WAKEFIELD — The 8th annual Meghan Burnett “Fly High” fast-pitch softball tournament took place from July 11-13. The weather was great, dry fields receiving just enough precipitation during the week to provide an excellent surface when it came time for the tournament.
Teams from around New England came to Wakefield and Reading to compete in this annual event to benefit the Meghan Burnett Foundation. There are two age divisions in the tournament with the 14U games played at both Mapleway and Reading High School’s Varsity field (Birch Meadow) and the 18U games played at Veterans Field and Meghan Burnett Field at Blatz Park (WMHS).
With the Meghan Burnett Field being out of service in 2024, the 18U teams were all glad to see that it was back online this year. With the help of the construction team at WMHS and the Wakefield DPW (who also worked hard getting Vets Field and Mapleway ready at the same time) the field was looking great in time for the first game on Friday and continued throughout the weekend.
In Reading, the tournament was again fortunate to be working with local long-time softball coach Dom Gasdia who after years of coaching softball in Wakefield and Danvers is currently the Reading High varsity coach. He was assisted by former WMHS 3-sport athletes and Bridgewater state Basketball stars (and friends of Meghan) Hannah and Olivia Dziadyk.
The tournament was privileged to have soloist Lucy Spry who did double duty providing beautiful performances of the National Anthem before the first two and last 18U games. It was also fortunate to have Matt O’Connor return as the on-field announcer for the semifinals and finals at Meghan’s field.
There were four players from Wakefield competing in the tournament. In the 14U division, Nina Oliver pitched, played middle infield and CF for the Shock and Callie Donovan played 2B for the Raiders. In the 18U division, Jackie Sullivan and Kayla Shaw both played for the Raiders 18U Gold team. For Wakefield High, Sullivan plays 1B and Shaw is a pitcher.
Typically there are eight teams competing in each division but this year due to some last minute cancellations, there were only six teams in the 18U division. Fortunately, these were six excellent teams which resulted in some exciting games.
The format is a three-game round robin pool on Friday and Saturday to determine the seeding for Sunday. Pool play games are 7 innings or 1:30 (whichever comes first) and can end in a tie where Sunday’s games all have a winner.
The Sunday brackets are a single elimination structure with each game eliminating one team while the other moves on to the next round until eventually one remaining team becomes the champion.
14U Division
The standings after pool play were as follows:
Rage 14U
Northeast Hurricanes
Shock Fastpitch
Raiders 14U Gray
New England Storm
Northeast Reign-Gilbride
RES Angels-Newbury
Vermont Storm
After Pool Play, the undefeated 14U Rage (Salisbury) was the No.1 seed, playing the No.8 seed Vermont Storm. As is always the case, Sunday is a new day and the scores from Saturday don’t determine the outcomes on Sunday. As proof of this, the VT Storm pulled off a 7-3 upset, earning them a place in the semifinals.
For the third year in a row, the Northeast Hurricanes hammered their way into the 14U championship game, this time facing the Concord Raiders. The Hurricanes were the No. 2 seed after pool play, finishing with a strong 2-1 record: 2 shutouts and one loss in a close game. The Raiders were the No. 4 seed and also had a 2-1 record after pool play.
After initially losing to the Hurricanes on Friday, the Raiders came back with two big wins on Saturday, scoring 22 runs in two games. Sunday they continued to roll with 2 more wins, scoring another 20 runs before moving to Vets field for the 14U championship which became a rematch of Friday night’s contest.
The game was off to a great start with two strong teams slugging it out. As the game went on, the Hurricanes continued to play like it was their first game of the day, but the sun and high scoring prior games began to take a toll on the Raiders who were running out of gas. In the end, it was the Hurricanes on top for the second time in three years.
18U Division
18U Rage (Salisbury) made it to the championship game three years in a row and finally won it all last year; would they pull a repeat performance this year or was there a wild card in the deck?
Pool play in the 18U division was tight with lots of back and forth and lots of one-run games. After pool play was complete, four of the six teams were tied for the top seed spot. Ties are resolved first by which team was better in head to head competition. If that’s not an option, the team with the least runs against is the main determinant but if there is still a tie, it goes to the team with most runs scored. So using the aforementioned methods, the seeding was determined as follows:
Rage 18 U
Raiders 18U Gold
South Shore Chaos
Mass Drifters
Diamonds – Espinal
USA Prime NE
Elimination Sunday saw another replay of Friday night in one of the first games of the day with the South Shore Chaos facing off against USA Prime NE. On Friday, the Chaos was able to hold off a strong comeback by the Prime, coming out on top 6-5. Sunday morning was a different story as the Prime turned the tables with an upset victory over the higher ranked team. From the start, the Prime batters executed a strong offensive game taking an early lead and never looking back as reflected in the 6-1 final score.
Moving on to the semifinals vs. Rage, Chaos again played a good game but this time the higher seeded team came out on top in a close 2-0 contest.
The 18U Championship game was probably the best game of the day, pitting the Mass Drifters (Bridgewater/Raynham) against the Rage. Playing some intense ball, both teams kept each other within a run and were tied 2-2 at the end of 7 innings. In USA Softball sanctioned events, going into extra innings requires implementation of the International tiebreaker rule where each team starts their at-bat with a runner on 2B.
Sacrifice bunts got the runners around for both teams until a passed ball in the 9th inning put the Drifters ahead 4-3. After a scoreless bottom half of the inning the final score remained 4-3. Both teams played an excellent game but this time it was the Drifters turn, due in no small part to the outstanding performance by their pitcher who threw all three games on Sunday.
On a sad note, the Drifters owner Carol Savino passed away Saturday night so Sunday they dedicated their game to Carol and a moment of silence was observed before the game. This was the Drifters first appearance at the Meghan Burnett Tournament and the Foundation is hopeful to see them return next year.
In cornhole news, Nicole Catino of Wakefield was the winner of the raffle of a custom cornhole set provided by Bob’s Cornhole Co. of Sardella Sign & Graphics.
The Foundation would like to extend their thanks to Dan McGrath, Chis Tolios, Jim Sullivan, Dom Savino, Wakefield Youth Softball and all the fantastic volunteers, young and less-young, who stepped up to make this years tournament the best one yet. Without all of your help this wouldn’t have been possible.
The Foundation would especially like to thank Dennis Fazio’s DPW grounds crew for all their efforts again this year. They were at work prepping the fields for the tournament before the first game every day of the weekend starting at 6 a.m.
The Meghan Burnett “Fly High” Tournament was initially established in 2018, just two months after Meghan had passed away due to complications during surgery. Meghan was a softball player, loved the game and always wanted to have a tournament in Wakefield. After she passed, friends got together and immediately started planning the first tournament. The success of the first tournament enabled the establishment of the Meghan Burnett Foundation which is now a recognized charity in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Foundation has the goal of enriching the high school experience through sports, music and travel while helping local students discover their own personal potential.
There were two recipients of the Annual Tournament Scholarship Award this year. All graduating seniors who participate in the tournament are invited to apply for this award whether they played in the tournament, in a band at the tournament or volunteered to help. The award is presented to the applicant who has consistently demonstrated the highest levels of commitment, leadership, enthusiasm and love for the game.
This year’s recipients were Taylor Joyal (Prime Softball) of Nashua NH and Noey Giardina (South Shore Chaos) of Hanover. Both players will continue to play softball at the Collegiate level. In the fall, Joyal will be attending the University of Southern Maine where she will be studying cybersecurity and Giardina will be attending the University of New Haven where she will study forensic science. This was Giardina’s fourth appearance at the tournament and she has hit at least one home run every time she has come to town.