By HAROLD RIVERA
PEABODY — The Lynn District 1 14-year-old Babe Ruth team proved it could hit the baseball hard in Thursday’s game against Peabody at Bezemes Diamond. Sometimes, however, hitting the ball hard isn’t enough to win if the opposing defense is making plays.
Behind a complete-game effort from pitcher Alex Gonzalez, Peabody needed just one run to take the win, 1-0, and claim the District 1 Tournament Championship.
“Alex was on from the beginning,” Peabody coach Jarrod Hochman said. “He was hitting spots all game long. He was sensational. He was throwing what he throws but hitting spots with his pitches and challenging batters.”
Add in a terrific effort from Peabody on defense and the winning formula proved to be a success.
“That’s what Alex was told to do,” Hochman said. “Pitch and pound the zone. We have a great defense behind him.”
The lone run of the game was scored in the bottom of the second inning. Matt Bottelo doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third base on a groundout from Chris Faraca. Kyle Maglione hit a high pop-up that spelled trouble for Lynn, allowing Bottelo to race home from third for the 1-0 Peabody lead.
From there, both pitchers settled in.
Peabody’s Gonzalez tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit and tallying four strikeouts.
Lynn’s Luke Mannion also turned in a stellar effort on the mound. In six innings of work, Mannion allowed three hits and fanned four Peabody batters.
“From the very first pitch of the game, Luke was pounding the strike zone,” Lynn coach Dave Galeazzi said. “He was just in total control. Gonzalez from Peabody was equal to him. It was an unbelievable baseball game from 14-year-old kids. You don’t see too many 1-0 games.”
Although Lynn was kept off the scoreboard, the bats were putting the ball in play for the majority of the game.
In the top of the third inning, a Peabody error, it’s only one of the evening, allowed Andrew Luciano to reach second base with two outs. Gonzalez forced a groundout to second baseman Maglione to escape the jam.
“The back half of the game, we were just hitting rifle shots,” Galeazzi said. “Peabody was just making the plays and we have to give them credit. We had too many flyouts and, especially with the wind, we had to keep the ball on the ground. That was my only criticism. It was an unbelievable baseball game.”
A two-out double off Mannion’s bat in the fourth inning gave Lynn another chance to tie the game. Again, Maglione supported Gonzalez with a nice play at second base to end the jam.
“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Hochman said. “We play good defense. That’s what this team’s about, pitching and defense.”
Gonzalez forced Lynn to go down in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to seal the win for Peabody.
“We expected this to be a 1-0, 2-1 game,” Hochman said. “We know Mannion’s a good pitcher, we know Lynn’s a well-coached team that plays good defense and puts the bat on the ball. We expected a close game.”
Despite the loss, Lynn’s Galeazzi was proud of his team’s effort.
“We told them that there was nothing to hang their heads about,” Galeazzi said. “It was just an incredibly played game. We’ll face them again in the state tournament. The last four times, we’ve played them were all one-run games. We won two, they won two. You can’t get any more consistent than that.”