Summary | Box Score Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Newton Bombers 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 1 N. Andover Thunder 0 0 1 6 0 4 0 0 0 11 8 1

On a beautiful Sunday morning with a Carnival atmosphere (the North Andover Youth Carnival was set up adjacent to the field), the Bombers and Thunder faced off for an early season matchup. Paul Laurin scattered 7 hits across 6 innings, striking out 7, giving up 3 runs for the win, and Dave Patnaude with solid relief work (3 innings, 1 hit, 7 ground balls) combined to give the Thunder an 11-3 victory. Offensive contributions: Jon Story led off the 4th with an HBP, walks drawn by Dave Brown, Mike Johnson, Ed Macmillan, Mike Rullo and Jim Beers, a key sac bunt by Laurin, and clutch hits by Brian Chen and Chuck April in the 4th (2 RBIs each) sparked a big 6-run 4th inning to put the Thunder ahead for good. Andy Gish put in a solid game for Newton both at short and with a strong relief appearance to close out the game. Jeff Parillo also had a solid day at the plate with 2 hits.