The North End Athletic Association (NEAA) 10U Mayor’s Cup team kicked off the tournament with a rousing 11-8 victory over neighboring Charlestown.
The North End was led by Matthew Griffin, who threw a complete game striking out 11 Charlestown batters in the process. At the plate, Griffin also had two hits and three RBI (runs batted in). Matt was not alone. Ryan McHugh chipped in with a couple of timely hits as well as a strong game behind the plate.
Desmond O’Hearn, Max Howard and William Previte also added a couple of hits along with some outstanding defense.
The North End team was thought to be undermanned as this is a 10U tournament and most teams take to the field with all ten-year-olds. The North End’s roster consisted of six ten-year-olds, but there were also five nine-year-olds, one eight-year-old and one seven-year-old.
The youngsters, however, were equal to the task. Seven-year-old Aidan Previte more than held his own in the field and had some very strong at bats. Eight-year-old Owen Flanagan reach based several times and just came up short on what would have been a spectacular diving catch in left field. Nine-year-old Anthony Sapienza and Ferdinand Carangelo also gave a good showing of themselves.
The team left it all on the field during a very hot weekend. They made our community very proud.
