South Boston Beats Back Brookline Bats in Fourth Matchup

Due to great familiarity between pitchers and batters, one team beating another four consecutive times can prove to be quite difficult.

The Brookline under-12 A-Division Bay State team had the upper hand going into last night's game against South Boston, having bested the Astros all three times the teams have met this summer. But South Boston made it a closer affair each time, learning its opponents' tendencies as Brookline posted winning scores of 23-3, 6-0 and 11-10.

South Boston finally got the better of Brookline and beat the Warriors 6-5 last night at Peters Park in the South End.

Jesse Leung put Brookline on the board with a solo home run in the top of the first inning but the South Boston offense came alive in the bottom of the second. A four-run inning was highlighted by a Shaquille Pena two-run single and gave the Astros a 5-1 lead.

The Warriors stayed patient offensively and started chipping away in the top of the third when Leung's second home run of the night cut the deficit to 5-2. Alex Kibrick hit an RBI double in the top of the fourth and Brookline continued to put runners on in the fifth when they loaded the bases. Brookline tied the score at 5-5 when a South Boston wild pitch bounced off the catcher and went up the third base line bring two runs in.

Kibrick led off the top of the sixth with a single but he ended up as one of the 12 Warrior runners left on base throughout the contest. Pena sparked the bottom of the South Boston sixth inning with a hard-hit single and would later score the winning run on a sacrifice fly.

"Shaquille is the leader of this team and our best hitter," South Boston head coach Noel Torres said. "He is quiet but leads by example."

Despite the loss, Brookline head coach Jim Wulfson remains confident going into the weekend's third-round trophy games and made a point to give South Boston credit.

"They are a great team and pitched and hit really well today," Wulfson said. "Their pitchers can throw heat."

The Warriors will play their third-round medal game at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Donnelly Field in Cambridge. Which team they play among Peabody, Charlestown and Melrose hasn't been decided, but it's clear that Brookline has come a long way since its 0-6 showing in the second round.

"When you think about how down we were in the second round, it would be impressive if we turned around and took our division," Wulfson said.