Mustang Baseball Opens Season with Win

Victory Over Waltham 1st in 4 Years for Medford

– Allison Goldsberry

The Medford varsity baseball team started the season with a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over a team that has eluded the Mustangs for four years.

Medford fell behind Waltham early, 7-2, but was able to chip away inning by inning and pull ahead 8-7 in the 5th, said Head Coach Nick Tucci. Waltham tied it up in the 6th inning but the Mustangs held them off, forcing extra innings and pulling out the victory in the tenth inning by scoring three runs.

Al Krasco started the game and gave up 3 runs in 1+ innings of work. Chris Salvati entered the game to pitch following Krasco and struggled with his control initially. He gave up 4 runs in that frame.

“He ended up pitching 8 innings and, after the troubles that he had when he first came in the game, he was able to hold the score and give us a chance to win the ballgame. He battled and gave us everything that he had in order to keep us in the game and give our bats a chance to win the ballgame,” said Coach Tucci.

Danny Gilchrist was the offensive star for the Mustang with three hits.  Ian Fitzgerald broke the 8-8 tie in the 10th inning with a line drive base hit up the middle with a guy on third base and two outs in that inning.

Danny Gilchrist came in to close out the game in the bottom of the 10th to earn his first save of the year. Salvati picked up the win, going eight innings and giving up four runs (all in the 2nd inning).

The Mustangs will play Lynn English on Thursday afternoon at Fraser Field in Lynn and head to Winchester on Saturday morning.  The home opener is Monday, April 12 against Waltham at 4:00PM.