NORTH DARTMOUTH — Following a thrilling 5-4 victory in the Div. 3 Round of 16 over previously undefeated Shawsheen Tech last week, the No. 13 Wakefield High baseball team shut out No. 5 Bishop Stang 4-0 in the Elite 8 on Sunday afternoon in North Dartmouth.
Unfazed by the long bus ride to Buzzards Bay, the Warriors gave the rock to sophomore Patrick Maloney, who had previously earned his first state tournament win by throwing 5.1 innings of shut out ball in Wakefield’s 10-0 first round victory over Greater New Bedford.
His second start was even more impressive. Maloney pitched a complete game shutout on Sunday, allowing just 2 hits and no walks while striking out 6 to lead the Warriors to the Final Four.
“Pat once again was outstanding on the mound. Kept the ball in the zone and kept them off-balance the entire game with his mix of pitches,” said head coach Kevin Canty.
Offensively, the Warriors collected 6 hits and came through with timely RBI, scoring one run in the 3rd, two in the 4th and one more in the 6th.
Seniors Cam DePrizio (2-for-2, 2 runs) and Charles Gagne (2-for-3, 1 RBI) paced the offense.
Senior Nicolo Labieniec — moments after snagging a liner at second and doubling up a runner at first to end the 2nd inning — got the bats going in the 3rd with a leadoff base hit to left. He moved to 2nd after a bunt by senior Jayvith Chea. Gagne came through with an RBI knock to score Labieniec, getting the Warriors on the board for what would end up being the game winner.
That, of course, was mostly thanks to Maloney. The southpaw struck out two in the 1st inning, a statement to Spartan hitters that he was locked in for this one.
He sat Stang down in order in the 3rd, something he did in four of his seven innings as the Spartans couldn’t get any sort of momentum going.
Wakefield’s two-run 4th was started with a leadoff walk by junior Jack Pennacchia. Some more small ball with another sacrifice bunt by junior Dylan McDermott advanced the runner and a DePrizio single put them at the corners with one out. A balk made it 2-0 and a bunt by junior Aidan Bligh moved DePrizio to 3rd. Junior Nik Dhingra came through with an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-0.
Maloney’s only truly stressful inning came in the bottom of the 4th when he worked around a single and hit batter, getting a line out to Gagne in left for the third out.
Maloney preserved his shut out in the 5th even after an error put the leadoff hitter on. The lefty promptly picked off that runner at first and followed with a strikeout and a groundout to end it.
DePrizio got a one-out single in the 6th and true to their gameplan, Wakefield bunted him over to scoring position, having faith in their lineup 1-9, that anyone stepping up would come through. This time, it was Dhingra again as he hit a hard grounder to first and dug it out after an error, allowing DePrizio to score and make it 4-0.
“Offensively, it was a real team effort,” said Canty. “We had a significant amount of guys get on that were sacrificed over and then guys who came through with clutch hits in big situations like Nik Dhingra, Cam DePrizio and Charles Gagne.”
It was three up and three down again in the bottom of the 6th with a strikeout, pop up and ground out, a feat Maloney duplicated once again in the 7th to emphatically keep Wakefield’s magical state tournament run going.
That run will continue at Fraser Field in Lynn tomorrow when the No. 13 Warriors (18-5) take on No. 9 North Reading (19-4) in the Div. 3 Final Four.
The Hornets have defeated No. 24 Medfield (8-0), No. 8 Weston (6-4) and No. 16 Apponequet (5-4) in the tournament.
“We’re looking forward to our game against North Reading,” said Canty. “They are somewhat of a mirror to what we do offensively and defensively. Should be an outstanding game.”
To Canty’s point, it’s no surprise to see the Hornets — another well-coached team with a myriad of offensive and defensive plays ready to use in any moment — in the semifinals. Both teams pride themselves on pitching and defense. Both teams are aggressive on the base paths. Both teams deserve to be in the Final Four. Only one can move on and play for a state title.
The other semifinal game in Div. 3 will feature No. 7 Sandwich (18-5) vs. No. 11 Arlington Catholic (15-6) who will also be playing tomorrow, 4 p.m. at Durfee High School.