BEVERLY — A heartbreaking loss on Saturday did not deter the Boxford Little League Williamsport all-star team from its dream of capturing the District 15 championship.
Taking advantage of some Gloucester miscues in the field, Boxford came right back Sunday to prevail in a must-win game, 5-1, at Harry Ball Field.
Henry Carrieri pitched the first three innings, then swapped places with catcher Harry Stevens over the final three frames. Together they limited Gloucester to just four hits and two walks while striking out four batters.
Their teammates managed just three hits of their own, but were disciplined enough to draw eight walks as Boxford ultimately sent 34 hitters to the plate.
“I’ll continue to say that pitching and defense is the way to win baseball games,” said Boxford manager Paul DeLeo, whose team had been shaded by rival Middleton, 1-0, in extra innings Saturday.
Boxford, which has allowed just two runs in 12 innings of this double-elimination format, must win once more to get a chance to play for the District 15 title. They’ll be back at Harry Ball Field Tuesday (6 p.m.) to take on Danvers National in the loser’s bracket final; the victor must then knock off unbeaten Middleton twice to capture the pennant.
Gloucester, which was knocked out of the District 15 bracket with the loss, was also trying to rebound from an agonizing loss on Saturday after allowing a 2-out, 2-strike grand slam against Danvers in the final inning. But they couldn’t seen to find their stride on this 90-degree day.
“We knew it’d be tough to come back from (Saturday’s loss), but we had our big arm going in Colton (Currier) and he was great,” manager Brendan Fullerton said.
“Defense tends to win these things, and unfortunately we had a few miscues that led to some runs against … plus, our bats went ice cold. Hitting had been one of our strengths this whole tournament, but when we had some favorable counts like 1-and-0 and 2-and-0, we didn’t put good swings on those.”
Four of Boxford’s five runs came via unconventional methods: Hudson Maher scored from third base and Bennett Taeger motored all the way home from second on the same dropped third strike with two outs in the top of the second inning. Two more runs were plated in the fifth when a wild pitch brought Brendan Foley plateward, and Jake DeLeo scored after Maher was hit with a pitch with the bases were loaded.
Its other run came the third after Henry Pracht reached on a fielder’s choice, took second on a wild pitch and scored when Michael O’Hara laced a single to right. Gloucester’s Massimo Numerosi, a 9-year-old with a big arm, came up firing and his throw appeared to beat Pracht, but the ball was dropped at home plate.
“The boys know when to pounce when given the chance, like on that dropped third strike,” stated DeLeo. “Experience helps, too; this same group has been together for a few years now; a few of the boys I’ve had for the last 3-4 years. They know what the expectations are.”
Drew Aiello’s RBI single to right field scored Numerosi (who had walked) with two outs in the sixth for Gloucester to prevent the shutout.
Both teams turned 4-6-3 double plays Sunday, with Aiello, Braydon Simon and Jack Brancaleone turning the trick for Gloucester to end the top of the first. Boxford responded with one of its own in the third as Taeger, Jake DeLeo and O’Hara made it happen.
“We emphasize defense a lot,” said coach DeLeo, whose team played error-free baseball. “The kids love to hit at practice, but we do a lot more with defense and situational stuff. We try to come prepared so that when situations arise, we’re prepared for them.”
With his top three arms unable to pitch Tuesday because of pitch counts and required rest, DeLeo said he’d have his 4th, 5th and 6th hurlers ready to go against Danvers National, figuring either Maher or Pracht would get the start.
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