LYNN — It was a great start to the Lynn City Series tournament for the West Lynn Red Sox Friday night, as a trio of big hits and some shutdown pitching helped West Lynn notch a 9-0 victory over Pine Hill at Volunteer Field.
Brennan Malloy held the big bat for West Lynn in this one, going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI. Ezekiel Sanches went 1-for-2 with two RBI, while Rowan Merryman (3-for-3) Albert Collado (2-for-5) and Dante Giordano (1-for-2) also added hits.
It was Merryman who earned the win on the mound for the Red Sox, tossing 4 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit with 12 strikeouts. Malloy came in to pitch the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out one and not allowing any hits.
The lone hit of the day for Pine Hill came off the bat of Jacob Morin, who went 1-for-1 in the loss.
The Red Sox didn’t waste any time getting on the board in this one, pushing three runs across in the top of the first inning. Collado and Merryman both notched singles and moved to second and third for Malloy, who laced a two-run single to make it a 2-0 game.
After West Lynn added another run in the first by scoring on a passed ball, the Red Sox extended their lead in the top of the third. Collado and Merryman once again both knocked hits and moved to second and third and, once again, Malloy stepped in and knocked them both home — this time with a two-run double. After a walk and a hit batter put two more runners on base, Sanches came through with a two-run single of his own to make it a 7-0 game.
The Red Sox then went on to add two runs in the top of the fourth thanks to a passed ball and a dropped third strike, making it a 9-0 lead.
On the other side of the ball, Merryman was nearly unhittable. He struck out the first seven batters of the game before a Pine Hill player even put a ball in play, then he had his no-hitter broken up in the bottom of the third by Morin.
And that was it from there. Merryman finished his outing in a strong fashion before Malloy came on to close things out and seal the victory.
Pine Hill is now off until Monday, where it will face the loser of Saturday’s East Lynn-Lynn Shore matchup in an elimination game at 5:45.
West Lynn moves on to face Wyoma Saturday night (7:30).