U12 Magicians Survive Late Inning Scare

With the tying run at the plate and no outs recorded in the bottom of the final inning, Marblehead pitcher Kaylyn Countie struck out three straight batters to secure a victory for the Magicians Tuesday night in Swampscott against the Blue Ice.

The first inning was marked by missed opportunities defensively for both teams, as Marblehead benefited from multiple Blue Ice wild throws, and Swampscott answered with a run of their own after a Marblehead fielding error and wild pitch.

With the score 2-1 in favor of the Magicians, both teams played a stellar second inning, highlighted by Marblehead starting pitcher Sarah Cuffe striking out the side to pick up three of her six strikeouts on the night.

The Magicians sent eight batters to the plate in the third, adding two runs to their total with a bases-clearing double off the bat of slugger Alexa Brown. Brown, who hit a pair of home runs in the Magicians previous game, finished Tuesday's game 3-4 with four RBI.

Refusing to surrender to the Magicians high-octane offense, the Blue Ice responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, fueled by a leadoff single from Veronica Rizzo and bunt single by Kasey Kennedy, who would score on a single by Gabby Lariviere. A two-out double by Annie Norton knotted the score at 4-4.

The fourth inning saw the Magicians explode for five runs, taking a 9-4 lead that they would not concede.

The turning point of both the inning and the game came with one mighty swing by fill-in player Heather Purchase, who took Rizzo's pitch to deep center for an inside-the-park grand slam. After the hit, Manager George Shapiro praised the play of Purchase saying,"She was an outstanding catcher for the Orioles this year [in town ball] and she can really play."

The Blue Ice again rallied in the home half of the fifth, stringing together four singles and a walk to record three runs and close the Marblehead lead to 9-7.

After the two leadoff hitters of the sixth inning were retired, Lindsey Rae, Julia Stockwell and Alexa Brown rattled off consecutive hits to score two valuable insurance runs for the Magicians and put their run total for the night at 11.

As night descended upon the fields at Swampscott Middle School and the league's time restriction rules became a factor, the sixth inning was declared the final. Down to their last three outs, Swampscott pieced together three singles to open the home half of the frame, scoring one run and putting the tying run at the plate with runners in scoring position on a Marblehead wild pitch.

Manager Shapiro then made his only pitching change of the contest, bringing in Countie to seal the win. Showcasing her impressive pitch velocity and location, Countie retired three straight Blue Ice batters by way of the "K."

After the game, Swampscott manager Monica Mosho was pleased with her team's effort. "We played very well and the team refused to give up," she said, citing multiple rallies by the Blue Ice.

With the win, the Magicians improve to 10-1-1, and keep their playoff hopes alive. "We need to win the rest of our games to be in the playoffs," said Shaprio, "but we control our own destiny and they are all very winnable games."