MC Baseball Comes up Short Against Medford
Mustangs Defeat Lancers, 7-6, Saturday
Story Updated 6:30PM, Sunday, May 30, 2010
Senior captain Greg Wilson struck out eight Lancers en route to a Mustang victory.
Junior Rob Deluca (#20, hitting) put the Mustangs on the board with a two-run double in the 1st.
Key RBI singles by senior John Mangiasi (#8) kept Medford in the game.
– Allison Goldsberry
It was a close game, but the Mustang varsity baseball team eventually came out on top and defeated Malden Catholic 7-6 during the first round of the seventh annual Holovak and Coughlin Tournament.
Senior captain Greg Wilson took the mound for the Mustangs and pitched a complete game, striking out eight Lancers without surrendering a walk.
Malden Catholic used three pitchers, Dan Benito, Walker O’Connor, and Jeremy Roberts, to try to fend off the Mustangs.
Wilson (2-3), junior Rob Deluca (2-3), senior John Mangiasi (2-3), and senior Andrew Waldrip (2-3) each had multiple hit games to lead the Mustang offense.
“Our guys battled their rear ends off today to earn this victory. The Malden Catholic and Medford rivalry in baseball has been intense the last few years and I am happy that our guys have been up for the challenge in taking two out of the last three games against them. We have instilled a culture of winning and the guys are back to playing what we call ‘Mustang Baseball,'” said Head Coach Nick Tucci.
Wilson and senior captain Kyle Heath got it started with a couple of base hits, setting the stage for a two-run double by Deluca that put Medford up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Mangiasi followed with an RBI single to leave the Mustangs with a 3-0 lead going into the second inning. Wilson then proceeded to have a 1-2-3 second inning, striking out each Lancer he faced.
Malden Catholic responded with five runs in the third inning, including an RBI double by Medford resident and senior captain Justin Sencabaugh. Medford bounced back in the bottom of the third and tied the game 5-5 with RBI singles by Mangiasi and Waldrip.
MC brought in its sixth and final run on a loose ball in the fourth inning. Medford responded with an RBI single by junior Danny Gilchrist to tie the game again, this time 6-6. Good defense held off MC in the fifth inning, with Wilson striking out his seventh Lancer and Deluca making a key catch.
Medford scored its seventh and final run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Wilson that brought speedy senior captain and catcher Danny Gunn, who stole second, home.
The Lancers threatened with a hard-hit, long shot deep into left field in the top of the seventh by Sencabaugh, but senior Mustang Andrew Pompeo made the clutch catch to keep MC from tying the game.
Other Medford residents on the MC team include junior captain Paul Yanakopulos, junior John McGonagle, sophomore Paul Covelle, and freshman Jake Porrazzo.
Medford went on to defeat Arlington Catholic, 6-3, while MC pulled out a come-from-behind 12-8 victory over Arlington High School on Sunday to wrap up the tournament.
The wins improved Medford’s record to 16-4 and the Mustangs are now 2-1 against MC in the past three years.
“This is a special group of guys that have had to overcome a great deal this year and their hard work and perseverance have paid off in dividends which is evident in our 15-4 record at this point in the season. I told the guys that we need to have an ‘All in’ type of mentality, as my UConn coach used to tell us. ‘All-in’ is total concentration and complete focus on the task at hand, absolute trust in your brothers beside you, knowing you deserve success in the moment because of the exhaustion and preparation endured that led you to that very moment,” said Coach Tucci.
The Mustangs will compete in the state tournament following this weekend’s games. Tournament seedings and game pairings should be announced on Tuesday.
“These guys have been working to reach their lofty goals for months on end and I am glad that they are cashing in. Our job is not done however as we have a great deal of work to do to win a championship down the line. But, as I told the guys today, the job will be tough, if not impossible if, our whole team isn’t ‘All in,'” said Tucci.