WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Little League Senior Division Braves recently bested the Lynnfield Yellow squad 9-1 at Walsh Field to take home the 2025 MBDL Big Diamond Championship.
The win represented a total team effort of excellent defense, timely hitting, strong pitching, and superb baserunning.
DJ Camps-Campins got the starting nod for Wakefield, and he made quick work of the Lynnfield squad in the top of the first, aided by an excellent defensive play started by left fielder James Connelly. With two outs, the Lynnfield hitter lined one down the left field line. Connelly quickly gobbled up the ball and threw a strike to shortstop Mike Cintolo, who relayed the ball to second baseman James Maloney to tag the runner out and get out of the inning.
The game remained scoreless heading into the bottom of the second inning when Wakefield broke through for three runs with superb baserunning. Brett Marino led off the inning and singled. Marino advanced to second on a wild pitch. Camps-Campins struck out swinging but reached first safely when the catcher couldn’t handle the ball, allowing Marino to advance to third. After a couple of wild pitches, both Marino and Camps-Campins scored to give Wakefield the lead. Cintolo followed with a walk, and then stole second base and then third base before running home when the throw to third base went into left field.
Wakefield gave themselves some breathing room in the third with another three-run inning. Domenic Rizzuto beat out a well-placed bunt down the third base line to lead off the inning, and then stole second base and third base. Anthony Cresta followed with a walk before stealing second base himself. Connelly then reached first base after another dropped-third strike to load the bases before consecutive walks to Ryan Ward and Jacob Wagner forced in two. A wild pitch gave Wakefield a comfortable 6-0 lead.
A third straight three-run inning in the bottom of the fourth gave Wakefield its final runs. Edward O’Neill doubled down the left field line on the first pitching of the inning. Marino sailed the second pitch of the inning over the left fielder’s head to plate O’Neill. A Maloney single scored Marino before a wild pitch brought in Camps-Campins, who had walked.
That was more than enough run support for the Braves pitching staff. Camps-Campins went the first four-and-a-third innings, giving up one unearned run on three hits, three walks and four strikeouts. He gave way to Marino who pitched the final two-and-two-thirds without giving up a hit or a run.
In all, the Braves recorded 10 stolen bases combined with six hits and six walks to take advantage of any scoring opportunity they had. Jackson Campbell rounded out the hit parade with a sharp line drive in the bottom of the sixth inning.
On the other side of the ball, Wakefield pitchers and catchers Cresta and O’Neill held the Lynnfield squad to just one stolen base, limiting their chances to produce runs.
The Wakefield Braves previously defeated the Wakefield Blue Jays 3-2 on Friday night in what many considered an instant classic to advance to the Championship game. The Braves finished the regular season in third place with a record of 6-3.
