Swampscott LL is the most successful Little League program in Massachusetts!



District 16 Championships: 2020, 2016, 2010, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1989, 1984, 1983, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1975, 1971, 1970, 1967, 1963

Massachusetts State Championships: 1983, 1981, 1979, 1978

Massachusetts State Runner-up: 1998, 1992, 1989, 1984

Below is a summary of Swampscott Little League's State Tournament appearances from 1978 to 1998. Many of the game have summary recaps with mention of our players.

 

Massachusetts State Champions in the 1970s
Pittsfield South and Swampscott both earned their first state titles in the 1970s, and neither league had to wait long for the second. Pittsfield won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977, while Swampscott's baby blue claimed top honors in 1978 and 1979. The leagues were the first repeat champions in Massachusetts since Winchester made consecutive World Series appearances in 1955 and 1956.
Arlington's leagues achieved an equally rare feat during the 1970s, as two different Arlington leagues won state titles in consecutive years. Arlington North defeated Brockton South to win the 1971 state title, and the next year Arlington West ousted Millbury to win its second ever state title.
Select a year to see details from that year's state tournament.

State Champions of the 1970s
1979 – Swampscott; 1978 – Swampscott; 1977 - Pittsfield South; 1976 - Pittsfield South; 1975 - Fall River; American; 1974 - Pittsfield West; 1973 - Needham West; 1972 - Arlington West; 1971 - Arlington North; 1970 - Parkway National (West Roxbury)

1978 – Swampscott 6-5 Over Taunton West
Host - Wakefield
At Fernald Field
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Taunton West 4, Pittsfield South 1
Swampscott 17, Medford North 15

Championship Game:
Swampscott 6, Taunton West 5 (TITLE)
Summary:
In perhaps the most exciting Massachusetts state tournament ever played, Keith Freedman's bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Paul Moran and gave a resilient Swampscott team its first ever state title. Swampscott had fallen behind Taunton West by a 5-0 margin (pitcher John Ghenses' two-run homer in the first was the key blow), but the North Shore team responded with four in the third. With Taunton West still leading 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Swampscott again rallied. Jamie Murphy singled and scored on Timmy Hyde's double to tie the score. Hyde was later picked off second, but Swampscott loaded the bases before Freedman delivered his game-winning hit.

In a wild semifinal win over Medford North, Swampscott scored four, four, and three runs in the first three innings to race to an 11-0 lead. Medford North responded by sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring 12 runs in the third inning to take the lead. Swampscott (17 hits on the game) kept pounding away. The Baby Blue scored five in the fourth to take a 16-12 lead. Jamie Murphy had a key RBI double to tie the game, and third baseman Paul Moran (who went 5-for-5) doubled in two more. Medford cut the Swampscott lead to two, but could come no closer. Medford North had two runners on base and the potential winning run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning when Swampscott relief pitcher Kyle Mueller registered a game-ending strikeout to put his team in the finals.

1979 – Swampscott 2-1 Over Brockton
Host - Tewksbury
At Poulin Field
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Swampscott 1, Norwood American 0
Brockton Downey Memorial 3, Leominster National 2

Championship Game:
Swampscott 2, Brockton Downey Memorial 1 (7 innings; TITLE)
Summary:
Winning pitcher Dick Casey dumped a single into centerfield to score Peter Abbruzzese from second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel Swampscott to its second consecutive state title. Casey mixed his pitches effectively, striking out 11 and allowing only five hits. Pinch hitter John Foley -- who was 4-for-4 as a pinch hitter during the playoffs -- ignited the seventh inning rally with a single to left. He was forced out on Abbruzzese's sacrifice attempt, but when the throw to double Abbruzzese at first was wild, the hitter would up on second base. Casey later followed with his game-winning hit. Fireballer Paul Grasso pitched Swampscott into the title game with an 11-strikeout, three-hit complete game in Swampscott's 1-0 win over Norwood. Catcher P.J. Ryan doubled in Grasso in the fourth inning to account for the game's only run.

Massachusetts State Champions in the 1980s
Andover National's 1988 club ended a 32-year drought by becoming the first Massachusetts team to advance to the World Series since 1956. Andover bested Lee in the state title game and then outlasted the Brandywine LL (Wilmington, DE) in extra innings to claim the Eastern Region title.
Pittsfield North became the third different Pittsfield league to win a state title with its 1986 crown (Pittsfield South and West won titles in the 1970s), and Worcester Ty Cobb won that city's first title since 1957 with an extra-inning title game victory over Walpole American in 1987.
Swampscott completed a run of four state titles in six years by winning the state title in 1981 and 1983.
Select a year to see details from that year's state tournament.

State Champions of the 1980s
1989 - Westfield South; 1988 - Andover National; 1987 - Worcester Ty Cobb; 1986 - Pittsfield North; 1985 - Westfield North; 1984 - Leominster American; 1983 – Swampscott; 1982 – Millis; 1981 – Swampscott; 1980 - Medford South

1981 – Swampscott 6-4 Over Taunton West
Host - Brockton Downey
At Downey Memorial Field
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Swampscott 7, Easthampton 1
Taunton West 5, West Roxbury Parkway Central 0

Championship Game:
Swampscott 6, Taunton West 4 (TITLE)

Summary:
Taunton West jumped on Swampscott for three runs in the top of the first inning -- and had the bases loaded with only one out -- when Swampscott manager Dick O'Neil called on relief pitcher Paul Logiudice to bail out the Section 4 champs. Logiudice fired six consecutive strikes past the next two Taunton West hitters to escape the jam, then allowed only one run the rest of the way as Swampscott rallied for a 6-4 win. Swampscott starting pitcher Tim Dunn atoned for his shaky mound performance with a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning that tied the game at 3-3, and Swampscott pulled away in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk followed by a pair of wild pitches. Taunton West outhit Swampscott 8-3, but Logiudice escaped several jams -- including a bases-loaded threat in the sixth -- to record the victory. It was the second time in four years that Swampscott rallied past Taunton West in the state title game.
1983 – Swampscott 8-4 Over Auburn
Host - Leominster
At Ronnie Bachand Memorial Field
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Auburn 4, Pittsfield East 0 Swampscott 8, Melrose American 0
Championship Game:
Swampscott 8, Auburn 4 (5 innings, rain; TITLE)

Summary:
Swampscott started fast in earning its fourth state title in six years. In the bottom of the first inning, Derek January, Brian Feeley, and pitcher Jimmy DeFelice loaded the bases with no outs by all reaching base on the first pitch thrown to them by Auburn pitcher Sean Ryan. Matt Murray -- who had pitched Swampscott into the title game by one-hitting Melrose American in the semifinals -- singled home two runs, and James Barnes singled in a third to give Swampscott a quick lead. Ryan settled down, retiring the next eight Swampscott hitters, and his teammates sliced the Swampscott lead to 3-2. But with two outs and none on in the third, Barnes legged out an infield hit to end Ryan's streak, and Feeley later lined a two-run single. DeFelice's towering three-run homer in the fourth iced the win. In the semifinal win over Melrose American, the curveballing Murray retired the last 14 hitters he faced, and Swampscott exploded for five runs in the second inning. Murray struck out 10 in a performance that longtime Swampscott coach Dick O'Neil called "one of the best I've seen in Swampscott history". Auburn advanced to the finals via a three-hit shutout hurled by its ace pitcher, Darryle Corriveau.
 

 
1984 – Leominster Am. 5-4 Over Swampscott
Host - Swampscott
At Holmes-Duratti Field
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Leominster American 2, Braintree American 1
Swampscott 3, East Boston 1

Championship Game:
Leominster American 5, Swampscott 4 (TITLE)

Summary:
Leominster dug a deep hole -- trailing the defending state champions 3-0 on their home field in the state championship game -- but climbed out of it to capture a 5-4 title game win. Eleven-year-old Bob Hulecki's solo home run in the fourth was the first blow, and an RBI single cut Swampscott's lead to 3-2. Swampscott dodged a pair of bullets in the fifth, as Leomister pitcher Steve Santucci's apparent lead-off double was nullified when Santucci missed first base, and when Keith Collette was throw out at the plate trying to score on a grounder to third. However, a delayed steal of home tied the game at 3-3, Steve Osborne singled in the go-ahead run, and Hulecki scored on a wild pitch, giving Leominster a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. In the semifinals, Collette's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed Leominster American past Braintree American, while Swampscott ace Jeff January fired a two-hitter and struck out 11 to lead his team past East Boston.

1989 – Westfield South 11-7 Over Swampscott
Host - Lynn Wyoma
At Reinfuss Field; Wyoma Park
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Swampscott 11, West Roxbury Parkway National 4
Westfield South 9, Rockland 3

Championship Game:
Westfield South 11, Swampscott 7 (TITLE)

Summary:
Westfield South's big-inning attacks proved too much for Rockland and Swampscott. In the semifinals, Westfield South broke open a 2-1 game with a 7-run sixth inning. Stu Gornall -- whose fourth inning solo home run broke both a 1-1 tie and a long hitting slump -- started the sixth inning rally with an RBI double. Josh Pepek and Tony Melo added RBI singles to widen the lead to 5-1, and additional runs came across on a balk, an error, a steal of home, and Greg Bevilacqua's single. Winning pitcher Tim Laurita allowed five hits and struck out seven. In the title game, Westfield South plated three in the second (on homers by Gornall and Erik Leen) and four in the third (Joe Strebel's three-run double keyed the rally) to take an 8-0 lead. After a six-run Swampscott third-inning rally, Westfield pushed the lead back to 11-6, and held on for the win.

 
Massachusetts State Champions in the 1990s
West Roxbury Parkway National passed Swampscott as the winningest Massachusetts program with three state titles in the 1990s. Parkway National now has five titles in its 11 state tournament appearances. Swampscott (four titles) remains the most familiar face at the Massachusetts state tournament, with a state record 12 final four appearances, including four in the 1990s.
While Parkway National and Swampscott are the most frequent visitors to the state tournament, it was Middleboro -- making its first state tournament appearance in 31 years -- that made Massachusetts' only World Series appearance in the 1990s when its 1994 squad captured state and region titles. Middleboro added a second state crown to its collection in 1999.
Select a year to see details from that year's state tournament.
State Champions of the 1990s
1999 - Middleboro
1998 - Newton North
1997 - Norwood American
1996 - Parkway National (West Roxbury)
1995 - Parkway National (West Roxbury)
1994 - Middleboro
1993 - Parkway National (West Roxbury)
1992 - Taunton West
1991 - Walpole National
1990 - Westfield South
1992 – Taunton West 2-0 Over Swampscott
 

Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Taunton West 4, Waltham Warrendale 0
Swampscott 10, Holden 2

Championship Game:
Taunton West 2, Swampscott 0 (TITLE)
Summary:
Taunton West avenged a pair of state championship game losses to Swampscott (1978 and 1981) and captured its first ever state crown with a pair of shutout victories. Against Swampscott, catcher Chris Delozier switched to the mound with the bases loaded and no one out in the bottom of the first inning. He recorded a pair of strikeouts, then induced a groundout to end the threat. Delozier shut down Swampscott the rest of the way to preserve the 2-0 victory. Taunton West managed just two hits against losing pitcher Michael Cornacchini -- both by Justin Lombardi -- but scraped together two runs in the top of the first inning. Swampscott pitchers allowed only two earned runs and six total runs in nine tournament games.
1998 – Newton North 5-3 Over Swampscott
Tournament Results:
Semifinals:
Swampscott 13, Westfield North 5
Newton North 5, Falmouth 2

Championship Game:
Newton North 5, Swampscott 3 (TITLE)

Summary:
Newton North withstood an early Swampscott flurry, then battled back to win its first state title in 36 years with a 5-3 victory in the state title game.
The turning point in the title game occurred early. Swampscott led 1-0 following leadoff hitter Alex Stone's game-opening home run, and the perennial District 16 powerhouse then loaded the bases with nobody out in what looked like a re-staging of the six-run first inning outburst from their 13-5 semifinal round win over Westfield North. However, Newton pitcher Bobby Colantonio struck out the next two hitters, then ended the inning by inducing a flyball that Ian Kilpatrick grabbed near the centerfield fence to end the inning without further scoring.
After snuffing the rally, Newton North took a 2-1 lead on Ken Pellegrini's two-run homer to left in the bottom of the first. Swampscott scored a pair of unearned runs in the second, but Newton took the lead for good with a third inning rally. In that rally, singles by Colantonio and Sam Brill and a walk to Pellegrini loaded the bases. In consecutive at-bats, Keith Pescosolido walked to force in the tying run, Brill scored the go-ahead tally on a fielder's choice when the throw to the plate was late, and Pellegrini plated an insurance run on Andrew McGarthy's sacrifice fly to centerfield.
After that point, Newton turned the game over to Pescosolido. After catching the first three innings in 87 degree heat, Pescosolido was called in to pitch when Swampscott rallied with no outs in the fourth inning. The 4'7" relief pitcher escaped trouble in the fourth by fanning Stone (who had been 7-for-7 with four home runs in the tournament to that point), and pitched three innings of no hit, no walk relief to earn the save.
Newton advanced to the title game with a 5-3 win over Falmouth. After 2-1/2 scoreless innings, Brill, who picked up the victory on the mound, drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, Pellegrini slammed a two-run double. After Falmouth's K.J. Kozens slapped a two-run single to cut Newton's lead to 3-2, Pellegrini added an RBI triple and then scored himself in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.
Stone carried Swampscott past Westfield North in the other semifinal round game. The Swampscott catcher -- who hit only two home runs on the year prior to the state tournament -- slammed three homers and drove in five runs in a 4-for-4 performance at the plate.
Stone opened the game with a homer to give Swampscott an early 1-0 lead, and eight walks (including six in a row after two outs were recorded) gave the Baby Blue a 6-0 lead before Westfield came to bat. Brenden Gaudrault's two-run double keyed a Westfield rally that cut Swampscott's lead to 6-4 after the first inning, but a pair of Stone solo homers kept Westfield at bay as Swampscott extended the lead to 8-5. In the sixth, Swampscott put the game away with a five run burst keyed by Tim Kiely's solo home run and Chuckie Cameron's two-run safety.

Massachusetts State Champions: 2000-2009
Peabody West made it to the state finals 7 out of 13 years from 2000-2013.
Select a year to see details from that year's state tournament.

Massachusetts State Champions, 2000-2009
2009 - Peabody Western
2008 - Parkway National (West Roxbury)
2007 - Walpole American
2006 - Peabody Western
2005 - Dudley
2004 - Jesse Burkett (Worcester)
2003 - Saugus American
2002 - Jesse Burkett (Worcester)
2001 - Pittsfield South
2000 - Pittsfield South
 
Massachusetts State Champions, 2010-present
2013 - Newton SouthEast
2012 - Wellesley South
2011 - Andover National
2010 - Southborough