Just nine days after being shut out by Wyoma in a 1-0 loss, the Swampscott 12U All-Stars returned the favor Tuesday night, flipping the script with a 1-0 win of their own.
In a tense rematch at Hurd Avenue Field in Saugus, Swampscott edged out Wyoma, this time with their season on the line, to punch their ticket to the District 16 Final. Danny Hall was the hero on the mound for the Big Blue, firing a complete-game one-hitter to keep Swampscott’s title hopes alive.
“I mean, it was unbelievable,” Swampscott manager Mike Rossi. “He gave us exactly what we needed. He did an amazing job. He was just mixing up locations and really putting a lot of pressure on them to hit the ball. (I’m) really proud of him.”
It was Hall’s second outing in as many days. He threw 20 pitches in relief during Monday’s extra-inning win over Peabody West. But Hall showed no signs of fatigue as he struck out eight and allowed just one hit across six shutout innings.
Wyoma had just two baserunners all game, one courtesy of an Anthony Owumi single and the other on a hit-by-pitch on Alex Newhall.
Danny Hall delivers one of his 79 pitches on the night || Quinn Hitchcock
The District 16 semifinal rematch was a near mirror image of their June 29 showdown, when Owumi tossed a complete-game shutout. This time, however, it was Swampscott who were able to break through on offense first. In the fourth inning, following three consecutive walks, Jax Dudevoir scored what ended up being the game winning and only run of the game on a sharp RBI single from Harry Fitzgerald. Swampscott threatened to do more damage after loading the bases with no outs, but Wyoma answered with a slick 6-2-3 double play to cut down a run at the plate, and a strikeout to keep the deficit at one.
Owumi pitched into the fourth inning, striking out six and allowing just two hits and one run, but walked eight and was pulled after reaching the 85-pitch limit. Dante Duval kept Wyoma in it with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out three and giving up just one hit.
Outside of those walks, Swampscott’s offense was limited to just singles from Hall, Fitzgerald, and Max Knauer.
“We were trying to go into this open,” Rossi said. “Originally we were talking about wanting to be aggressive and swing at the first strike. Soon off though, we noticed that he was a little bit wild, so we started to revert that back into just taking a pitch, and then we were able to run it (Owumi’s pitch count) up to about 85 in the fourth inning, which then drove him out of the game.”
The win marks Swampscott’s third straight in a win-or-go-home setting, after earlier eliminating Saugus and Peabody West. Now 4-1 in tournament play, the Big Blue move on to face undefeated Peabody (3-0) in the District 16 Championship Series.
Game 1 is set for Thursday, July 10 at 5:45 p.m. at Forest River Park in Salem. If Swampscott wins, a decisive Game 2 will be played Friday evening at the same time and location.
“Fantastic club,” Rossi said of Peabody. “I did scout them. I think that they have amazing hitting. Their pitching is fantastic. There’s no easy out on that team, and we’re looking forward to going against them.”
As a reminder, Swampscott is seeking its third consecutive District 16 title. Peabody, meanwhile, is aiming for its first 12U championship since 2019.
