BY GENE NARDI
On Saturday, June 20, the Wellington American Legion Post 390’s U16 baseball team defeated Boynton Beach Post 164 by a 9-4 score in the first game of a doubleheader, before falling 8-6 in the second match.
The Wellington Post 390 team was 4-1 with six games remaining in the summer season.
Wellington jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 1. Drew Beno then recorded a single RBI to extend the Wellington lead. Alex Rao added an RBI in the fifth inning, and Wellington loaded the bases, making it tough for the Boynton Beach offense.
Wellington sat on a comfortable 7-0 lead, but Boynton Beach closed the gap by tallying two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring the score to 7-2.
Solid defense by Wellington shut down any offensive opportunities in the sixth inning. Runs by Jonny Haldas and Justin Rivero extended the Wellington lead to 9-2.
Solid hitting by Jacob Weiss, with a single, and Rivero, with a double, proved to be a factor late in the game.
Boynton Beach was not finished and battled back, but the Post 164 team’s rally was short-lived after its hitters drove in two runs in the top of the seventh inning to close the gap to 9-4.
Stingy defensive play by the Wellington squad made it impossible for Boynton Beach to continue its comeback.
Boynton Beach managed to avenge its earlier loss to Wellington by defeating Post 390 in Game 2. It was the first loss suffered by Wellington this summer.
Wellington played Jupiter Post 271 twice this week, but results were not available by press time.
ABOVE: Pitcher Shane Howell throws a pitch for Wellington late in the first game of the doubleheader.
