ANDOVER — There’s no quit in the Little League all-stars from Boxford.
Late Wednesday night in their first game at the Section 4 tournament at Andover’s Deyermond Field, Boxford rallied to tie Billerica at 1-1 in the fifth inning. The teams remained deadlocked and headed to extra innings when The Salem News hit its print deadline after late afternoon rains delayed the start of the first contest.
The District 15 champs fell behind by a run in the early going but got even in the fifth. Ben LaChance walked, moved along on a Rhett Barnes single and then came home on a steal when Billerica threw down to second to try and catch a runner stealing that bag.
Jake DeLeo got the start for Boxford and struck out three while allowing the one run over three innings of work.
The Section 4 tourney is following a double-elimination format, so Boxford will play at either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. on Thursday depending on the results of the opening game. Lynnfield defeated Stoneham 2-0 in the first game, so the Boxford/Billerica loser will play an elimination game against Stoneham while the winner sees unbeaten Lynnfield for a chance to advance to the sectional final (slated for Saturday).
Visit SalemNews.com for the final score and a full story on Wednesday’s battle.