The Winners? Anyone at Benevento Thursday for Little League Championships

The stars were out in North Reading Thursday, but between Jared Lucido, Mark Lissner, Sean Verrier, and even the world's most impressive portable toilets, it was hard to tell who or what claimed top honor.

For the record, Holden edged the Milton Nationals, 3-1, and Gloucester beat Melrose, 10-5, in the start of the Massachusetts State Little League Championships at Benevento Park in North Reading. There were long home runs and slick defensive plays, all of which could be repeated Friday when the four teams play again starting at 4 p.m.

A former star threw out the first pitch during the opening ceremonies between games.

"Lots of hot summers because it was in Florida and a lot of traveling," recalled retired Red Sox great Tim Wakefield of his start playing Little League ball in Melbourne. "It taught me a lot of life lessons along the way. It's exciting for all four teams that have made it this far. It's all about having fun and learning life lessons through baseball.

The third-winningest pitcher in Red Sox history wasn't floating knuckleballs in those days.

"I pitched and played short and wherever else I could play. Little League had teams up to 18 years old so I played that all the way until I got to college."

Any memories of long home runs?

"I remember my first one for sure," said Wakefield, whose first pitch Thursday was a perfect strike to 12-year-old Nick Doucette of North Reading.

Jared Lucido and Sean Verrier will remember their home runs too.

In Holden's win, Verrier hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to give his team a 3-0 lead. If the name sounds familiar to Little League fans, it should. Verrier hit a walk-off three-run homer in Holden's win over Leominster in the District 4 final last weekend. In that win, he knocked in five runs and also threw a four-hitter, striking out 10. Baseball runs in his family. His brother, Matt, was part of Holden's 2014 and 2015 teams that lost in the state final and will be a freshman at Wachusett Regional this fall.

As for Lucido, the Gloucester star may have been the most impressive player at Benevento. He hit ... make that crushed ... two long home runs and in Gloucester's five-run seventh-inning rally he reached on an error, then scored from first on Zach Morris' double. In the seventh, his speed was the difference on both plays. No one ran as fast as Lucido Thursday.

Little League baseball is the same as the baseball you see at Fenway, but maybe better. On a field that is 200 feet down the line (the Green Monster is 310 feet from home plate), pace of play was not an issue. Pitchers were taking between 10-15 seconds between throws, a pace that would cut in half the time of an average Red Sox game. Hitters remained in the box, and even the ones wearing batting gloves didn't take a minute to adjust them after every pitch.

But Mark Lissner will tell you it's not really the same game. Woburn's Lissner was the official scorer for both games and scoring a Little League game is the equivalent of earning a graduate degree from MIT. The game at Fenway ... that's kindergarten-level stuff. When Red Sox pitchers are removed from the game they actually leave the field. In Little League, removing a pitcher can start a chain reaction with, for example, the pitcher going to third, the third baseman moving to short, and the shortstop taking over on the mound.

Many times the pitcher will be removed, even though he's doing well. That's because of Little League rules regarding pitch count. If a pitcher throws less that 20 pitches, he can come back the next day. If 21-35 pitches, he's required to take the next day off, more than 35 means two days off, and any pitcher who threw more than 51 pitches last night can't throw again in the tournament. With games Friday, Saturday, and potentially Sunday's final, counting pitches became the game-within-a-game for both Lisner and the coaching staffs.

Lissner kept track of it all, even making sure each team used all its players, another Little League rule. Imagine what his scorebook looked like after each game. And for the record, when he takes in a game at Fenway, he says he doesn't keep score. Can't blame him.

About the only complaint anyone from Gloucester could have was the absence of lobster rolls at the concession stand. But if fans wanted pizza, chicken fingers, or a cheeseburger, it was all available for $4.50. There was a Hood ice cream truck as well, positioned next to a Massachusetts Health Connector table with free sunglasses. But with occasional rain and drizzle, the demand for sunglasses wasn't great.

There was another star who performed on the mound, although not a pitch was thrown. Beverly High junior Kayli Kotchian sang the national anthem, clearly not the first time she's performed on a North Shore baseball field. Her perfect rendition was appreciated by her uncle Mark, who was one of the umpires in the late game. Also umpiring in that last game was Ricci Hall, who was recognized during the opening ceremonies for being selected to work the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., next month.

Wally The Green Monster was at Benevento, along with the three Red Sox World Series trophies. And Representative Brad Jones was present, not to shake hands or do anything political, but rather to watch games on the same field he played on growing up. The North Reading resident coaches at Benevento and as he wrote in the program, he's "the proud father of a Little League player." And even the press box had a star, with former Harvard SID and North Reading's own, John Veneziano, organizing the opening night chaos.

By now, you're wondering about those toilets aren't you? The best way to describe them is that even my wife would be impressed by their cleanliness and appearance, but since you don't know her I'll continue. They had hardwood laminate floors, and unlike your last airplane flight, room to move around. Still wondering? Consider this. A group of five curious young boys opened one of the doors and looked inside. One screamed, "holy crap, that's nice." Couldn't have said it any better.

Play resumes today at 4 p.m. with Milton facing Melrose followed at 7 by Holden playing Gloucester. I'm not sure about the weather, but I can guarantee you there will be plenty of stars.

Photos by Bob Holmes