WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Memorial High School baseball team battled to the end against Woburn on Saturday at Walsh Field and came away just edging out their tough Division 2 opponent by a score of 2-1.
This tight contest featured sharp defensive plays, timely hitting, and solid pitching performances to get the Warriors back on track after an 11-4 loss to Burlington last week.
Starting pitcher Marc Gagne worked his way out of a jam in the top of the first, securing his first of eight strikeouts to end what could have been a promising inning for the Tanners. The Warriors got on the board in the bottom of the first when Aidan Bligh doubled and scurried to third on a passed ball. Jack Pennacchia stroked a single next that scored Bligh for the first run of the game.
Gagne notched four additional strikeouts in the top of the second and the top of the third.
Jayvith Chea tried to get something going offensively in the bottom of the second after blooping a hit to the outfield and smartly stretching it to a double when he saw nobody covering the bag at second. Chea ended up being stranded there, however.
The Warrior offense threatened again in the bottom of the third. Charles Gagne was hit by a pitch, Andrew Nemec singled up the middle and Bligh blooped a hit to right field to load the bases with nobody out. Fans were excited to see Wakefield’s power hitter Pennacchia then approach the plate, and he did not disappoint with a bomb hit to right field. The ball was observed by many to have sailed over the right field fence but then curve around the pole and land foul, so it was unfortunately called foul by the home plate umpire, and the Warriors ended up being unable to capitalize in this inning.
The Tanners tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning with a single, stolen base and an RBI base hit.
The Warriors had another golden opportunity in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded and nobody out. Chea walked, Ethan Faulkner singled and Nik Dhingra laid down a beautiful bunt that had nobody covering first base so that he reached as well. Charles Gagne hit a sacrifice fly to center field, giving the Warriors a lead when Chea tagged up and reached home safely.
Chea was busy in the top of the fifth when three straight ground balls were hit his way at shortstop and he fielded them expertly and made good throws to first. Pennacchia helped as he often does at first with a nice scoop.
Marc Gagne was still going strong on the mound and got his eighth strikeout in the top of the sixth, but he had thrown 120 pitches at this point and so was replaced by sophomore standout Patrick Maloney. Maloney hit the next batter, but the Tanner was soon thrown out by catcher Dylan McDermott when trying to steal second. Maloney then ended the inning with a strikeout of his own.
Dhingra reached first in the bottom of the sixth, but the Warriors couldn’t make anything of it and Maloney then had to face the top of the Tanner order in the seventh. He got the leadoff hitter to ground out and the second hitter to strikeout before one of the Tanner sluggers and All-Stars, Jack Lee, approached the plate. Lee, a formidable opponent, slammed a ball to deep right field, but Dhingra was there as he has been all year and ended the game with a good catch.
Captain Chea commented on the close game, saying, “We knew the situation we were in and felt like it was a must win game. I knew we had to hustle hard and play hard every single pitch. I stretched a blooper hit early into two bases and that pretty much reflected our energy for the entire game, as we all played with an intense drive to win.”
The Warriors, now 4-2, will turn their attention to two Freedom Division rivals during this April Vacation week. Both games are at home: Watertown (3-3) this Wednesday at 10 a.m. and Wilmington (1-3) on Friday at 2 p.m.