By Scot Cooper
SALEM — After losing its Gallant Tournament opener on Saturday, Lynn trailed Salem, 2-0, in the seventh inning of Sunday morning’s losers bracket game.
It took 11 innings, but Lynn rallied to stay alive in the tournament with a dramatic 3-2 win.
The team rode that momentum into the nightcap of a doubleheader, topping Marblehead, 8-0, in a game that was called after five innings due to lightning.
Lynn will take on Danvers Monday night for a chance to advance to the Gallant Tournament final.
Beverly handed Lynn its only loss of the tournament Saturday, 3-2. Lynn wasted an amazing turn on the mound by Aiven Cabral, as the righty whiffed 14 Beverly hitters, and didn’t walk anyone through seven innings of work.
“We thought that we gave this one away, really,” said Lynn manager Jeff Earp. “Beverly’s one of the best Little League teams in the state, and we let them off the hook. We made some mistakes in the field and gave the game away, we didn’t take advantage of a great pitching job by Aiven.”
Lynn only managed one hit — a double by shortstop Christian Moran — before they finally broke through against Beverly pitcher Brennan Frost in the bottom of the fourth.
Leadoff hitter Anthony Marino got things started for Lynn with a double. Tyler Wilson reached on an error and put two baserunners on for Cabral with no outs. Cabral delivered a hit that drove in Marino, but Wilson was tagged out at third on a grounder by Moran, leaving runners at first and second.
Cabral’s speed put his team up, 2-1, taking third and then steaming home on a passed ball.
Lynn’s lead didn’t last very long, though. Beverly pulled ahead with two runs in the top of the sixth. Dom Santos, the third Beverly relief pitcher, retired the last six Lynn batters to pick up the win.
Lynn bounced back Sunday morning in a come-from-behind win.
Lynn couldn’t do much of anything against Salem’s Zach Smith for the first six innings, and trailed, 2-0, before finally getting its offense on track in the top of the seventh.
Smith cruised until the seventh, fanning nine with just one walk. In the seventh, Lynn’s Gordo Duverge and Cabral singled. Smith whiffed Moran, but gave up a two-run single to Aaron O’Connor.
Moran came on in relief of Anthony Mateo in the sixth inning, and kept Salem in check until Lynn pulled ahead in the top of the eleventh.
Lynn’s Nick Valentin led off the eleventh with a walk. Marino followed with a single.
Cabral forced Valentin at third, but Moran delivered a single to left, driving Marino in, and Lynn found itself leading for the first time in the game.
Moran breezed through the bottom of the eleventh, closing with two strikeouts to end the game.
“In my 30-plus years involved in this tournament, this was definitely one of the most intense games I’ve seen in this tournament, let alone played in,” said Salem manager Sean O’Keefe.
But Lynn’s work wasn’t done. Marblehead topped Peabody, 11-5, the following game, which set up a primetime showdown between Lynn and Marblehead in the day’s final game.
The Marblehead bats were hot after managing just two hits in a loss to Danvers on Saturday. Marblehead eliminated Peabody, which dropped both of its games in the tournament.
Schuyler Schmitt drove in eight runs for Marblehead against Peabody, cranking a grand slam, a two-run home run and a two-run double.
Against Lynn, though, the Marblehead bats were quieter.
Mateo, who got the nod on the mound for Lynn, emerged unscathed after the first inning after left fielder Ryan Fraher gunned down Enrique Quinonez at the plate for the third out. That was as close as Marblehead would come to scoring Sunday night.
The fireworks started for Lynn in the bottom of the first when Marino and Duverge singled off Marblehead starter Aidan Jalbert. Cabral doubled to bring home Marino, while Moran followed with a three-run home run that ended Jalbert’s outing.
James Doody took over on the bump for Marblehead.
The next batter, O’Connor, increased Lynn’s lead to 5-0 after solo a home run.
Earp said it was great to come out fast in the second game of a long day of baseball.
“They finally put it all together, they did a great job putting the bat on the ball, we finally started hitting,” he said. “This team was not happy about losing to Beverly yesterday, now we’re one game away from another shot at Beverly, which is what
this team really wants.”