SWANSEA— For the past three years, at different age levels, the same Taunton East and Swansea Maroon squads have met each other in the Massachusetts Little League District 6 championship.
All of those games, and other clashes between the two, have been hard-fought affairs, decided by just a run or two. The past two titles clashes have gone to the boys from Swansea.
But when the two met for the 12U title at the Swansea Little League Complex on Wednesday, July 15, the first step on the long road to Williamsport and its famed Little League World Series, it was the boys from Taunton East who came out on top.
Propelled by a three run first inning and solidified by an extra inning bunt, Taunton East held off Swansea Maroon to secure a 5-4 seventh inning win and the 2026 Massachusetts 12U District 6 crown.
“It means the world to me,” Taunton East coach Eddy Travers said. “Since these kids were six and seven years old, we’ve been battling every game… (Swansea Maroon) came out on top the last couple of years, but we came out on top the year it means the most.”
After Swansea Maroon tied things up 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings, Taunton East knew they needed to respond fast to quell their momentum. With shortstop Jakobe Suarez, who led the way at the plate going 1-for-2 with a double, a pair of runs and an RBI, placed at second as the automatic extra innings baserunner and advancing to third on a single by Kyle LaPointe, the team’s top bunter, third baseman Emmett Travers, came up to bat.
“He’s always putting the ball in play,” Eddy Travers said of his son. “I knew he could get it down, and I knew that Jakobe at third base was ready to go when we put it down exactly where we told him to put it, and it worked.
The younger Travers placed a bunt perfectly between the mound and first base line, giving Suarez enough time to reach home and himself enough time to reach first safely for the single.
From there, Suarez was able to close out the game, striking out three straight Swansea batters after giving up an opening walk to seal the deal for Taunton East. He earned the save going 2 innings giving up an unearned run on a pair of hits and a walk while striking out 4.
Gavin Costa, meanwhile, earned the win for Taunton East, going 5 innings giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.
“He did what he had to do, and that’s why he’s our ace,” Travers said. “We’ve got a bunch of aces on this team, but he came out there, did what he had to do and kept them in check all game.”
Suarez was able to aid that effort in the top of the first. After back-to-back singles by center fielder Logan Rego and Costa to start the game, he drove the pair home on a base-clearing double.
“I feel like that was the part where I knew this was going to be a good game,” Suarez said. “That’s the part that hyped me up.”
Suarez would come home himself the next at-bat, reaching on a ground out by LaPointe after advancing to third on a wild pitch. First baseman Shawn Guillemette made it 4-0 in the top of the second, driving in left fielder Mason Hopkins with an RBI double, before Swansea Maroon halved that lead in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a Blake Emard RBI single and a pair of wild pitches that saw him come home two at-bats later.
It remained 4-2 until Swansea Maroon, with their backs against the wall, struck back courtesy of an RBI single by third baseman Lucas Camara and a passed ball an at-bat later to bring in starting pitcher Ben Bumpas from third to tie it all up.
While Taunton East prevailed in the end, Swansea Maroon put in a solid effort throughout. Bumpas took the loss after going 6⅓ innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 8 before Luke Cabral tossed the final ⅔ innings giving up a hit.
At the plate, Emard led the way for the hosts, gong 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Ethan Amaral went 2-for-2 with a run while Camara went 2-for-3 with an RBI and first baseman Bryce Standring went 1-for-3 with a double.
As for the visiting bats, Rego went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run while LaPorte went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Taunton East now move on to pool play against a to be decided slew opponent as it pursues a chance at the state title. While Eddy Travers knows his team has the depth and talent to make a deep run, he knows there’s still plenty they have to do first to prove that.
“We’ve got a lot more baseball to go,” Eddy Travers said.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton East 12U baseball earns District 6 title in extra inning test
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