After a quiet start at the plate, Swampscott erupted for nine runs across the fourth and fifth innings on Monday to defeat Saugus 9-5 at Forest River Park in Salem.

The win keeps Swampscott (2-1) alive in the District 16 12U All-Stars Tournament and sets up a matchup against the winner of Tuesday night’s Peabody West-West Lynn game.

First pitch came at 5:45 p.m., with Saugus designated as the home team. The early innings were marked by tight defense, especially from Saugus shortstop John Benoit, who made multiple sharp plays to limit Swampscott’s early opportunities.

Swampscott’s offense broke through in the fourth inning and didn’t look back. Of their 10 total hits, nine came during the fourth and fifth, when all nine runs were scored. The lineup saw production throughout, with 11 of 13 batters reaching base at least once.

“They were just making contact,” Swampscott manager Mike Rossi said. “We talk about ‘see ball, hit ball,’ and that’s what they were doing. They were seeing it, smashing it.”

Nate Sakurada paced the offense with a double, a single, and two runs scored. Owen Jordan also doubled and came around to score twice, while Archie Packer added a double and a run. Michael Rossi chipped in a pair of singles, while Jax Dudevoir, Jackson Danahy, and Cooper Averett each singled and scored once. Max Knauer rounded out the team effort with a base hit of his own.

Dylan Hall earned the win on the mound for the Big Blue, his second of the tournament. He struck out nine batters across five innings while allowing just one run on four hits. Packer threw the final frame in relief.

Saugus responded late with four runs in the final two innings, three of them coming in the sixth. Benoit powered the offense with a double, single, and four RBIs. Gio Natalucci reached base twice and scored two runs, while Owen O’Connell added a double and a walk, scoring one run.

On the mound, Natalucci started for Saugus and threw 70 pitches across 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits. Thomas Vitello followed in relief, giving up five runs over the final 2.1 innings.

With elimination looming, both teams knew the stakes… win, or go home.

“There’s definitely a lot of nerves going into this,” Rossi said. “But this is the game they (the team) love to play. I told them, ‘We don’t want to go home.’ So we took it one pitch at a time, one at bat at a time. After a slow start, we turned it on and played our game.”

With half of the original 10-team field already eliminated, Swampscott is still in the hunt for a third consecutive District 16 title. They’ll return to action after the Fourth of July, facing their next opponent on Monday, July 7 at 5:45 p.m. The location is still to be determined.