American Legion baseball remains alive and well on the North Shore … and the bracket for this year’s junior state championship proves that point.
Both Beverly Post 331 and Marblehead/Swampscott Post 57’s junior teams earned spots in this weekend’s tournament, being held in Middleboro.
Representing District 8, both the local squads won playoff games in recent days to advance to the state finals, which features eight teams and begins on Saturday. Junior Legion’s rosters are made up of players at the 17-and-under age level while the senior level is 19-and-under.
Beverly, which like its senior counterpart combines forces with Salem and also features players from Essex Tech and other area schools, earned its spot by taking down Methuen in one of the two District 8 title games. Micah McManus struck out 12 batters and scattered five hits to make sure his team was in total control over 6 1/3 innings of work, and Christian Topp finished the job by fanning the last two Methuen hitters.
Offensively, speedy Xavier Parsons had a big game while Ryan Fazio, Cody Belanger, Teddy Fisher and Tyler Chin-Aleong had key hits to help Post 331 build its lead. Coached by Frank Morrissey and Joe McManus, the squad also had help along the way from Beverly/Salem senior skipper Mike Levine.
“We’re really proud of the way the boys played well summer to qualify for states,” said Morrissey, whose team is 14-6-1 overall and 11-5-1 against district foes. “Their hard work, dedication and team-first attitude has propelled them forward and into the future.”
Also playing well this summer for Beverly/Salem were Jonas D’Arrigo, Jesse Susko, Levi McMannus, Quinn Fox, Austin Fluckiger, Brayden Haley, Adam Porcello, Albert Polanco, William Blank, Maverick Genest and Shea Christel.
Post 331 opens the state playoffs in the first game Saturday at 10 a.m. against one of District 10’s two representatives. All games will be held on the varsity field at Middleboro High.
Marblehead/Swampscott’s junior team is in the state tourney for the second straight year after finishing as a semifinalist in 2023. The Mariners (15-3) had no trouble with Andover in a 9-0 win in District 8’s second title game played on Tuesday (there were two since the district had two entries in the state bracket with two from District 10, two from District 3, the District 6 champ and host Middleboro being the others).
Zach Alex was nearly flawless on the hill for the Mariners, spinning a 2-hit shutout with five strikeouts and no walks. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth and had 1-2-3 innings in the first, second, third, fifth and sixth.
Chase Groothuis had a double, two hits and two runs with three RBI to spark the bats, while Caden Ross had two hits with two RBI. Alex helped his own cause by going 3-for-3 and Marblehead/Swampscott had a 5-0 lead after the opening inning and never looked back.
On the summer, Ross is batting .519 over 10 games and shortstop Nick Berube is on fire as well with a .512 average. Connor Correnti, Michael Collins and Adam Sparacio are other key hitters for the Mariners. Pitching wise, Swampscott High regulars Alex and David Palmer have carried the load.
The Mariners will also face a District 10 opponent (TBD) on Saturday at 4 p.m. The double elimination format will then play out over the weekend and into the beginning to next week to crown a Massachusetts Junior Legion champion.