Sports
Peabody West Knocks Out Swamspcott in District 16 Playoffs [VIDEO]
Peabody West raced out to an 8-0 lead and handed an 11-5 loss on Swampscott in the 12-year-old District 16 Little League baseball tournament Sunday night.
The 12-year-old Peabody West Little League baseball All-Stars raced in front to an 8-0 lead early in the game Sunday at Chris Spagnoli Field, and Swampscott was never able to crawl out of that hole, falling 11-5 and ending the season with the team getting its second loss in the tournament.
Peabody West will be back in action Monday night against East Lynn game at 5:45 on Hurd Avenue in Saugus, the home of Saugus American Little League.
Peabody (4-1) raced out to an 8-0 lead in the first two innings, but Swampscott’s Jack Moretti hit a two-run shot to cut the deficit to 8-2, heading into the third inning.
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Swampscott’s Mike Johnson made the score 8-5 in the bottom of the third with a two-run double, but that was as close as Swampscott would get. Peabody West improved to 4-1 in the tournament with Sunday’s victory at the home of Pine Hill Little League.
“This is a great group of kids,” Swampscott manager Lou Olivieri said. “We’ve got some more baseball to play this summer, and if this group stays together, they'll have some success on the field when they get to Swampscott High School.”
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Zach Crawford and Christian Kukas homered for Peabody West to get things rolling Sunday. Connor Corrigan got the win on the mound; lefty Ryan Donnelly took the loss for Swampscott.
“It was nice to get out to that early lead,” Peabody West manager Ed Aiello said after the game. “I think this team can go all the way if we keep hitting well and playing smart baseball, I’m very excited about our chances going forward in the tournament.”
Swampscott defeated Nahant and in the tournament, and lost to and Peabody West.
Peabody West beat , , Swampscott and Peabody National, its one loss coming against . If the Peabody West boys continue their streak and sail past East Lynn then Peabody American, they’ll get another shot at Wyoma for the final match-up.
“I'm very confident that whichever pitcher we put out there, and we've been using a lot of guys, we will be successful,” Aiello said. “The kids are playing good baseball at just the right time.”
