SALEM — Little League is no stranger to controversy. Anyone who follows it, knows that anything can happen and often does.
The Wyoma and Saugus 12-year-old All-Stars were engaged in a real battle Wednesday night at Forest Park. Both teams needed a win to avoid being eliminated from the District 16 tournament.
Wyoma held what seemed to be a comfortable 4-1 lead going into the top of the sixth inning. Saugus started to make some noise and closed the gap to 4-2, looking for more with Cal Gerardi (1-for-1, R) on second base.
No. 12 hitter Owen Ciampoli (1-for-2) laid down a beautiful bunt. After an errant Wyoma throw — with two outs — Gerardi alertly headed home and beat the throw with a slide.
Unfortunately for Saugus, Gerardi was ruled out due to an illegal headfirst slide, thereby bringing the game to a sudden end.
“That’s too bad. That kid put down a great bunt,” said Wyoma manager Jeff Newhall. “They were putting some pressure on us and we had a little trouble finishing. The bottom of the order started putting the ball in play and we made a couple of mistakes. I thought being in the losers’ bracket and losing the way we did in the first game, it’s good to get a win. We have a young team with only three 12s, so it was good being able to bounce back after losing to a very good West Lynn team.”
Saugus manager John Benoit offered an explanation of the rule.
“You are not allowed to slide head first into a base going forward, but you can slide headfirst if you’re off of a base and going back,” he said. “Little League is backwards. They allow slash bunting so a kid can show a bunt, then pull it back and hit the ball. The guy on third is coming in on the bunt and he could get the ball right in the teeth. But the bottom line is — we had all the opportunities, but didn’t capitalize on them.”
Wyoma jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Liam McMahon (2-for-2, RBI, 2 SB, 2 R) led off with a walk and scored on an infield ground out off the bat of Coleman Myette (1-for-2). Four straight walks made it 2-0 with Nolan Duvert (1-for-2, R) scoring on a walk to Chris Herd. Reliever Jovan Basta (5 1/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, K, 3 BB) ended the threat with a bases-loaded strikeout.
Saugus answered right back in the top of the second. Cadin Arsenault led off with a double. Owen Chesna followed with a grounder down the first-base line that ricocheted off the bag into fair territory, bringing Chesna home.
Wyoma’s Andrew Newhall (1-for-2, R) led off the second with a walk and scored on McMahon’s single.
McMahon led off the fifth with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on an errant throw. Myette cracked a single through the left side to bump Wyoma’s lead to 4-1.
Basta led off the sixth with a single and continued to second on an error. Gerardi was hit and Dylan Barasso moved both runners up a base with an infield ground out. Basta cut the deficit to 4-2 after a throwing error.
Jeff Newhall highlighted the play of second baseman Andrew Newhall, starting pitcher Justin Young (6 IP, 5 H, 6 K, 2 R), and McMahon.
“He’s (Andrew) been steady at second base all year,” Jeff Newhall said. “He’s a good fielder and knows the game pretty well. We tell them whatever way the ball is hit to you, we need an out. He had a very good game at second base tonight.
“Justin is very young and hasn’t even turned 11 yet. He throws the ball really, really well. He was great for us in the regular season. He commanded his fastball really well tonight. And Liam stole two bases for us. He gets on base and steals bases and wreaks havoc for us.”
John Benoit was pleased with the play of Matthew Benoit behind the plate, who started on the mound, and Basta’s effort in relief.
“He’s (Matthew) our best catcher, so we pulled him out after those walks,” John Benoit said, “and our reliever did a nice job. I think he only allowed one earned run.”
Wyoma plays Salem in another must-win game Thursday at Lt. Ross Park Memorial Park in Peabody (5:30 p.m.).
“I really don’t know anything about them,” Jeff Newhall said. “We’re just happy to get another chance to play. I saw a few things today that we can always clean up, but for what it is, we’re happy the way it went tonight.”
John Benoit said while it’s disappointing to be eliminated in just two games, he’s confident there is more baseball to come.
“For the guys who age out, they’ll have Babe Ruth next year and fall ball is right around the corner,” he said. “It will start really quickly, so there will be a bunch of kids who will continue on.”
