LEXINGTON — The bragging rights as the best amateur baseball league in the Greater Boston area has been up for debate for years now with most of the jockeying in the eyes of the beholder.
The argument, at least for one year, finally was settled as a new tradition took shape over the weekend.
Steve Gath’s RBI single down the third base line in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the game-winning hit as the Intercity League All-Stars squeaked out a 6-5 victory over the Cranberry League All-Stars in the finals of the inaugural Eastern Mass. All-Star Baseball Classic at Lexington High.
Gath spent four years playing in college at Bentley and even though this game was an exhibition, he could sense that guys on both sides of the diamond were looking to be the first champions of the new tournament.
“You get a little pressure because you want to get bragging rights,” said Gath, who plays for the Lexington Blue Sox and was named the Intercity League offensive MVP of the game. “You are playing against the best over there. You go out there and trust your skills and know that you are here for a reason.”
The idea to get the four major amateur leagues — Cranberry Baseball League, Intercity League, Yawkey Baseball League and Boston Park League — together for one showcase has been kicked around amongst league presidents for a number of years. In early February, the league presidents and representatives from the four leagues sat down and ironed out a way to compete.
Interleague games during the season were discussed, but ultimately they decided to have a three-game tournament in one weekend in the middle of the season.
“It’s an important thing for all four leagues,” said Intercity League All-Star manager Rick DeAngelis, who manages the Lexington Blue Sox. “It’s something we’ve been trying to do for seven or eight years and we could never get everybody on the same page. It was time to do this. . . . All of these talented athletes play for the love of the game, so who are we to deny them the opportunity to compete. That’s how I see it.”
Cranberry League president Joe Paolucci said the plan is to continue this tournament with hopes of expanding in the coming years.
“When we first started planning it we had very big ideas,” Paolucci said. “The fact that we scaled back and made it simple, now we can kind of build from here.”
Former Boston College standout Ryan Morgan (Braintree White Sox) got the Cranberry League All-Stars on the board in top of the sixth inning with a three-run shot to right for a 3-2 lead. Justin Wright (Lexington Blue Sox) grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the inning with a three-run double to right for a 5-3 Intercity lead.
Morgan (2-for-3, four RBI) pulled an RBI single to right in the top of the eighth and former UMass-Amherst product Frank Curreri (Braintree White Sox) tied it up at 5 with a sacrifice fly before Gath’s heroics.