Local Baseball Standout Visits Beloved Coach and Swampscott Little League Kids

On Monday, the Swampscott Little League Tournament teams received a surprise visit from Ben Bowden. Ben is a former Lynn English High School standout and current college World Series winner. For four years, he was a starter at Lynn English for Swampscott’s own legendary coach, Joe Caponigro. Like so many other players, Ben stayed in close contact with Coach Caponigro who is his coach, friend, and mentor.

According to Caponigro, Ben played every inning of every game during his four years at Lynn English. Ben was the Massachusetts Gatorade Player in 2013 and earned a scholarship to Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt was the winner of this year’s Division 1 College World Series that was just completed in Omaha, Nebraska. As a freshman, Ben pitched in game 2 of the championship series against the University of Virginia.

More notable than Bowden’s baseball success is his solid grounding as a respectful and humble young man. On his visit, Ben encouraged the young Swampscott players to study hard in school, “be respectful good kids”, embrace “quiet” confidence, and work hard to overcome adversity. According to SLL president Michael Pegnato, “it was quite evident that Ben had taken to heart the lessons that Coach Caponigro reinforces in all of his players”.