Local nine beats Stoneham in 12 for 8th straight victory

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

STONEHAM — “I thought it was never going to end.”

That was the consensus amongst Wakefield baseball fans last night at Stoneham High after the Warriors and Spartans concluded an epic, 12-inning, 3-hour-and-27-minute battle. 

Of course, those Wakefield fans were speaking that consensus with a smile after the visitors put up two runs in the top of the 12^th to break a 4-4 stalemate and hold on for a wild, 6-4 extra, extra inning victory, their 8^th in a row.

“We didn’t play our cleanest game defensively but when we were put in tough spots in the field, we made some key plays,” said head coach Kevin Canty. “Our pitchers, Jack (Pennachia), Jack (Stromski) and Aidan (Bligh) consistently threw strikes and kept us in the game.”

Pennachia got the start, going 6 innings and scattering 6 hits and 2 earned runs while walking 2 and striking out 5. 

Stromski entered in the 7^th in a 4-4 game with runners on 1^st and 2^nd. A strikeout and double play got him out of the jam. He went 3 innings, allowing just 1 hit with 4 K’s. 

Bligh came on in the 10^th and pitched the final 3 innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 4. 

Together, that trio shut the Spartans out for the final 9 frames after Stoneham went up 4-2 in the 3^rd. 

Wakefield’s rally in the 12^th was started by pinch hitter Nicolo Labieniec, who put together a great at-bat and hit a single to left on a full count. Tylor Roycroft bunted him to second and later with two outs, Jayvith Chea came up with a huge RBI base hit to give Wakefield a 5-4 lead. Charles Gagne came through with another knock to score Chea and push the lead to 6-4. 

“The at-bats by Nicolo, Tylor, Jayvith and Charles in the 12^th are representative of how we’ve planned and approached at-bats all year,” said Canty. “Get guys on early, move them over and find ways to score with guys in scoring position.”

The offense collected 12 hits, led by Chea, who reached base four times with 2 singles and 2 walks, Gagne, who had 3 singles and 2 RBI, Steven Woish who had a single, triple and a walk and Andrew Nemec who had two triples and a walk.

Trailing 2-0 after what felt like a long 1^st inning at the time, the Warriors scratched one across in the 2^nd on Gagne’s first RBI base hit which scored Nik Dhingra, pinch running for Dylan McDermott who singled with one out. Chea’s blooper advanced Dhingra to 3^rd before Gagne got Wakefield on the board.

Wakefield’s second error of the day helped the home team push the lead to 3-1 after 2 but the visitors kept pace on a sac fly from Bligh to score Nemec who led off the 3^rd with a triple. 

The tug-of-war continued with both teams seemingly adding one per inning but both starters working hard to limit damage. A Chea walk and Gagne single put runners at the corners in the 4^th which led to a run on a wild pitch to make it a 4-3 game. Wakefield later tied it in the 5^th when Roycroft ripped a two-out triple down the right field line and scored on another wild pitch. 

If you’re still with me and doing the math, don’t stress. We can skip ahead now. 

No runs scored for the next 6-and-a-half innings as the pitchers and defenses came up clutch to shut down any chances. 

Wakefield had two more errors in the bottom of the 6^th but a sliding stop and throw to first by Frank Leone at second to end a Stoneham threat seemed to elevate the rest of the defense through the next six innings.

That began in the 7^th with Stoneham in a great spot to end it (early) with one out and runners at first and second. Facing his second batter, Stromski got a groundball to Leone who flipped to Chea followed by a great turn and throw to Roycroft at first, getting the Wakefield dugout and large contingent of Warrior fans to their feet as the game officially went to extra’s. 

Really, it was just getting started. 

Stromski struck out the side in the 8^th, prompting a “Jack’s are wild!” cheer from the Warrior fans in an ironic nod to the decisively un-wild Pennachia and Stromski. 

Another double play got Wakefield out of the 9^th this time started by Bligh at third and on to Leone at second and Roycroft at first. 

Both teams were sat down in order in the 10^th as Bligh came on for Wakefield and struck out two of his first three batters.

Wakefield had a chance in the 11^th after a Woish triple but couldn’t find the big hit to break through. 

The Spartans loaded the bases in the bottom half with two outs but Bligh got a Stoneham hitter to fly out with Gagne making the catch in left to end it. 

That set up the heroics from Labieniec and the boys in the 12^th. 

Wakefield got the final out with runners at the corners. A pop up seemed destined to go foul but McDermott stuck with it behind the plate and made an incredible catch against the fence to end the game in style.

Wakefield’s endurance in what was essentially two games was especially impressive considering that they beat Wilmington 12-2 just 24 hours before. 

The win over Stoneham was their fourth game in six days, a busy schedule that will continue tomorrow when they host Burlington, 4:15 p.m. at Walsh Field. 

The Red Devils were the last team to beat the Warriors way back on April 17, eight games and three weeks ago. During their winning streak, the Warriors have scored 71 runs and surrendered just 21. They’ve had blowout victories (13-2 over Watertown, 16-3 over Winchester, 9-1 over Melrose, 12-2 over Wilmington) and close wins, including a 4-3 decision over Lexington and a 2-1 Nemec walk-off against Reading. 

No matter how it needs to happen, the Warriors are simply getting it done. They were ranked No. 5 in Div. 3 in the latest MIAA power rankings, behind St. Mary’s, Oakmont, Apponequet and Hanover. 

“The winning streak has really been all about our pitching,” said Canty. “We are throwing strikes and not giving up free bases via walks. Our defense has made the plays you expect. Even when pitchers get in trouble, we find ways to minimize damage and allow our offense to do what we know it can do.”

What Wakefield can do, as in their ceiling for the 2024 season, is excitingly unknown. They are in the driver’s seat to win their second straight Middlesex League Freedom Division title. If they can finish strong in their final seven games, the Warriors should be in a position to host multiple state tournament games should they advance. As evidenced by last night’s marathon, Wakefield will be ready for the long haul.