LYNN — A relentless day at the plate and 4 2/3 no-hit innings from pitcher Brady Bullock resulted in a 12-2 mercy-rule win for the Lynn 14-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars over Peabody Wednesday at Bowzer Complex.
Bullock recorded nine strikeouts in the win but had trouble finding the strike zone in his second start of the season. He allowed eight walks.
“Brady battled and he battled tough, but that’s way too many walks,” Lynn manager Paul Hartford said. “He loses it sometimes in his head. He fights that battle in his head but when he throws strikes he’s untouchable sometimes. It’s something we have to correct. He did throw 47 pitches a couple days ago, so I’m not sure if that played into it at all.”
Eldrian Bonilla (2-for-3) and Shea Palmer (1-for-1) led the way at the plate, each driving in a pair of runs and scoring one. Sam Ohannesian (2-for-2, RBI, two runs) and John Diaz (1-for-1, RBI, run) also had key hits. Brady Warren and Brendan Falasca each had one RBI.
Despite drawing 10 walks, Peabody didn’t come through with nearly enough clutch hitting to keep pace with Lynn.
“Lynn had a good pitcher (Bullock) throwing,” Peabody manager Randy Valliere said. “We did get him up to 95 pitches in five innings so we made him work. But we couldn’t get a key hit there when we needed it.”
A pair of walks in the first inning almost put Lynn in an early hole. A hard-hit fly ball to right field looked like it might bring two runs home but Jack Anderson made a diving catch to keep the game scoreless and end the top of the first inning.
Ohannesian singled and Falasca walked to get Lynn started in the first. Bonilla plated both runners with a single to left field later in the inning to give Lynn a 2-0 lead.
Lynn’s bats got going again in the second. Dom Giordano and Christian Spates singled to start the inning. Giordano later scored on a passed ball and, after a walk from Anderson, Spates scored on a throw to second to stretch the lead to 4-0. Ohannesian and Falasca each drove in a run with two-out singles later in the inning to give Lynn a 6-0 lead.
Giordano and Spates each reached base again in the third, this time on a pair of walks. After a pair of steals, Giordano scored on an errant throw to put Lynn ahead 7-0.
Bullock ran into some trouble in the fourth, walking his first two batters. After a strikeout, another walk loaded the bases for Peabody. Bullock settled down from there, striking out two to get out of the jam.
After two strikeouts to start the fifth, another walk put Bullock at his pitch count limit and brought Nico Ramirez in for relief. Ramirez (one inning, one hit, two walks and one strikeout) also had struggles finding the strike zone, walking two more Peabody hitters to load the bases. Peabody added two runs on a single before Ramirez got out of the inning to cut Lynn’s lead to 7-2.
Lynn wouldn’t let Peabody get another chance at the plate. A double by Bonilla and a single from Ramirez started a rally in the fifth. Shea Palmer laced a two-run single next to stretch the Lynn lead to 9-2. Later in the inning Diaz plated Palmer on a single to put Lynn one run away from the mercy-rule win. Yoniel Cabral doubled and Bullock walked to load the bases for Warren who laced a game-ending single to seal the 12-2 win.
Lynn has a quick turn around, hosting Saugus Thursday (6) at Fraser Field.