Despite a lopsided setback to a talented Hamilton-Wenham squad on Monday evening, the Manchester Essex Williamsport Little League all-star team remains alive in District 15 pool play.
Suffering their first loss of the summer season to those aforementioned Generals with a 14-0 decision, Manchester now sits at 2-1 overall with one game remaining: a pivotal clash against pool-leader Boxford (3-0) on Wednesday evening at 5:30.
“Just an off night (but) they should bounce back Wednesday,” said a confident Stephen Vasadi, former president of the Manchester Essex all-star team and a current assistant.
“We couldn’t hit or field, came out flat,” he continued. “Hamilton-Wenham is really good; they beat us good.”
Manchester was no-hit in the setback, falling via the mercy rule in four innings. Generals’ pitchers Will Thompson and Griffin Maidment were on their game, while their offense was led by Hayden Potter and Graeme Watson (2 hits apiece).
For Manchester, pitcher John Vasadi will still be available for Wednesday’s game should he be called upon, as he only threw 35 pitches in Monday’s loss.
Even with the loss, Manchester still has a chance to move on to Round 2 of District 15 competition. The top two teams in each of the two pools advance to Round 2, which begins on Friday.
As it stands, Boxford is the top squad in Pool 1, having dominated the competition thus far with convincing victories over Middleton, Amesbury and Hamilton-Wenham. Both Manchester — which beat Amesbury, 11-5, and Middleton, 2-1, in its first two games — and Hamilton-Wenham are tied for second with 2-1 records.
Amesbury (0-4) has already been eliminated, while Middleton (1-2) takes on Hamilton-Wenham on Wednesday in Gloucester.
With just one day of pool play remaining, it’s still a four-team battle for two spots. A lot can change in the standings after Wednesday’s games wrap up, and it could very well come down to multiple tiebreakers.
In Pool 2, meanwhile, first-place Gloucester (3-0) controls its own destiny. In fact, the Fishermen are a virtual lock to advance, barring an unforeseen tiebreak that comes into play.
Gloucester has secured narrow wins over Danvers American and Danvers National while trouncing Ipswich, 8-2. Manager Mark Ventimiglia’s team will take on Beverly (2-1) on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. with a chance to go into the second round undefeated.
Even if Beverly beats Gloucester, and Danvers American (2-1) beats Ipswich (1-2), Gloucester should remain ahead of Danvers American in the standings thanks to their win in the head-to-head matchup.
In any case, Wednesday’s showdowns across the board should provide some thrilling baseball for Little League fans. The District 15 tournament will then officially shift to Beverly’s Harry Ball Field on Friday, with Pool 1’s first place team taking on Pool 2’s second place team at 5:30 p.m., followed by Pool 2’s first place team against Pool 1’s second place team at 7:30.
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.