Sports is full of cliches, and baseball is no exception. You’re only as good as your starting pitcher. Your best players need to be your best players. Swing the bat. Put the ball in play and good things will happen. Well, these cliches were all on full display at Victory Field Thursday evening as Watertown took two from Wilmington.
First up was the completion of a suspended game with Wilmington from April 15. The game resumed in the 5th inning and Watertown trailing 5-1. Watertown got some excellent pitching from freshman Lefty Michael Caterino, who kept Wilmington at 5 runs. In the meantime, Watertown went to the seventh inning having cut the lead to 5-4. They put the ball in play and good things did happen, tying it in the seventh and winning it in the eighth inning, as Kingston Omalade slid into home for the walk-off win. This ended a five-game losing streak and put Watertown at 4-9 on the season.
Game 2
The regularly scheduled game matched Wilmington’s ace, a tall right hander with a plus fastball and curve. Watertown countered with freshman Julian Boas. This young man is very composed on the mound, and throws three pitches effectively for strikes — a fastball, curve and changeup. So, both teams were instantly good because their starting pitcher made them good.
Wilmington’s righthander is going to Hobart in the Fall to continue his baseball career, but in the here and now in the first inning Jack Brennan led off with an infield single, moved to second when Emilio Berndt was hit by a pitch, and scored when Jayden Pineda delivered an excellent swing that resulted in a line-drive, opposite field single to score the first run of the game. By the way, this was the top of the first, as Wilmington was the home team even though the game was at Victory Field.
In the third, a walk, an error, a past ball and a wild pitch gifted Watertown a second run. In the meantime, Boas pitched four shoutout innings, allowing three hits and walking no one. He also got an excellent defensive play by senior shortstop Emilio Berndt to end the fourth, as he threw an absolute bb across the diamond to get the Wilmington runner at first by half a step.
Things got interesting in the fifth. Watertown went out in order, and Wilmington’s pitcher now had seven strikeouts. In the bottom of the inning, Boas ran out of gas. A lead off single, a stolen base, a walk, another single and stolen base, and one more single and it was suddenly 3-2 Wilmington. First Baseman Lucas Pizzuto relieved Boas. Boas was on hook for the loss, but pitched well, and if you are Coach Manoukian, you see a bright future in Caterino and Boas!
Watertown answered immediately in the top of the sixth. And one of tits best players was just that. With one out and no one on, Emilio Berndt out-dueled Wilmington’s ace. He took some great cuts, didn’t chase the curve, got the count to 3 and 2, then fouled off six pitches before taking ball four. What an at bat!
Next thing you know, Berndt is stealing second and scoring on a clutch single up the middle from Domenic Moynihan. Moynihan advanced to second when the centerfielder tried throwing out Berndt at home, but the ball sailed over home plate and out of play. Moynihan was awarded third as a result. He then scored the winning run by avoiding the tag of the pitcher who took a throw from the catcher after committing a past ball.
Pizzuto struck out the side in the seventh, and the final score of a fun and competitive high school baseball game was Watertown 4, Wilmington 3. Watertown is now 5-9 and next plays Tuesday May 13 at Stoneham and Thursday May 15 at home versus Wakefield.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 – R H E
Watertown 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 – 4 4 1
Wilmington 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 – 3 6 2
Great reporting! I can’t always make the games and look forward to your commentary. George Pizzuto, Lucas’s grandfather.