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After winning four straight games, the Winchester High baseball team (11-7) lost two last week at home against Lexington (5-2, May 13) and Reading (9-3, May 15). But the good news is that the Red & Black have already qualified for the state tournament with two more regular season games still left on the schedule versus host Belmont (May 20, 4:15 p.m.) and non-league host Lawrence (May 21, 4:15 p.m.).
As of May 16, the Winchester boys are the 31st seed in the Division 1 power rankings. There are 60 teams in this division statewide.
“Both the Lexington and Reading games were really close up until the late innings,” second year head coach Ed McDonald said. “The difference in both games was that each team was able to take advantage of our mistakes.”
The Lexington game was particularly heartbreaking, because the home team took a 2-0 lead into the seventh, and final inning, when the Minutemen scored five times to produce the comeback win.
Nick Penicaud pitched the first six innings for Winchester, giving up four hits, no walks and no runs, while striking out four. Stephen McCabe (1 hit, 3 walks, 3 runs) started the seventh on the mound, and recorded one out, before Owen Penicaud (2 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs, 1 strikeout) relieved him to get the final two outs, but not before the visitors put five runs up on the scoreboard.
The Winchester offense managed only three hits, all singles. Connor Pandolph collected two of them, while Brendan Bock accounted for the other base hit, which knocked in one of the team’s two runs. They scored the runs in the first and fifth innings.
The game against Reading two days later was a back-and-forth affair throughout the first two innings. Both teams each scored one run in the first inning, and they added two more apiece in the second. The Rockets broke the 3-3 stalemate with another run in the third, before giving themselves some breathing room with five in the seventh to turn a close, competitive game into a rout.
Senior captain Alex Casey pitched the first four innings, and allowed four hits, two walks and four runs, but only two were earned. He was credited with four strikeouts. Harrison Burbine went the next 3.1-innings, and yielded two hits, three walks and four runs, but just one was earned this time. He ended up with two whiffs. Adam Fiorentino (0 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, 0 earned) got the final two outs in the seventh.
The Red & Black came through with five hits in this game. Pandolph paced the attack with a single and a double, driving home one run. Ronan O’Connell and Bock each doubled in a run. Nolan Gannon chipped in with a single and a walk, and scored once.
“We had our opportunities to score more runs, but just couldn’t capitalize with timely hits,” said McDonald. “We’re now looking to get hot again as the regular season winds down this week against Belmont and Lawrence, two good Division 1 teams.
“Our recipe for winning has always been and will continue to be quality starting pitching and timely hitting,” the coach added.
McDonald hopes to regain that successful formula this week to get ready for the upcoming postseason.
“It’s all about taking it one game at a time, one inning at a time, this time of the year,” said McDonald. “We just have to control what’s in front of us right now.”
