BY SAPNA PATHAK
Enter a dugout occupied by the Salem American Little League baseball squad; it’s an unusual atmosphere for a contender’s bench. Maybe it’s the players laughing and joking with each other. Maybe it’s the amusing dances they do when a teammate succeeds.
But when you’re part of the best Little League team Salem has seen in 13 years, no one really questions your behavior.
“He made that up himself,” said outfielder Matt Cefalo with a laugh, referring to a dancing Billy Rayno during American’s 10-9 win over Concord National on July 10. “It’s a lot of fun because we laugh a lot. Everyone has funny stories they’d tell. I think we had so much fun because the coaches would laugh a lot too, and it didn’t make us too serious.”
It was that lighthearted attitude – and impressive play – that moved American to this year’s District 1 losers bracket final, the deepest any Salem Little League baseball team has gone in the 11- and 12-year-old majors tournament since 1994.
But American’s successful story came to an end July 12, when the team dropped a 14-2 loss to eventual District 1 runner-up Bedford. The defeat came one day after an emotional, come-from-behind win over Concord National, one requiring a lot of energy from the victors.
“They left everything on that field in Concord,” said Salem American manager Peter Rayno. “(We faced) one of the district’s best teams and (did) so after a game that took so much out of the kids. We’ve had two losses (Manchester North and Bedford), and they were the two best teams in the tournament … There’s no shame in that.”
A tired lineup plus shaky defense hindered American, as starter Matt Barbin was knocked out after three innings and an 8-1 Bedford advantage. Barbin returned to the all-star roster with Jake Ratka and John McQuarrie.
“Some kids were in another league, so we knew how they played,” said Ratka. “It wasn’t our best defensive game, but we’d beaten the same Bedford kids in that other league, so I thought we could do it.”
Bedford stymied an American offense that notched 47 runs in its first five tournament match-ups. Salem’s two runs
came from a solo shot from Ratka and a run scored by catcher Pat Lacroix, who came around on a passed ball.
Against Concord National, Ratka took the mound with a 5-0 lead after one inning. National recorded seven runs in the top of the third, added two more in the fourth against reliever Salem Phil Smith and took a 9-5 lead.
American answered with three runs in its half of the fourth, tightening the score, 9-8, and pulled ahead, 10-9, in the bottom of the fifth. Barbin and McQuarrie led off the frame with back-to-back doubles, scoring Barbin. Shortstop McQuarrie scored the go-ahead run on Ratka’s RBI single.
“Nobody was really down on themselves,” said Barbin after the Bedford loss. “We were pretty relaxed as we stayed in the tournament because it didn’t matter if we’d won or lost because no one’s made it this far in a long time. The longer we stuck around, the less pressure we felt and the more we would have fun.”
Game notes
Against Bedford, Barbin pitched three innings before relievers Mitchell Dufton and McQuarrie finished.
Against Concord National, Lacroix drove in one run. Barbin scored one run and had two hits. McQuarrie hit a double and scored two runs. Smith went 2-for-3 and scored one run. Ratka scored twice, recorded an RBI and had two hits.
First baseman Billy Rayno scored once.
Cefalo had one hit and an RBI walk. Ryan Decker helped set up American’s rally in the fourth, drawing a walk to load the bases.
Colin Parnell, Austin Finn and Dan O’ Brien rounded out American’s roster.