For the baseball program at Walpole, life comes full circle.
The Timberwolves completed an incredible journey by defeating Reading 7-6 to win the Division 2 state title, ninety-one years after the artists, originally known as the Rebels, won the first state baseball tournament. It was even more considerate of Walpole coach Chris Costello to present interim AD Bill Tompkins, who won over 500 games as the school’s head coach, with the title award after the game.
Braintree overcame a number of injuries to go to the Division 1 state final, when they faced a Chelmsford team hoping to create its own history, and the Bay State Conference came very close to winning two titles in one year. The Lions, who had been the last team remaining for 59 years, required nine innings but surged for six runs to win 8–2.
The Cape Ann League had a busy postseason as well. Ethan Quan’s pitching helped North Reading defeat Arlington Catholic 10-3 and win the Division 3 state championship, capping an incredible 21-win season. Lynnfield advanced to the Div. 4 title game and lost to Millbury 3-2, almost going two for two.
English nearly won the Div. 5 state championship again, defeating Pioneer Valley, who had been unbeaten, 6-5, after forcing extra innings.
What else is there to say about Taunton in softball? With the help of Cate Larson and Brooke Aldrich, the Tigers defeated Wachusett 10–4 to win the Div. 1 championship for the seventh consecutive year. Bridgewater-Raynham, Bishop Feehan, and Wachusett made them work for it, so it wasn’t as easy as the others, but it probably made it sweeter.
Silver Lake will never be accused of backing into the Div. 2 championship. Following their 1-0 victory over a formidable Westfield team in the state quarterfinals, the Lakers pulled off what many believed to be the unthinkable: they defeated Alyx Rossi and Bedford. Bedford undoubtedly has a secret weapon, but Silver Lake also has one, as Delaney Moquin won the championship by shutting out the Buccaneers 4-0 to cap off another All-Scholastic season.
On your side of the softball brackets, you don’t want the South Coast Conference. Dighton-Rehoboth and Case ended up finishing bottom in their respective categories for the second consecutive year.
Gloucester posed a serious threat to Dighton-Rehoboth in the quarterfinals, but he defeated the other four opponents 36-1 to capture another Div. 3 state championship. Case defeated four opponents in the Division 4 competition, but Tyngsboro pushed them to the edge in the Division 4 final before they prevailed 7–6.
Turners Falls demonstrated some real moxie and is a legitimate Div. 5 dynasty. After defeating Georgetown 8-7 in the semifinals after rallying from a 6-0 deficit, they defeated Greenfield 2-1 to capture another state championship.
We appreciate everyone who followed us during the spring.
Coaches that fail to do well with their players: In all sports, I firmly believe that 95–98% of coaches act morally to advance their players. When it comes to pushing their children for awards, the two-percenters are harder to find than Jimmy Hoffa; they want the media to bow down when they call. This is the source of their annoyance.
Overabundance of MVP Awards: In the past, winning an MVP award was a true honor. The old Oprah saying, “now you get a car, and you get a car,” has been adopted by leagues in recent years. The sheer number of co-MVPs and, occasionally, tri-MVPs is astounding. Let’s return to making it a legitimate honor, people.
WHINING ABOUT DISTANCES: It’s fascinating to watch adults gripe about having to travel so far to play in tournaments. California, Florida, and Texas are not places where we reside. Improve.
