SENIOR DAY was celebrated by the four-time CAL Champion Pioneers baseball team during the final home game of the season against Ipswich. The seniors shown with their parents are (from left): Greg Basilesco with his parents Gary and Sue; Andrew Moorman with his parents Steve and Elaine; and Nick Pascucci with his parents Susan and Mike. (Courtesy Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD —The baseball team is headed to the state tournament once again.
After winning their fourth consecutive Cape Ann League championship title with a league record of 6-5, the Pioneers wrapped up the season with an overall record of 9-11. The team subsequently shared the league title in the Baker Division with Georgetown after the Royals defeated Triton 6-5 in the final league game of the season.
In their two meetings this season, the Pioneers split their games with the Royals as Lynnfield earned the upper hand April 28 with an 11-5 non-league win while Georgetown slipped past Lynnfield 4-3 on May 9 in the league game that counted toward the standings.
As the co-league champions, both teams earned an automatic bid in the sectional tournament. It was the fifth league title for head Coach John O’Brien, who has been with the baseball program for 15 years, serving as head coach for the last 11 years. His teams have made the tournament nine out of the last 11 years.
Lynnfield’s record was 9-9 after the team’s 3-1 win over Ipswich on Senior Day in the last CAL game of the season. They then competed in the Brendan Grant Memorial Tournament in Belmont over the Memorial Day weekend to wrap up the regular season.
In the opening round, they played a tight game to Division 1 Medford, losing by one run, 5-4. In the consolation round, they faced the Division 2 hosts, Belmont, dropping a 10-7 decision for the final regular season record of 9-11.
Offensively, the Pioneers continue to be strong. Captain Spencer Balian, a junior, leads the team with a .433 batting average and also leads in hits (26) and RBI (23), including one game-winning RBI. In 60 at-bats he has four doubles and has scored 14 runs.
Captain Dan O’Leary (.333) leads the team in runs scored (20), home runs (2), hit by pitch (10), slugging percentage (.569) and he tied Nick Colucci (.348) for most doubles (6). Mike Stellato (.410) leads the team in walks with 11. Nick Theophiles (.259) leads the team in stolen bases with 10.
Captain Nick Pascucci (.361) has been solid at the plate as well. In 61 at-bats, he has 22 hits, 18 runs scored, 14 RBI, 10 walks, three doubles, a triple and three stolen bases. Combined, the Pioneers enter the tournament with a team batting average of .324 with 166 hits, 119 runs scored, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 112 RBI, 65 walks, 25 hit by pitches, 25 sacrifices, 90 strikeouts and 34 stolen bases.
The pitching staff is led by Nick Colucci (3-1). In 31.65 innings, he has thrown 23 strikeouts, given up 32 hits, 19 walks, 1 hit batsman and 18 earned runs for an ERA of 3.98. Nick Pascucci (4-4) has logged the most innings pitched (49) and has thrown 51 strikeouts and given up 46 hits, 28 walks, 4 hit batsmen and 23 earned runs for an ERA of 3.29.
Seeded 20th in the MIAA Division 3 North tournament, the Pioneers will travel to Boston Latin Academy’s Garvey Field today (June 3) for a 3:30 p.m. start in the preliminary round game. Boston Latin (12-8) is seeded 13th.
The winner of this game will face the No. 4 seed, Weston (15-5) at Weston High School on Thursday for a 4 p.m. start. Tournament bracket updates, including weather-related last minute postponements, can be found at www.miaa.net.
