Brookline Shows Off Offensive, Pitching Power in Shutout Win Over Reading

The Brookline boys U16 Lou Tompkins All-Star baseball team rebounded after a discouraging loss on Saturday to overpower Reading 18-0 Tuesday evening, July 20, at Warren Field. The game was called after Brookline tacked on eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"We played an ugly game on Saturday," explained Coach John Bucci. "It's good to get back on track after a bad loss right away, not allowing it to become a slump."

Much of Brookline's success Tuesday night was due to the superb pitching performance of Campbell Narron. The lanky Narron threw fastballs all evening, not allowing Reading to get any offensive opportunities. Narron had two straight 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth, either retiring the batters on strikes or only allowing them soft hits straight to the infielders.

Narron's success wasn't kept strictly to the pitcher's mound. His offense also powered in two runs for Brookline after hitting a roller to center field that maneuvered out of the arm length of any Reading outfielder in the fifth inning.

Reliever Scott Cordner also had an excellent game. Cordner came in to relieve Narron in the sixth inning, also retiring three straight batters to make for a lightening-quick inning. Offensively, he was tagged out after a close call while trying to steal third base in the fourth inning. Cordner scored off a Kevin Chen hack to right field to begin the overrun of scoring in the seventh inning.

Bucci was singing his pitching staff's praises after the game. "Campbell is a terrific pitcher. We have a great pitching staff, and that has allowed our game strategy to be having our starting pitching hold off the other team until our offense gets warmed up."

Unlike their 11-2 loss to Acton-Boxboro on Saturday, Brookline's offense got warmed up quickly, leading 3-0 after three innings. In the fifth, the game really opened up for Brookline when Reading's third baseman missed a catch at third after a hit by Alex Moses-Gardner, allowing both Hikari Mamata and Aidan Connolly to score, making it 6-0 Brookline. After that, the team never looked back, repeatedly loading the bases and scoring runs for the next three innings on tons of walks and high hits to center field.

Both Connolly and Moses-Gardner had multiple hit games, including a blast deep into center field by Moses-Gardner in the third that was mere inches from being a home run.

Next up for 10-2 Brookline on Thursday, July 22, is another offensively laden team, 9-3 Lexington. "

Lexington is a good team, one of the top teams in this league," Bucci said. "They play good defense. But I like the team we have going into Thursday."