LYNN — After bringing home the state championship last week, it’s time to get back on the field for the Junior Legion Post 291 baseball team. Lynn opens its New England Regional run Friday morning (10) against Maine at Memorial Field in Concord, New Hampshire.
“The kids are all excited to get going again,” Lynn manager Tony Luciano said. “We’re ready to get back at it. They’re all chomping at the bit to get going.”
The past week has been all about players getting their feet back underneath them after a grueling slate of competitive games in the state tournament.
“It’s huge,” Luciano said. “You don’t realize how tired you are until that tournament’s over. You’re running on adrenaline then you get back home and you’re wiped. Having these days to get some rest, hopefully it has a positive effect. Hopefully it’s not a negative effect. With this bunch I don’t see that happening.”
Given the level of competition Lynn matched up against, it felt as though no lead was safe. That was highlighted when Lynn stunned Sandwich in the state final with seven unanswered runs for a come-from-behind 10-9 win. Lynn trailed 9-3 going into the sixth inning.
“I’ve probably thought about it every day,” Luciano said. “I’m still thinking about how it happened. We needed a bunch of things to go our way and they did. The things that didn’t go our way the first five innings went our way the last two innings. We were hitting the ball hard, just right at them. They scouted us well. Then we started finding the gaps. I’ve tried to pinpoint how it happened about 100 times. I don’t know how, but it’s a good thing it did.
“I’ve been on the other end of something like that,” Luciano said. “That’s not fun. We’ve had some comebacks but nothing like scoring six runs with four outs to go. It was crazy. I’ve seen these kids come out and never give up. That’s basically the story of this team.”
From the manager’s perspective, Luciano pointed to his team’s camaraderie as a key factor in its success. He said it’s easier to coach the team when the players support one another game in and game out.
“These kids are having a blast,” Luciano said. “They love coming every day. They’ve been texting each other all week. They want to get back in the dugout, they want to get back on the field. They all jelled. The way they pump each other up and cheer for each other, it’s constant.”
Luciano also enjoys being able to coach his son, Andrew, who pitches and plays the outfield. In fact, the three assistant coaches on Luciano’s staff (Rick Anderson, Brendan McManus and Mike Nickolau) also get to coach their sons (Shawn Anderson, Brendan McManus, Jr. and Jackson Nickolau ).
“It’s special to be able to coach your son and win a state title,” Luciano said. “If you watch the four of us coach, when we step on the field they’re players. They’re our kids but at that time they’re players like everybody else. We all agree that we’re going to put the best team out there. We have a good group of parents too.”
As for Maine, Lynn knows it’ll be in for a battle.
“We looked them up and read a little about them,” Luciano said. “We expect it to be tough. We expect every team to be tough in this tournament. When you come to this tournament you have to expect the best out of every state.”