THE BRAVES celebrate their WLL title. (Courtesy Photo)
WAKEFIELD — On Saturday, June 24, the Braves won the 2023 Wakefield Little League Town Series 3-0 over the Blue Jays in a well-pitched, hard-fought game at Fernald Field.
The Braves finished the season as the 4th seed (12 – 6, 16 – 6 overall), coming out of the winner’s bracket of the double elimination tournament and the Blue Jays finished with the 2nd seed (13 – 5, 15 – 7 overall). The two teams split the season series.
The Braves jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a big two-out, two RBI single by Mason Hildonen scoring Jake Giberti and James Maloney with some aggressive base running. Hildonen was also a stalwart behind the plate in his catching duties.
From there, Joseph O’Neill, (5 innings, 3 runs, 5 strikeouts), held the Braves at bay until the top of the 5th inning. Rory Campbell opened the top of the fifth inning with a well-placed bunt. However, J. O’Neill made a nice play to get the first out of the fifth inning. Then Maloney and Giberti had back-to-back singles placing runners on first and second base. Mason Hildonen (2 for 3, 3 RBI), once again delivered with his third RBI of the evening with a line drive single to right center field. It could have been 4 RBI but Edward O’Neill cut off the throw from the outfield and threw Maloney out at home plate.
James Maloney pitched a one-hit, complete game shutout striking out 12 over six innings. However, without his teammates making exceptional plays in the field, the score could have easily been in the favor of the home team Blue Jays.
C.J. Bibo made a circuslike catch in right field in the bottom of the second inning to make the first out stopping a potential Blue Jays rally. Rory Campbell made a nice play at short to end the third inning and Jake Giberti made two phenomenal catches in center field after two hard-hit balls, back-to-back by Joseph and Edward O’Neill in the bottom of the fourth inning. Maloney finished the game striking out five of the last six batters with Luigi Magno making a nice play at first for the second out in the bottom of the fifth.
Throughout the end of the season and during the playoff run, the Braves came together as a team. Each member of the Braves made a significant contribution to the overall record and the championship.
Jameson Mitchell had four hits, including a triple during the playoffs. Jacob Lane’s bat heated up over the last few weeks and helped the Braves to the 4th seed in the bracket. Nathan Coyle had three hits in the playoffs; the biggest one coming against the top-seeded Royals scoring an RBI and a run scored to tie the game at a critical juncture. Owen McCabe had a big hit in the first game against the Blue Jays and played lockdown defense in the playoffs. Thomas Corcoran had one of the biggest catches of the season in the outfield in the playoff opener to end the game against the Cardinals. Zach Rocca had a steady bat and played strong defense throughout the season and in the playoffs. Cole Hildonen joined the Braves as a batboy just before the playoff run bringing the team some luck.
The road to the championship was not an easy one for the Braves. They scored hard-fought victories over the Cardinals (4-2), the Royals (3-2), and twice against the Blue Jays (7-3 and 3-0).
This was the third Town Series Championship appearance for the Braves in the past five years, winning in 2021 and 2023 and losing a close, single elimination game in 2019.