SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott (6-3) got its bats going early and capitalized on multiple miscues by visiting Lynnfield (4-5), cruising to a 15-6 win Saturday at Frank DeFelice Diamond.
First baseman Dylan DiFilippo (4-for-4, double, 3 R, RBI) led the offense for Swampscott, reaching base in all five of his at-bats. Right fielder James Pasquale (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) led the Pioneers.
“The guys swung the bat well today,” said Swampscott coach Joe Caponigro. “Credit to the hitters. We have to tighten some things up, but we’ll take it. Lynnfield is a great program and (Lynnfield coach John O’Brien) has had our number recently. I think this might be our first win over them since we started playing non-league games the last three or four years, so it was great to finally come out on top.”
O’Brien said the Pioneers are “struggling” in all phases of the game.
“We have too many guys who are hurt and had too many wasted at-bats,” he said. “We outhit them (Big Blue). Again, we didn’t make plays. We walked 10 batters, hit at least two, had three or four wild pitches, and at least four passed balls. It’s a shame. We’re trying to do the best we can to pick up some wins. Hopefully, we’ll start out clean next week.”
Lynnfield starting pitcher James Cassidy needed just two pitches to record the first two outs of the first inning. But the next batter, Swampscott shortstop Caden Ross (1-for-4, 2 R), turned tables, blasting a solo shot over the center-field fence. DiFilippo followed with a single, then Chase Groothuis walked. Both men advanced a base on a passed ball and scored on a double by designated hitter Isaiah Baires (1-for-3, 2 RBI) to make it 3-0.
Lynnfield cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the third on an RBI double by Pasquale and a bases-loaded single by second baseman Michael Hubbard (1-for-3, R).
The Big Blue bumped their lead to 5-2 with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the frame.
“We got back in the game, 3-2, and we made two errors and couldn’t catch a pop up,” O’Brien said.
In the fourth inning, it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the Pioneers. Swampscott sent 13 men to plate, five of whom walked and nine of whom scored to put the game out of reach at 14-2. DiFilippo (RBI double), right fielder Jamison Ford (2-run single), and catcher Michael Collins (RBI double) delivered the key hits for the Big Blue.
Lynnfield cut into the deficit with three runs in the top of the fifth to trail 14-5, courtesy of a couple bases-loaded walks and an infield error, but that was as close as the Pioneers came in this one.
Despite the lopsided win, the game was far from clean for the Big Blue, in the opinion of Caponigro, who lamented the fact that starting pitcher Groothuis (3 ⅓ IP, 7 K, 4 BB, 2 R) had to be lifted with just one out in the fourth inning.
“He did a nice job, but, because we couldn’t get outs, we extended his pitch count, so we had to take him out. He really competes and is a real throwback as a three-sport athlete,” Caponigro said.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Pioneers. A bright spot was the performance of Matt Tracy (2 ⅓ IP, R, H, 3 BB, 2 K), who relieved Cassidy (3 ⅓ IP, 9 R, 4 H, 5 BB) and allowed just one unearned run.
“It’s probably quite a while, I believe, since we lost this many in a row,” O’Brien said. “Matt gutted it out and just threw strikes. He got us to the last inning and that’s all you can ask. The kid played hard. My only concern is we need him to catch. Hopefully, with some rest on his knee, he can get back to that.”
The Pioneers’ next game is Tuesday in Ipswich at 4 p.m.
“Everybody in the (Cape Ann) league is pretty much the same, except for the two or three top teams. Anybody can beat anybody,” O’Brien said. “We just have to play well and find somebody to pitch.”
The Big Blue host Danvers Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
“They’re a good club. It’s a (Northeastern) conference game for us and those are always a battle,” Caponigro said. “We need to prepare and tighten things up. Hopefully, we’ll be able to compete with them. It’s been a good week. We started with a loss and won the next three, but we still have a lot of work we need to do.”
