Saugus Beats Canyon, 9-2, to Pull Into a Tie for First

Saugus High’s baseball team couldn’t wait to get Golden League rival Canyon in its own yard. Canyon Coach Wally Hammond couldn’t wait to get out after watching his team lose to Saugus, 9-2, Tuesday.

“It’s a nice yard,” Hammond said of Saugus’ neatly groomed, freshly painted facility. “But I don’t like playing here.”

For Saugus (11-5, 6-2), however, the field has proven to be a valuable piece of real estate, both aesthetically and competitively. The win, the first by Saugus over Canyon in a major sport this school year, improved the Centurions’ home record to 31-5 over the past four years.

More importantly, it moved Saugus into a first-place tie with Canyon (10-6, 6-2).

Saugus’ field wasn’t the only thing that looked in form. Tom Dodson was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and hit his fifth home run to lead the Centurions’ 11-hit attack. Teammate Jared Snyder was 1 for 3 and scored 2 runs, including a steal of home on the front end of a double steal.

But no one looked better than Saugus right-hander Roger Salkeld (5-3), who went the distance, throwing the first one-hitter of his career while striking out six.

“I was really up for the game,” said Salkeld, a 6-4 sophomore.

Canyon brought Salkeld to earth in a hurry, striking for two runs in the first inning on two Saugus errors, which brought to mind the teams’ first meeting this season when Salkeld struck out 10, but was stuck with a loss because of four unearned runs.

After the two runs, though, Salkeld shut Canyon down, retiring 19 of the remaining 21 batters.