ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Swampscott-Marblehead shortstop Adrian Espinal catches Lynn’s Jackson Allard in a rundown, tagging him out for the final out of the game on a controversial play.
By MIKE ALONGI
LYNN — Behind a dominant pitching performance from Chris Murphy, the Swampscott-Marblehead Post 57 American Legion baseball team defeated Lynn Post 6, 4-2, in a District 8 playoff game at Edmunds Field on Tuesday afternoon.
The loss ends Lynn’s season, while Swampscott-Marblehead moves on to face Middleton-Peabody today, with the time and place to be determined.
Murphy tossed a complete game for Swampscott-Marblehead, giving up two runs on four hits with three walks and 11 strikeouts.
“He did an awesome job on the bump today,” said Swampscott-Marblehead coach Shawn Hubauer. “He was on all night. He was pounding the strike zone and mowing guys down, just a great performance against a tough team in Lynn.”
On offense, the big hit came off the bat of CJ Howard, who ripped a two-run double to bring in the eventual game-winning runs in the top of the sixth inning.
“We got the timely hitting when we needed it today, which is something we’ve been lacking over these past few games,” said Hubauer.
It was a slow start to the game, with neither team getting a foothold until the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth, Swampscott-Marblehead’s Payton Jancsy reached on a fielder’s choice and then stole second base with two outs. Next up was Matt Hubauer, who hit an RBI single to right field to put Swampscott-Marblehead on the board.
It didn’t take Lynn too long to respond. In the bottom of the fifth, Donnie Weisse led off with a single and stole second base. Leadoff hitter Jackson Allard followed that with an RBI single to tie the game, 1-1. Lynn eventually got runners to second and third with two outs, and Allard came in to score on a passed ball to take the lead. However, Murphy was able to force a groundout to end the inning before any more damage was done.
Swampscott-Marblehead turned right around and tied it up in the top of the sixth. With runners on first and third with one out, Jancsy knocked an RBI single to tie the game up at 2-2. Two batters later, Howard stepped in and hit a sinking line drive to left field. Lynn left fielder Matt Stanley made a valiant diving effort to make the catch, but the ball found its way under his glove, allowing two runs to score before Howard was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple. The inning was over, but Swampscott-Marblehead took 4-2 lead.
Murphy breezed through a 1-2-3 sixth inning, but then allowed the first two men of the seventh to reach base. After a strikeout, the winning run came up to the plate with one out. The batter was Andre Gaudet, who hit a hard line drive to right field. Howard, Swampscott-Marblehead’s rightfielder, reached out for the ball and made the catch, but then dropped the ball on the transfer to his throwing hand. This caused a bit of confusion on the basepaths, and Allard got caught in between first and second for a double play. Lynn coaches came out to argue that Howard dropped the ball on the initial catch, but after a quick discussion, the call was confirmed and the game was over on the double play.
“It was very quick,” said Lynn manager Doug Mullins. “It was about one second.”
Mullins explained that the base umpire had said the right fielder dropped the ball on the transfer, “and that’s the call they went with.”
Mullins did not want to blame the umpiring for the loss.
“No,” he said. “We lost the game. I don’t want to blame anyone else.”
Swampscott-Marblehead needs two wins to keep playing, after falling to Middleton-Peabody Monday, 2-0. Hubauer said that at this point, he’s not sure what the upcoming schedule looks like, but knows his team will be ready to go.