The 10A all-stars of the Swansea Independent Baseball League scored in bunches early and late Thursday night en route to a 14-7 victory over Belmont, N.Y., in the opening game of the 2013 North Region Tournament of PONY Baseball held at the Nike Site Playing Complex in Swansea.
         Nine-year-old Brandyn Durand slammed a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and received plenty of offensive help from teammates Brandon Medeiros, Colby Campos, Devyn Vezina, Josh Ferreira, Nolan Potter, Devin Machado and Connor Carey as the SIBL club advanced to the winners’ bracket final of the five-team, double-elimination tournament. Swansea will next play Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against either Dom Aitro of New Haven, Conn.; Bonnie Rangers of Brooklyn, N.Y.; or Tri-City Bombers of Troy, N.Y.
         On Thursday night, Durand’s circuit blast helped the SIBL club zoom to an 8-1 lead in the second frame, but Belmont battled back and narrowed the gap to 9-7 after five chapters. Swansea, however, broke it open with a five-run outburst in the top of the sixth stanza.
Find out what's happening in Seekonk-Swanseafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
         Campos, Medeiros and Potter shared the pitching duties for the winners, while Carey, Potter and Campos made sparkling defensive plays.
         Tournament play continues Friday when Dom Aitro takes on the Bonnies at 2 p.m., and the loser of that game faces Belmont at 5 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the winner of the 2 p.m. contest will challenge Tri-City.
Find out what's happening in Seekonk-Swanseafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
         Games are scheduled Saturday at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the tourney concludes Sunday with either one or two contests starting at 9 a.m. The Region Tournament champion will earn a berth in next week’s East Zone Tournament to be played in Chesterfield, Virg.
         Admission to all tournament games at the Nike Site Playing Complex is free and open to the public.
