7 Errors Lead to Demise of Saugus, 12-7

Still reeling from a disappointing loss to Chatsworth one night earlier, Saugus High committed seven errors Friday in a 12-7 loss to Lake Brantley (Fla.) that eliminated the Centurions from the Colonial Baseball Classic.

Saugus (9-4) used every available pitcher, including Jeff Bodeau, who pitched six innings Thursday, and Roger Salkeld, who pitched five Wednesday. Salkeld, who pitched the sixth and seventh innings, struck out four of the six batters he faced.

“Oh, he’s awesome,” Lake Brantley Coach Mike Smith said. “If he pitched down here, he’d be an All-American. Probably is out there, too.”

The Centurions seemed unable to recover from Thursday’s 4-3 defeat to Chatsworth when they loaded the bases in the seventh but failed to score.

“Emotionally, we were low,” senior catcher Jared Snyder said. “It’s hard to come off a loss like the one we had. To play four games in one week is tough. I’m glad we’re going home.”

Said Saugus Coach Doug Worley: “The loss last night was about as painful as you can imagine.”

Salkeld pressed a bag of ice against his elbow as he headed off the field.

“As you can see,” said Salkeld, who had 12 strikeouts in seven tournament innings, “I’m in a lot of pain.”

Saugus was forced to play catch-up from the beginning against Lake Brantley, which stunned starter Chad Keene with back-to-back home runs by Greg Ebbert and Jim Morse in a five-run first.

“They hit the ball really well,” Worley said. “Five runs in the first inning--right away we were behind.”

Morse, who hit two home runs in a first-round win over Simi Valley, set a tournament record with his fifth homer.

Saugus countered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Salkeld doubled to score Darrell Davis, and Snyder doubled to score Salkeld and Tom Burges. But Lake Brantley (15-5) added two in the second to chase Keene (0-1) and three in the fifth to remove Glenn Terry.

Saugus pulled to 7-5 in the second when Dodson and Burges scored after right fielder Jason Varitek misplayed Snyder’s drive for a two-base error.

After Lake Brantley scored three runs in the fifth for a 10-5 lead, Snyder hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning, scoring Dodson. Lake Brantley completed the scoring with two runs off Salkeld in the seventh.