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After 16 regular season wins and another one in the Division 1 state tournament, the Winchester High School baseball team, the 11th seed in this year’s postseason, turned in its second straight winning campaign under the direction of third-year head coach Ed McDonald.
During the recently concluded state tournament, the Red & Black edged Plymouth North in the Round of 32, 3-1, only to lose to Xaverian in the Sweet 16, 13-2. That’s a total of 17 wins with only five defeats, which shows an upward trend with McDonald at the helm.
In the end, Catholic Memorial, the fifth seed, defeated Bishop Feehan, the second seed, 13-4 to secure this year’s Division 1 state championship at Worcester’s Polar Park on June 13.
Throughout the past three years, the Red & Black have definitely gotten better. They went 9-11 in 2024; McDonald’s first year in Winchester. They improved to 12-8 in the regular season last spring, and were the 32nd seed entering the state tournament, where they defeated Beverly in the preliminary round, 6-4, before losing to top seed Taunton by the exact same close score in the Round of 32.
McDonald acknowledges the program has improved the last three years, while adding, “it’s great that we have been able to continue to improve year over year. Losing is never easy, but the foundation has now been paved to go even further in the tourney in order to compete for a state title each year.”
That road to the state championship might take a different route after this week’s news that the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Tournament Management Committee has approved the return of the Super 8 football postseason format for the upcoming school year, with the final decision coming from the MIAA board of directors later this summer.
In essence, it would establish a new playoff division for Catholic Conference teams to compete against each other for a Super Bowl championship. But in the age of power rankings, public school teams could also be a part of this new alignment.
McDonald foresees that this proposal could spread to other sports.
“I’m almost certain that baseball will also be going to the Super 8 format next year,” he said. “It will definitely make things interesting, with the power rankings / strength of schedule a big part of that.”
If there was a Super 8 division for baseball this spring, the Winchester boys might have avoided Xaverian, who was the sixth seed. Five of the top six Division 1 clubs this year were Catholic Conference teams.
“No matter what happens, it’s always going to be a challenge for public school teams to compete against private schools,” said McDonald. “But that’s how it has always been.”
But again, McDonald has no complaints with his team’s 17-5 overall record this year.
“It’s something that we can be proud of after graduating 10 seniors,” he said. “We have lost seniors the last two years, but still managed to improve our win total.”
All-Star Foursome
Seniors Adam Fiorentino and Bret Daniels, and juniors Brendan Bock and Nick Penicaud were selected to the Middlesex League all-star team.
As for McDonald’s two all-star seniors, Fiorentino, who was one of the captains of this year’s squad, plans to continue his baseball career at Minnesota’s Carlton College in the fall.
“Adam has always been a team-first player and a humble leader, while also being one of our best all-around players the last few years,” said McDonald.
Daniels was on the varsity the last three years, but this season he led the team and possibly the entire state in homeruns with six. He was also the team leader in RBI with 17. As far as next year is concerned, he and teammate Ronan O’Connell will be honing their baseball skills at Connecticut’s Pomfret Prep School to get ready for the collegiate level.
It’s time to spell out the accomplishments of the junior 2026 Red & Black all-stars. Bock, in particular, made the league’s elite squad for the second straight year after finishing the season with a .352 batting average that included 19 hits, 14 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He also scored 22 runs, while slugging .519 with an on base percentage of .507.
Nick Penicaud started seven games on the mound this year, and ended up with a 4-1 record. He struck out 35, and only allowed four earned runs. Opposing hitters managed a meager collective .163 batting average against him.
Gannon chosen Team MVP
Nolan Gannon is this year’s Team MVP, and it’s based on a player that has made the most significant impact on the overall success of the squad. Last year, Gannon received the coaches award.
“Gannon is the one player that any coach would love to have,” said McDonald. “He’s a team-first player, who embraced any role that was asked of him. He went from a player who we thought would never be in the starting lineup two years ago to somebody that we could rely on to deliver that clutch hit. There was no other player that I’d want up at the plate this year with the game on the line.”
Gannon ended up with a .320 batting average. Six of his 16 hits this season went for doubles that helped account for 11 RBI. He also had a .407 on base percentage with a .440 slugging percentage.
“We had other players with slightly better stats, but Gannon’s intangibles made him this year’s MVP,” said McDonald.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
