MELROSE’S FOUR seniors were honored last week prior to their game against Stoneham. Saluted were: (from left) Jake Skane, Tyler Muse, Ben Cassavoy and Ethan Burns. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)

 

 

 

After press time:
Melrose defeats Cambridge Rindge and Latin 6-1 (May 22)

 

 

Published May 24, 2024

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—The Melrose High baseball team is in a fight to the finish hoping to secure a spot in the Div. 2 playoff field but looking at a big hurdle as they finish their season this Wednesday (post season) when they host Cambridge Rindge and Latin in a regular season finale.

Melrose stands at 8-11 and whether a win will be enough to move them up power rankings (they are currently #38 with a few more upward spots needed) one thing for sure is this team has a lot of baseball left in them.

They picked up two important wins against Freedom rivals Stoneham and Wilmington that helped their cause last week. On Senior Night, Melrose hosted Wilmington and finished with a 1-0 squeaker. Prior to the game they had honored their outgoing seniors Ben Cassavoy, Tyler Muse, Ethan Burns and Jake Skane. Junior pitcher Brian Capodilupo took the mound with a great outing, scattering three hits over seven innings and striking out seven.

Melrose head coach Scott Searles credited his effort. “Capo was on point all night and really limited Wilmington’s hitters. It was a fantastic effort. A true pitcher’s duel.”

It was a scoreless game going into the bottom of the sixty when Melrose senior captain Ben Cassavoy had a decisive at bat, drawing a walk and later stealing second. Brendan Doyle was the hero of the night with a double to the left field gap, scoring Cassavoy.

“Wilmington has been tough all year,” said coach Scott Searles. “They’ve been atop the standings with Wakefield for the small until recently. The guy they threw against us (Balter) was out for a while, but he is back now and arguably one of the better pitchers in the league.”

According to the coach, there were key moments that helped lead to the win. “It was a fantastic job by Brian to shut them down and put us in a position to get a win. And Dylan Harrington had a 14 pitch at bat in the bottom of the fifth. That was so important because it put (pitcher) Balter up over 100.  He didn’t come back out in the 6th and that was one of the keys to the game.”

“Overall, it was great to see these guys celebrate with a win,” says the coach. “One guy that I haven’t been able to get on the field much is Ethan Burns. He got the start on senior night and the guys really took to it and loved it. He made two great catches in the field and the guys went nuts. I was really happy for him.”

Fueled by the win, Melrose went on to take a 4-3 win over Stoneham on May 14 at home, one of their most solid wins of the season, and having avenged a previous loss in April. “We showed up,” Searles said. “We had a very lackluster effort over at their place earlier in the year.”

Ben Cassavoy was back on the mound and pitched solidly. Says his coach, “He was fantastic as always and gave up just one earned run. At some point, this season is going to end, and it will be a true loss to not have him out there anymore.”

Melrose was down 3-1 until the 5th when Cassavoy singled in Dylan Harrington. In the 6th Melrose added another one to tie the game when Mike Thomas drove in Tyler Muse.

Soon after, Melrose’s Brendan Doyle walked and pinch runner Max Lanciani stole second. Capodilupo would drive Lanciani in with the game-winning single. Overall, Cassavoy drove in two of the runs on the day.

After the game, coach Searles spoke of the importance of getting back into the win column. “The pitching after Cass has been much better. We’ve really limited our free passes. We’ve also played better defense and been much more vigilant about keeping trail runners off second base.”

As for the future, it will take a lot of good fortune for Melrose to make a run. “The name of the game is to just survive. Our playoffs started at 5-10 [record].  We won three in a row and need to finish up strong. Even if we slip in one of the last two spots there’s still an outside chance we could get in based on ranking. I’m not holding my breath for that scenario, but it is possible. Other than that, I just want to see our guys play good baseball. Even if it doesn’t work out in our favor, I’d like to see us build towards next year and finish strong.”

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