The Western Mass. Storm was second in the AAU nationals.
Boston Red Sox's John Lackey threw 15 pitches in a simulated setting Saturday.BOSTON - The rain on Friday could not stop the celebration for the Western Mass. Storm, which had a special night at Fenway Park.
The pregame ceremony was a high point on the night of the series opener. The Red Sox fell into a last-place tie Friday, losing 7-5 to Toronto after a rain delay.
The Red Sox at least won points for civic service by honoring the local 13-and-under team, which finished second to a North Carolina team in the 40-team AAU Grand Nationals.
The event was held in June at Disney's Wide World of Sports. For a northern team to do so well in the nation's premier AAU event is considered extraordinary.
The Storm earned the tournament sportsmanship trophy, which coach Tommie Winn called a special source of pride.
Rain delayed Friday's pregame ceremony for 90 minutes, but the team was then brought onto the field to cheers.
Players included Matt Barrett, Cody Cavanagh, Isaiah Choiniere, Anthony Clark, Anthony Costa, Justin Frometa, Eddie Martinez, Mike Mieczkowski, Stephan Poreda, Aniello Russo, and Mike Suglia.
All are from Hampden County communities except Mieczkowski, who is from Hadley.
"It was our first year together as a team, and we had some injuries and started slowly. But from the Florida tournament on, the kids played great baseball,'' Winn said Saturday.
"It was really memorable that the Red Sox would honor us like that.''
The Storm reached at least the semifinals in every regional tournament it entered.
Winn's assistant coach was Mike Cavanagh of Holyoke, a former catcher in the San Francisco Giants chain.
LACKEY THROWS: John Lackey threw to hitters for the first time a simulated session with hitters Saturday.
The rehabbing right-hander threw 15 pitches. Manager Bobby Valentine said it could not be certain that Lackey would be fully ready by spring training.
Red Sox pitchers Rich Hill and Daisuke Matsuzaka had Tommy John elbow surgery, and suffered physical setbacks upon their returns. Valentine said he could not predict if that might happen to Lackey, who had the same surgery.
DOUBRONT DILEMMA: The Red Sox have not decided whether to shut down Felix Doubront for the season.
The sagging left-hander has pitched 134 innings, a career high in an eight-year pro career. He is 10-8 with a 5.21 ERA, and lasted only four innings in Friday's defeat.
His ERA since Aug. 1 is 9.70 in five starts. He spent 17 days on the disabled list in August.