The Boston Renegades have been practicing beep baseball for years at Watertown’s Filippello Park. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown has become the home training spot for the Boston Renegades, a beep baseball team. The sport allows players with vision impairments to continue to play and be part of a team. The team marks its 25th anniversary in 2025, and for most of that time Watertown has been its home. Each Sunday, the Renegades take the field at Filippello Park to prepare for upcoming tournaments, including the NBBA Beep Baseball World Series.
A member of the Watertown Wavemakers, competed at the Boys & Girls Club National Championships in Florida. (Photo by Jessica vonGoeler)
The following piece was provided by Erin Hickey coach of the Watertown Wavemakers:
Members of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club Wavemakers swim team recently dove into fierce competition at the Boys & Girls Club National Swim Meet in St. Petersburg, Florida, from April 11-13, showcasing their talent among the nation’s best young athletes. Watertown Boys & Girls Club has been representing the community annually at the Nationals swim meet since 2012. This year, a group of 17 determined swimmers ages 10-17 made the trip under the leadership of Wavemakers Head Coach Erin Hickey and assistant coaches Jenn Lawlor and Dylan Hickey.
Senior night is always special. It doesn’t matter if a team has a winning record or a losing one, is heading to the post-season tournament or not. Senior night is about family and friends. Senior night is about remembering all the good times and the practice and the commitment and the training and the devotion to team. Parents and grandparents and siblings share in the joy and recognition. And when the night is done, it’s hard to believe that one’s high school career is almost at an end. Well, for Jack Brisson, Patrick Johnson-Ciano, Lucas Pizzuto, Jack Brennan, Domenic Moynihan, Daniel Heep, Emilio Berndt, Adam Wainwright, Joseph Parmley and G’Nai Concannon-Garvin, baseball senior night has officially come and gone, and while Watertown came up just short against first-place Wakefield 3-2, it was a memorable night.
The starting lineup included seniors at first (Pizzuto), shortstop (Berndt), third (Moynihan), center (Brennan) and DH (Wainwright). On the opposite end of the spectrum, Watertown’s starting pitcher was the impressive freshman, Julian Boas. Boas ended up pitching four and third, giving up three runs on six hits, but he kept his team in the game. In relief, the equally impressive left hander Michael Caterino, also a freshman, pitched shutout ball for two-and-two-thirds innings. Wakefield’s starting pitcher threw a complete game and struck out 10. He also went two-for-four at the plate with an RBI single in the first.
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.
The Boston Gold King, based in Watertown, will hold a street hockey tournament for youth players in June. Register by May 31. See more info in the Gold King’s announcement below. Get ready for the ultimate street hockey showdown! The Gold Kings 1st Annual Youth Street Hockey Tournament is hitting the pavement on Saturday, June 21st in Watertown, MA — and you don’t want to miss it!
Baseball is such a great game. While it might seem to be all about the pitcher and batter, there’s so much else in play. Every pitch and every swing produces a reaction and a responsibility from every player either in the field or on the bases. And when, as a team, you are swinging the bats well and running the bases aggressively and making the plays in the field, you feel invincible. Unfortunately, Watertown Baseball isn’t at that happy place at the moment, and it showed last night as the Raiders lost to Arlington 14-0 at Victory Field. Watertown finished their April schedule this week with losses on Monday at home to Reading and Wednesday on the road to Winchester. Good riddance to April! Hope was in the air, though. One, a turn of the calendar to a new month would bring better results. Two, last year’s starting catcher, Andrew Reilly, returned to the lineup Thursday night after sitting out April with an injury. And, three, Watertown’s best pitcher to date, Lucas Pizzuto was on the mound. Arlington countered with a lefty with good stuff – a sneaky fastball, a sweeping curveball thrown from different arm slots, and a change up. Optimism “left the building” quickly though, as Pizzuto lasted only 8 batters while giving up 5 runs. The first inning was a peek into the state of the Raiders nine at the moment – not cohesive, not making the fundamental plays, not communicating – and in baseball, there’s very little room for error.
Aurise Tattrie will be playing her sixth year of college field hockey at UMass Lowell this fall. (Contributed Photo)
Aurise Tattrie has amassed perhaps the longest college career of any former Watertown field hockey player, as she enters her sixth year playing at UMass Lowell. She will play her final season as a captain of the River Hawks, but the journey has had its ups and downs. In her time in Lowell, Tattrie (who plays back) has appeared in 54 games, made 52 starts, scored one goal and added four assists for 7 total of points. She has played 3,083 minutes for the River Hawks.
Monday Night April 28th Watertown Baseball looked to end a two-game losing streak versus perennial Middlesex League Baseball power Reading. Unfortunately, it didn’t come to be, as Watertown took it on the chin by the score of 14-2 in five innings at Victory Field. It was a beautiful spring night, not a cloud in the sky and nary a sign of even the slightest breeze as the flag located down the first base line was entirely still.
Senior co-captain Domenic Moynihan has done his best to do it all this spring, from playing second & third to catching (while starting-catcher Andrew Reilly heals from an off-season injury), to pitching, all while batting second game after game. Last night he was asked to take the mound by Coach Aram Manoukian. What transgressed was any pitchers worst nightmare, and one that many before the well-intended Moynihan have experienced – he couldn’t find the strike zone. The first four Reading hitters all drew walks. 1-0 Reading. Moynihan hung in and struck out the five-hitter, and was now a double-play ground ball away from escaping the inning. Control woes returned though, and three of the next four walked and Moynihan’s night on the mound was done. Nine batters, seven walks, one hit, one strikeout.
