Watertown Baseball moved to 1-5 in league play with an 8-2 loss to Stoneham at Victory Field on the afternoon of May 1. In six league games to date, Watertown has scored 0, 1, 1, 4, 1 and 2 runs. It’s not a recipe for winning baseball, whether you are the run-prevention Red Sox or the Watertown Raiders Varsity Baseball. The Raiders have some good, young talent and they are only going to get better, but putting together hits and scoring runs continues to be a challenge in a very stingy Middlesex League.
The Raiders sent Julian Boas, their sophomore right hander, to the mound, and early on he was in command. So was Stoneham’s tall right hander, along with his decent fastball and curve. After two innings on a beautiful Spring day, and at the end of a cool and rainy week, the game was scoreless and visions of a pitcher’s duel seemed real. But the Raiders came unglued in the third, letting their starter down with poor defense and flat play.
Boas started the third with a ground out to first. It looked like he had the second out when a wicked breaking ball got Stoneham’s leadoff hitter to chase for strike three — but, the ball bounced in front of Raiders catcher Andrew Reilly and by the time Reilly retrieved the ball in fair play, the Stoneham runner was three-quarters of the way down the first base line. Reilly didn’t have a chance to throw him out by this point, but he tried and best intentions went awry, as the ball went to the right of first baseman Peter Pavlidis and towards the chain-link fence behind first base. The runner had struck out, but got the bag at first and took second on the throwing error. Instead of two outs and no one on, it was runner on second with one out. Demoralizing if you are a pitcher!
What followed through seven more Stoneham batters was ugly. A past ball, a throwing error, a hit batsman and three Stoneham hits. All in all, four runs on three hits, with two errors. Down 4-0 in the third is not game-over, but given Watertown’s offensive woes, it was going to be a tough hill to climb. Through five inning Watertown had one hit. Heading to the bottom of the sixth, they trailed 6-0. Against Stoneham’s second pitcher of the afternoon, a lefty with good movement, Watertown came to life. With one out and the bases loaded thanks to a Jayden Pineda single, a Jason Ciulla hit-by-pitch and a Peter Pavlidis walk, Andrew Reilly pounced on the first pitch and lined a clutch line drive to left center that scored two runs.
Unfortunately, the Raiders gave back the two runs in the seventh courtesy of a two-run homer by Stoneham’s nine-hitter. Watertown was retired in the seventh and the 8-2 loss was in the books. Boas deserved a better fate, but takes the loss. Bo Raymond pitched admirably in relief, struggling early as he pithed the 5th, 6th and 7th, but settled down on the whole. But, the bottom line remains this — the Raiders bats need to come to life (only three hits on this day) in support of a pitching staff doing solid work.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F H
Stoneham 0 0 4 1 1 0 2 8 7
Watertown 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3
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Watertown Losing Streak Reaches Eight In The Worst Possible Way
Winchester Righthander Throws A Perfect Game in 13-0 Win Over The Raiders
Victory Field, Watertown – Tuesday May 5, 2026
It was the 10-2 Winchester Baseball Team visiting Victory Field on Cinco De Mayo on a warm and blustery Spring afternoon. The Raiders, losers of seven straight, sent Jayden Pineda to the mound, while Winchester countered with one of its three aces, Stephen McCabe. The outcome wasn’t a positive one for Watertown on this day, as McCabe threw a gem — a perfect game to be exact – in a 13-0 victory. Because of the slaughter rule, the game was over after five innings, but that should not take away from McCabe’s accomplishment.
The Raiders have averaged just under 2 runs a game during their seven game losing streak, putting pressure on themselves to be perfect in every other aspect of their game. And while the Raiders have a the makings of a decent pitching staff, they aren’t lights-out hurlers, or at least, not yet. That means the defense has to be perfect, and honestly, they have come up short there. While many think baseball doesn’t require the same intensity as hockey or football or basketball, say, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the field, all nine players need to be alive and aware and on top of every situation that exists based on who is on base, how many outs there are and the score.
In the first inning alone the Raiders didn’t pay attention to details and looked flat, missing cut-offs and allowing Winchester runners to take extra bases. Down 2-0 after one inning, the Raiders allowed 12 batters to the plate in a 7-run second, basically signaling that this game was over. Look, it’s no fun being on the losing end — once or seven times in a row. I get it. The Middlesex League has good baseball teams, and the Raiders aren’t quite there yet. But, one of the hallmarks of Watertown athletics, across the board, in my opinion, is that the boys and girls who put on the uniform ALWAYS give it their best. Raiders baseball has checked out a bit the past two games. They are better than this, and hopefully Thursday at Burlington they will prove that to be the case.
Stephen McCabe — the Winchester righthander threw entirely from the stretch, mixing a good fastball with a curve and a change-up. His location was superb, nothing better than his curve that started at the batter’s box to a righty batter and ended up in the catcher’s mitt having painted the inside corner numerous times, freezing righty hitters. McCabe struck out the side swinging in the first, struck out one in the second, three more in the third, and two each in the fourth and fifth. Fifteen up and fifteen down — a perfect game. Final score – Winchester 13, Watertown 0.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F H
Winchester 2 7 1 1 2 – – 13 12
Watertown 0 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
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UPCOMING SCHEDULE