LYNN — Swampscott’s baseball team trailed by two runs in the fourth inning and conceded the game’s final two runs in the seventh. But, hey, that’s what middle innings are for.
The Big Blue (9-10) plated two runs in the fourth, five in the fifth, and three in the sixth en route to a 10-4 win against Lynn English (10-9) in Friday’s Game 1 of the Doug Mullins Memorial Baseball Tournament.
“We started slow . . . Jami (Ford) had some trouble with his control, but he gutted it out,” said Swampscott Coach Joe Caponigro, whose batters helped the cause with 11 hits and 10 walks. “He saved us from going to the bullpen. He’s a gamer and I’m proud of him.”
Ford (7 IP) allowed seven hits, four runs, and just two walks to go with eight strikeouts.
But with raindrops pouring down on the Fraser Field turf, Swampscott’s bats heated things up.
The Big Blue – who scored all 10 runs across a three-inning stretch – received contributions from Adam Sparacio, Dylan DiFilippo, Ford, and Cooper Correnti, all of whom roped two hits apiece. Caden Ross collected three RBI to lead Swampscott.
“I’m proud of the way the guys came through in the clutch,” Caponigro said. “We got some key hits at the right time and played pretty solid defensively as well.”
But it wasn’t all bad for English – not by a long shot. The Bulldogs jumped ahead, 2-0, after base hits from Elian Peña and Guilmer Galva in the fourth inning.
Fast forward to the seventh. Jariel Benzan plated Galva with a triple, but it was too little, too late.
“Just like I’ve been telling the guys: You’ve got to be able to stay focused the whole entire game,” said English Coach Esteban Paula, whose Bulldogs are state tournament-bound with 10 wins. “It’s not about the first three innings. You’ve got to be able to finish the game and that’s something we’ve been struggling with.”
Galva (4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 BB, 6 K) got the start on the bump. Gilbert Galva chipped in an RBI.
“The whole team – they were putting the ball in play,” Paula said. “I understand every single team goes through adversity, but playing nine games in 12 days takes a lot of adjustments we have to make.”
Lynn Classical takes on St. Mary’s in Game 2 at 11 a.m. Saturday. The winner will take on Swampscott at 2 p.m. in the championship game.
“This is the fourth year (of the tournament) and first time we’ve won a first-round game, so we’re in the finals,” Caponigro said. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow and we’ll be here at 2 p.m. ready to play.”
The tournament honors former English Coach Doug Mullins, who, in October of 2020, sadly lost a courageous battle to osteosarcoma at age 34.
“Great kid and certainly a life taken way too soon,” Caponigro said. “He was just a wonderful young man.”
