Victory over Milton advances Melrose to playoffs

Published in the June 1, 2018 edition

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider baseball team will see a postseason after collecting their 10th win of the season on Wednesday, May 23 with an 8-2 victory over Milton on the road.

Senior hurler Mike Muscarella took the win on the mound for Melrose, going six innings and giving up one run on five hits and 5 Ks. Junior Harry Kelley finished in relief in the 7th. 

Melrose took an early lead of 3-1, thanks to hitting from Mike Fennell and a two-run double from Will Dolaher. Melrose made it a 6-1 game in the fifth and an 8-1 game in the sixth behind the hitting of Mike Koytikh, Will Dolaher, Mike Muscarella (2-3), Jack Whitley and Joe Stanton. 

MIKE MUSCARELLA helped Melrose punch their ticket to the playoffs with a 8-2 victory over Milton last week. (Donna Larsson photo)

Meanwhile, Muscarella shined on the mound during a must-win game. “Mike pitched a great game for us,” said Melrose coach Bill Hirschfeld. “And he has been solid at the plate too.”

The victory punched their ticket into the Div. 2 North bracket, where they will wrangle with usual suspects like Danvers, Beverly and Reading, not to mention league rivals like Burlington and Wilmington. Pairings are expected to be released on Tuesday, June 5.

After the win, Melrose continued their final weekend in the John Matheson Division Final of the Rockport Memorial Day Baseball Tournament held in Rockport held on Saturday. 

Despite a late rally, Melrose fell to Gloucester (13-5), 5-3. Melrose brought Will Dolaher to the mound, and Gloucester’s John Mondello got the win for the Fishermen. Melrose out-hit Gloucester but stranded runners in key moments and a controversial call at third base in the last inning sealed any chance of a comeback win. Gloucester held a 5-0 in the sixth that was broken open by Melrose’s Mike Muscarella and sophomore Matt Morrissey whose RBIs made it a 5-2 game. In the seventh, Melrose struck again when Harry Kelley singled in Jack Whitley to make it a 5-3 game. Gloucester made a pitching change, brought in reliever Ben Oliver, who retired the side to claim victory for the Fishermen.  

Melrose also fell to Wayland loss, 8-5 on Friday, May 25. Dylan Kaliris took the mound in starting duties and Matt Morrisey hit a two-run homer in his varsity debut. 

While Hirschfeld is happy to have earned a postseason spot, he is eager to get back into the win column before playoffs. “These were winnable games, so it’s disappointing. Maybe there is a bit of senior-itis going on. It’s important for us to remain consistent in playoffs and get back on the winning side of things.”  

While the chances are good that Melrose will face a top-seeded rival in the opening round of play, pitching will always keep the Red Raiders competitive. “I don’t think a lot of teams that we’ve seen have the pitching depth that we do, a deep three, where any of them can step in for the other. That will be an advantage so long as we come around at the plate and avoid that one bad inning.” 

Fans are encouraged to visit www.miaa.net or check our Twitter and Facebook pages for playoff information.