After starting off the District 16 tournament with a 3-0 record, the Saugus Little League 10-year-old stars drop two to Lynnfield in the final round

By Joe McConnell

The 2025 Saugus Little League 10-year-old all-star team finished up the District 16 tournament with a 3-2 record after making it to the championship game, where they lost to Lynnfield, 16-1 on July 3. But that three-inning mercy rule loss came after they dropped a hard-fought 10-7 decision to that same Lynnfield team. It was only the team’s first loss in this double elimination tournament.

Their overall performance throughout the districts, however, quite possibly bodes well for the Williamsport Tournament during the next two years, when many of them will be together again to compete in the granddaddy of all youth sports events.

The Saugus 10s started off this year’s districts by defeating Salem handily, 11-1. They then thumped East Lynn, 18-1, before shutting out Wyoma, 3-0 to complete pool play with a perfect record. These wins paved the way for the aforementioned games against Lynnfield in the final round.

“The boys had a great hitting tournament up until that second loss to Lynnfield,” said head coach Craig Smith. “Lynnfield scored eight runs in the very first inning, and we just couldn’t recover (from that outburst). Lynnfield had to beat us twice, because we were undefeated after pool play, but we just couldn’t finish the job.”

The Saugus 10s consisted of Braden Reynolds, Grayson, Solomon, Jovan Basta, Ben O’Connell, Xander Martinez, Riley Renfrew, Ryan, LaCorcia and Shane McBrine. There were also four nine-year-olds on the team who rounded out the roster, and they included Tony Smith, Cody Keohane, Jack Freeling and Jack Brown.