LYNN — When two evenly-matched teams meet, there’s a good chance the game will need extra innings — as was the case in the Swampscott’s 12s 3-2 win over Peabody West Monday evening in the District 16 tournament. Swampscott came from behind twice to advance to the next round.
With the score tied, 2-2, and the bases loaded with two outs, Swampscott’s Jax Dudevoir stepped to the plate. He made contact and drove a hard-hit ground ball to the Peabody West first baseman. The ball took a bad bounce, and Dudevoir beat the fielder to the bag while the runner from third came home to score the game-winner.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team. Time and time again, especially with the bases loaded and runners in scoring position, I have all the confidence in the world that my team will come through in that type of play,” said Swampscott Manager Mike Rossi. “The fact that Jax made that hit and hustled down the line to beat it out — it was huge. You run until you’re called out or they call foul.”
Swampscott trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh after Peabody West took the lead on an RBI single to right field from Bryce Ragusa.
But the lead didn’t last long. Archie Packer hit an RBI single to bring home Cooper Averett and tie the game.
Rossi praised Packer’s poise at the plate.
“He’s such a patient hitter. One of the things about him is that he hits a ton,” Rossi said. “When he gets a hold of a pitch, he crushes it. He’s very patient in the box — a reserved kid — but when he turns it on, it’s fireworks.”
Despite the loss, Peabody West Manager Phil Ragusa had high praise for his team and its potential.
“I’m very proud of them. These guys have basically been together since they were 8 years old, playing in all these tournaments,” Phil Ragusa said. “I told them, this is just the beginning for them. They’re all great baseball players and they’ll have long careers. It’s literally just the beginning.”
In narrow defeats, the smallest mistakes can prove costly.
“We’re very sound defensively and always play good defense,” Phil Ragusa said. “At the end there, we caught a bad bounce, but that happens. We made some mistakes on the bases early in the game that might have cost us a run — but those things happen.”
Both coaches praised their starting pitchers. Cormac Ray got the nod for Swampscott, while Reid Ruffing started for Peabody West.
“Cormac has been doing it for us whenever called upon. This is the second game where he’s allowed just one run. His pitching is insane,” Rossi said. “The way he comes through time and time again — with either a big strikeout in a tough spot or an easy ground ball — he just delivers.”
“Reid pitched great. I felt like he was getting a bit tired at the end. It’s tough, because to win the District, you need to win four games in five days,” Phil Ragusa said. “It’s hard managing that, but I felt like we did a good job. All of our pitchers today did great. You can’t blame anyone for that loss. They just out-battled us — that’s all.”
Phil Ragusa also credited Swampscott for never giving up.
“This tournament gets harder and harder with every age group. It’s never easy,” Ragusa said. “Swampscott is a really good team. We were up, and they came back twice. Respect to them.”
