Picks up win over Watertown, Wilmington
Published May 21, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider baseball team picked up two consecutive wins to pull to 2-3 on the season thanks to victories over Watertown and Wilmington this week.
On Saturday, Melrose hosted Watertown at Morelli Field and enjoyed their best outing of their early season, courtesy of pitcher Ronan Donahue, who went the distance and tossed a beauty with 13 strikeouts and just 4 hits and 1 run.
Melrose head coach Scott Searles lauded his effort. “He was excellent in this one. All the things that we had struggled doing in the first three games, he was able to execute today. He got ahead in the count, really pounded the zone and kept their hitters off balance. He looks very polished. His ability to get out front in allowed us to do some things with our pitch calling that we had not been able to do previously.”
Melrose jumped out to 1-0 lead early when Gavin Donahue drove in his brother Ronan Donahue in the first inning on a double to left center. Gavin Donahue also singled in Mark Aylward later in the game and then senior captain Christian Carrieri drove him in right after. Gavin Donahue and Christian Carrieri both had two hits to help generate the team’s runs.
While much of the lineup around the horn remains the same, Coach Searles has noted the recent play of Liam Coen. “Liam has worked his butt off and done everything we ask of our guys. We have played him and several different positions and he’s stepped right in and done a great job at all of them.”
In the coming days, Melrose will enjoy a further bite into the Middlesex Freedom lineup. The league is essentially up for grabs.
Says Searles, “Wilmington had their hands full with Wakefield, so we will see. Burlington has put up some runs and they are not as strong from a pitching standpoint as in years past.”
Melrose got a sample of Wilmington on Tuesday when they traveled to Wildcat territory and returned with a 4-2 victory. Taking the mound was Christian Carrieri and Michael Overlan. Red Raider Luke Desmond knocked in a run in the 7th to give Melrose a winning lead.
“It was a great job,” says their coach. “The last two games our energy has been much better and guys are starting to gel and get invested in their teammates. Part of that is short preseason and the long layoff. Now we are starting to see that come along and that was one of the biggest pieces we were missing.”
Melrose will host the Wilmington Wildcats on Saturday morning at Morrelli Field at 9:00 a.m.
