Great pitching, timely hitting & solid defense sets tone for 11 year-old Little Leaguers
They've put up 32 runs in their first three games while only allowing 8 runs to be scored against them. That's an equation most baseball coaches will take without hesitation. For the Swampscott Little League 11 Year-old All Stars, their recipe for success is simple- be patient at the plate, play good defense & keep opposing hitters guessing. "A tremendous team win, every one of you contributed today" were Manager Joe Caponigro's words to the 13 boys on his team after Sunday's convincing 9-3 win over the Saugus Americans, a team who most area coaches felt were the powerhouse of District 16 and the team to beat in the 11 Year-old division this year.The Swampscott 11's started their three game winning run last Sunday, 6/22 against the West Lynn Americans at Pine Hill. Pitchers Matt McIntire & Robbie Vernava combined for a 1 hitter while the bats made themselves heard- banging out 13 runs for a 13-0 victory. Quinn Perkins, John Caponigro, Michael Hopkins, Angelo Ciciotti, Alex Greenfield, Nate Stern, McIntire & Vernava all drove in runs in the contest.
On Tuesday, 6/24, Swampscott drew a rare home game (most games are played on neutral fields) at DHC Field at Forest Ave. against Lynnfield. The 11's were down 3-1 and again 5-4, but both times came back to tie things up. McIntire was again the starting pitcher and after giving up a 3 run home run in the 1st inning, he essentially shut down the Lynnfield offense for the next 4 innings until he had to leave the game after the 5th inning due to pitch count. With the game tied 5-5 heading into the 6th, the Swampscott 11's exploded for 5 runs to take a 10-5 lead before Vernava took the hill to close out the game for the Little Blue. Caponigro, Greenfield, Perkins & Vernava each had RBI's and the team ran the bases with purpose and guile. Defensive highlights in this game were two catches by RF Danny Dilisio- one on a ball dropping in front of him, but the ESPN highlight clip was a catch of a ball headed to the right-center warning track that Dilisio ran down for a phenomenal over the shoulder catch with men on base. Alex Greenfield snagged a hard hit ball going down the LF line to throw the runner out at 1B for another stellar defensive play.
The victory Tuesday night set the stage for the showdown with Saugus American on Sunday, 6/29 at DHC field in Swampscott (luck of the draw, gave Swampscott a second home game). McIntire again took the hill and along with battery mate Nate Stern, they kept the big bats of Saugus American off balance with an array of off speed pitches and pinpoint precision with fastballs. McIntire stayed composed and in control for the entire contest, throwing a 77 pitch complete game. The Swampscott bats took a while to get started, but tied the game 1-1 in the third inning, when the Saugus American starting pitcher was lifted prior to reaching his pitch limit. This apparently, was all that was needed to ignite the Swampscott bats- who combined for 8 runs in the last 3 innings. Vernava & Caponigro knocked in 3 & 2 runs respectively, with Greenfield, McIntire, Stern & Brendan Sheehan each adding a knock as well.
The Swampscott defensive highlights included a double play by Quinn Perkins who snagged a grounder heading up the middle, stepped on second & fired to first to get the runner. Also noteworthy, was the drum tight work of the Swampscott outfield who each patrolled their area and made the plays when the ball was hit to them- including the game-ending catch by Connor Correnti.
Swampscott's next game is against Salem at Wyoma on Wednesday, 7/2 at 7:30pm. The winner advances to the District 16 Finals. The team encourages Swampscott residents to attend Wednesday night's game in Wyoma to help support the team.
