Michael (Hall) hit a grounder to the pitcher, so Jett was running,” Paster said. “The throw [to third] just went a little wild and, like I said, we just manufactured the run – a true Little League run.”
It was an honest misthrow, according to Slattery.
“One of our best players threw an overthrow trying to make a good play,” Slattery said. “Who would’ve known it would be 1-0?”
After Nichols tapped home in the first, the second, third, and fourth innings belonged to Hall and York. Neither pitcher allowed a batter on first base across the stretch.
“He’s (Hall) got some pitches [and] he’s a good player,” Slattery said. “We ran into a hot pitcher. We made contact all year… They have an uncanny nose for the ball on defense, they just do. The players get it and they execute.”
Other highlight plays included West shortstop Ben Ouellette scooping up a tough ball before firing to first in the third inning, and Hall collecting a dribbler near home plate before feeding his first baseman an inning later.
After York racked up 1-2-3 strikeouts in the fifth – the third was a looker – it presented West with one more chance in the top of the sixth.
“Peabody West played their butts off. They had a great game and their pitcher, CJ York, pitched phenomenal,” Paster said.
After Hall struck out the first two batters, he reached the maximum pitch count of 85 in Little League, and in came Jaden Oriakhi with one batter to take care of.
He did just that with a strikeout, and the title belonged to Swampscott.
“We had Jaden warm up the previous inning, so he was ready to go,” Paster said.
Sports are more than a final score, however. Slattery said his team learned “hard work and sportsmanship” this summer.
“You’ve got to hold your heads high. They had a heck of a run,” Slattery said. “This is not an easy tournament. One of my coaches once said, ‘Only one team is going to win their last game. The rest of them don’t.’”
Slattery added he was happy for “class act” Swampscott, and the respect was reciprocated from Paster.
“We didn’t get any easy games in the district. We started with Peabody – a close game, it was here (Salem) – and then we played Lynnfield and Peabody West, then Peabody West again. There were no cakewalks.”
Now, it’s on to sectionals.
“It was a great tournament [with] lots of competition,” Paster said. “I don’t know what the next step is. I don’t think Swampscott has been to sectionals in a while.”
