Medford Baseball Defeats Waltham
Home Opener Successful for Mustangs
Video courtesy MHS-TV 15
– Allison Goldsberry
Medford earned its first victory in four years over Waltham last week, and the Mustangs proved it wasn’t just a fluke by putting away the Hawks, 8-4, at Playstead Park on Monday afternoon.
The home opener started off slow for the Mustangs and the first run wasn’t scored until the third inning. Junior Danny Gilchrist started it off with a hit that went right through the legs of Waltham’s third baseman. Gilchrist’s base hit put him into position to score, as he got a jump on a pitch that senior captain Greg Wilson slammed into left field for a double that brought Gilchrist all the way home from first base.
The Waltham Hawks responded with four runs in the fifth inning, topping the Mustangs 4-1. Medford got its offense going quickly, with Gilchrist, Wilson, and senior captain Ian Fitzgerald loading the bases for senior Andrew Waldrip. Waldrip put the ball deep into centerfield and brought in two runs.
In the sixth inning Gilchrist, Wilson, and Waldrip again delivered for the Mustangs. Senior Andrew Pompeo started it off with a walk and senior Kyle Malin was sent in to pinch run. Gilchrist had another base hit, which was followed by a line drive to centerfield by Wilson that brought in a run. Waldrip drove in another run and left the bases loaded with two outs for junior Chris Salvati. Salvati, who had a stellar outing pitching the entire game for the Mustangs, banged a line drive triple to left field that brought in three runs.
Salvati then took the mound for the seventh inning and held Medford’s 8-4 lead by striking out each Hawk that came up to the plate. Salvati is now 2-0.
“Chris Salvati gave us a gutsy performance and willed us to victory with his heroics at the plate and on the mound. We need to be able to continue to make quality starts as a pitching staff, and if we do, we should be able to win our fair share of ball games,” said Coach Tucci.
The Mustangs host South Boston on Wednesday at 4:00PM and then head to Southie on Friday. They are currently 2-1 on the season and face their first Greater Boston League opponent when they head to Malden on Tuesday, April 20.
In other Medford Baseball news, the freshman team defeated Cambridge, 7-3, and the junior varsity team pulled out an extra inning, 10-9 victory over Waltham.
The JV team extended its winning streak and currently have a 3-0 record to begin the season, according to Head Coach Vin Macone.
Rob Deluca started on the mound for the Mustangs and pitched 4 innings before being relieved by Freshman Corey Devlin. The score after four innings was Waltham 7, Medford 2. Deluca gave up seven hits while striking out 6 and not walking anyone. The Mustangs’ defense did not have its best day as some timely errors contributed to a couple of runs. Devlin pitched 4 innings in relief, allowing just 2 unearned runs on 3 hits and 5 strikeouts to pick up his first high school win as a pitcher.
Although the defense for the Mustangs struggled all day long, the defensive play of the day was when the lead-off batter for Waltham opened the top of the eighth inning with a line drive to left field and Mike Pizzi made a diving catch to retire the batter and eliminate what might have been a big inning for Waltham.
The Mustangs JV’s responded in the bottom of the eighth inning when lead-off batter Deluca tripled to right center field to open the inning. He was followed by Steve Scire at the plate, who promptly drove the ball over the center fielder’s head for a walk off single to end the game. Chris Hayes was 3 for 5, with 2 doubles and a run scored. Bob Milner was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Deluca was 2 for 4 with 2 triples. Scire was 3 for 5, with 2 runs scored and the game winning hit to lead the Mustang offense.
Next game is at Hickey Park on Wednesday, April 14 against South Boston HS.