The 10A all-stars (comprised of 9- and 10-year-old players) of the Swansea Independent Baseball League ripped off five successive victories last weekend to capture the championship of its age division in the Mashpee “Battle of the Beach” sponsored by Mashpee Youth Baseball.
Combining solid pitching with sound defensive play and timely hitting, the SIBL stars defeated the Rhode Island Red Sox (8-1), Mashpee (15-2) and Barnstable (10-1) in the pool-play phase of the tournament and followed up with victories against Barnstable (17-6) and Rhode Island (10-1) in the title round in their first outings of the summer.
Swansea’s roster in Mashpee included Brandon Medeiros, Colby Campos, Devyn Vezina, Devin Machado, Connor Carey, Evan Thro, Josh Ferreira, Alec Janicki, Luke Escobar, Brandyn Durand, Jared Rapoza, Manager Blake Campos and coaches Ernie Rapoza, Mike Durand, Jason Machado and Pete Ferreira. Team member Nolan Potter was unable to attend.
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In Sunday’s finales against Barnstable and Rhode Island, the SIBL stars played minus the services of Medeiros and Thro, who were both sidelined with illnesses. In the semifinal contest against Barnstable, Swansea rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to win going away as Durand and Vezina both slammed home runs, Vezina hit for the cycle and Durand came out of the bullpen to limit Barnstable to two runs over the final four frames and to notch three strikeouts.
Carey and Escobar both collected three hits for the winners, while Machado and Rapoza contributed two hits apiece and Durand drove in four runs.
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Against Rhode Island in the championship clash, Ferreira erased a 1-0 deficit in the third chapter with a monstrous grand slam homer and the victors were never headed. Campos ripped four hits and knocked in two runs to pace the SIBL attack, while Machado and Janicki both finished with two hits.
Campos and Ferreira shared the mound duties for Swansea and recorded three strikeouts.
In its first win over Barnstable, the SIBL combine snapped a scoreless duel after one inning by pushing across three runs in the second stanza and coasted the rest of the way. Medeiros, Machado, Escobar, Thro and Durand all registered two hits for the winners, while pitchers Campos, Vezina, Machado and Durand picked up a total of seven strikeouts.
Opposite Mashpee, the SIBL stars erased a 2-0 deficit with a five-run uprising in the bottom of the first chapter and pulled away. Medeiros smashed three hits to spark the victors, while Campos, Machado and Escobar all ended with two hits and Durand and Ferreira both drove in three runs. Pitchers Thro and Ferreira combined to whiff five batters.
In its opening-round triumph over Rhode Island, Swansea scored in all five of its offensive innings, breaking it open early with a three-run uprising in the second frame. Medeiros, Campos, Vezina and Durand all collected two hits for the winners, while Durand also drove in two runs, one more than Medeiros, Ferreira, Janicki and Rapoza. SIBL pitchers Campos, Vezina, Ferreira and Machado combined to yield just three hits and struck out nine batters.
Swansea will return to tournament action July 11 through 14 in Attleboro.
SIBL 9 Bows in Tourney Final
After copping four straight victories, the SIBL 9 all-stars (composed of 8- and 9-year old players) settled for a second-place finish in its age division of the Mashpee “Battle of the Beach” when they bowed to Lincoln, R.I., 12-2, in the championship game.
Lincoln scored in every inning in the final clash, limiting Swansea to just five hits. Cam Nadeau (two hits) and Riley Machado both drilled run-scoring singles for the SIBL club in the fifth frame, while Ethan McElroy and Connor Latessa also collected safeties. McElroy and Riley Tabicas split the pitching duties for Swansea.
Other team members participating in Mashpee were Tyler Cabral, Ryan Lopes, Aidan Branco, Jacob Aubin, Aidan Fyfe, Drew Crook and Lucas McElroy. Andy Fyfe is the team manager and is helped by coaches Scott McElroy, Tim Cabral and Mike Tabicas.
En route to the title round, the SIBL contingent had disposed of Fall River American (15-0), Barnstable (12-0) and North Attleboro Firebirds (11-1) in pool play and Fall River American (17-2) in a semifinal-round encounter.
In their first win over Fall River, the Swansea stars did all their scoring in the first three frames as Cabral and McElroy slashed three hits apiece and Lucas McElroy, Machado and Crook all contributed two hits. Pitchers Tabicas and Cabral totaled five strikeouts.
Against Barnstable, the SIBL team used a nine-run explosion in the second stanza to settle the issue. Cabral, Nadeau and Crook all collected two hits for the winners while pitchers Lucas McElroy and Aubin fanned five batters.
Opposite North Attleboro, Swansea used a five-run eruption in the third chapter to claim its third win. Crook paced a balanced SIBL attack with two hits, while pitchers Aubin and Cabral teamed up to strike out six batters.
In its semifinal-round triumph over Fall River, the SIBL entry pushed across 14 runs in the first two innings to put the contest out of reach. Cabral topped the victors with three hits, while Lucas McElroy, Lopes and Crook all added two hits apiece. Pitchers Cabral and Lucas McElroy collaborated for seven strikeouts.
