Back to back come from behind victories over the weekend propel 10's into District 16 Semi-Finals !!
And then there were three. After consecutive come from behind wins against Nahant & Salem respectively, the Swampscott Little League 10 year-old All Stars find themselves one game away from the District 16 finals.Swampscott 8, Nahant 4
Starting pitcher Matthew McIntire set the tone for Swampscott on Saturday against Nahant, walking no batters through 4+ innings, but found his team down 2-0 at the end of the second. The Swampscott bats finally got on track and tied the game in the third, leading the offensive charge for the Light Blue was Alex Greenfield with three hits & Robbie Vernava with two hits. Both players each scored twice. Quinn Perkins & Brendan Sheehan each had a hit and one run scored.
Nahant pulled ahead 3-2, but the threat was halted by a double play when Shortstop Nate Stern snagged a line drive and doubled up the runner at first who was off on contact. In the next inning, a major league, sky high fly to centerfield was caught by Michael Hopkins to also quell another Nahant threat. Swampscott then chased Nahant starter, Own McGuire from the game in the fourth, then patiently took their walks, had some timely hits & advanced on some passed balls to reach their eight run total. Nahant tallied one final run and Nate Stern was eventually called in to close the game in 20 pitches- keeping him eligible to pitch on Sunday.
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Swampscott 8, Salem 2
15 hours after the completion of the Saturday game, the Swampscott 10's were back at it in Winthrop against Salem. Again, Swampscott staked their opponent a 2-0 lead which held through three innings, even though the Light blue managed to load the bases in all three of the first three innings with nothing to show for it.
Swampscott starter Nate Stern settled down after a shaky start, striking out 4 Salem batters in 5+ innings. Stern also defended his position well with two nice defensive plays. Joining in on the defense was Aiden Hawkins, Matthew McIntire & Alex Greenfield who all made key plays. Outfielders Tyler Marshall and Michael Hopkins also made great catches to help stymie any Salem attack after the second inning.
Swampscott put up 3 runs in the 4th and 5 runs in the 5th lead by the bat of Robbie Vernava (3 hits, 3 RBI's, 2 runs), Quinn Perkins, Nate Stern & Matthew McIntire (2 hits each), Alex Greenfield (1 hit, 2 runs scored) and Michael Hopkins who hit a double to the warning track in right center, setting the table for stern in the fourth who tied the game at 2 with a double himself. Aiden Hawkins also has a nice hit in the 5 run 5th.
Swampscott got to the Salem starter and pounced on two relievers for 5 runs in the 5th. Stern was lifted with two outs in the bottom of the 6th due to pitch count & Vernava was brought in to close the door.
Swampscott plays Peabody Blue (weather permitting) on Monday, July 1st at Newhall field in Lynnfield at 7:30pm. All Swampscott residents are encouraged to come cheer on the Swampscott 10's.
