The Lynn Babe Ruth 13s remained unbeaten in the newly established “COVID Games” Thursday night, coming out hot on offense to take down Methuen, 12-8, in a pool play game at Clancy Field.
The Lynn 13s were led on offense by Wilfredo Perez Jr., who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Brendan O’Regan and Anthony Alvarado each had one RBI. Jojo Hernandez, Andy Berans and Alex Lara each had one hit and two runs scored in the victory.
The Lynn bats came out hot, as the first five batters all earned a hit and came in to score. Perez Jr. headlined the first with a moonshot RBI double.
Lynn starting pitcher Jared Paone went out with a five-run lead, however his first pitch was ripped back at him and right off the back of his throwing hand. An error and a couple of hits later, Methuen cut the lead to 5-3. Methuen came out in the next inning and scored two more times to tie the game up at 5-5.
The third, fourth and fifth innings had no hits and no runs between both teams, as the pitchers on both sides settled into a groove.
But then, the Lynn bats came out and broke the tie in the top of the sixth. Gio Batista walked with two outs, then a wild throw moved him up to second. O’Regan then came through with a bloop single that scored Batista. O’Regan took second on the throw home, and one pitch later he was knocked in on a solid line drive by Alvarado.
But Methuen didn’t quit.
With a two run lead, Lynn went back out to the field and walked the first two batters. Paone was taken off the mound in favor of Lara, who walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with one out. From there, a couple of mental breakdowns on infield hits led to a three-run rally for Methuen and they took the lead 8-7.
In the top of the seventh, Lynn put it away. The 13s sent 10 batters to the plate, with six of them earning walks. An error brought in a couple runs and Perez Jr. brought in two more on a RBI single, giving the 13s the lead for good.
The Lynn 13s are back in action Saturday morning (11) against Peabody back at Clancy Field.