Published in the August 19, 2016 edition
THE U-10 Jimmy Fund Wakefield Warriors baseball team was all smiles after winning the 2016 championship. Front row, from left, Cam DePrizio, Johnny Fitzgerald, Drew LeBlanc, Nicolo Labieniec, Charles Gagne and Jack Millward. Second row, from left, Nicholas Wyner, Luke Dixon, Sean O’Rourke, Ian Christie, Trevor Vellioux and Cole Reeves. Third row, from left, Jackson Fitzpatrick. In the back row are coaches, from left Bruce O’Rourke, Mike Labieniec and Chuck Reeves. Not shown are Mark Gagne and Henry Brown.
WAKEFIELD — Most people who live in the Boston area are Red Sox fans and most Red Sox fans have either been to Fenway Park (the greatest park in MLB history) or at the very least watch the Sox on TV.
With that said, the Jimmy Fund is very well known organization and it is also “an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Pan-Mass Challenge and Variety Children’s Charity of New England.”
This season, the U-10 Jimmy Fund Wakefield Warriors baseball team had a fantastic season. It started with the first game ending in a tie against the North Reading Buzz. The Warriors went on to win the rest their regular season games and all of their playoff games as well. The Warriors’ impressive season led them to play in the final championship game for the title against whom else, but the North Reading Buzz. The two best teams in the league, for this age group, met again as they did in their first game.
The league consisted of teams from Stoneham, Woburn, North Reading Hornets, North Reading Sting, North Reading Buzz, Reading White, Reading Red, Wilmington Americans, Wilmington Wildcats and the Wakefield Warriors. This time however, North Reading was looking to get a win against the Warriors for the title. The championship game took place on Saturday, Aug. 6 at Weafer Field in Woburn.
In the first inning, both teams scored one run. The second and third innings were quiet but had exciting at bats and fielding from both teams.
The Warriors broke out with four runs in the fourth and fifth innings that brought the game to 5-1 into the top of the sixth. North Reading was at bat with two outs and bases loaded. Then, North Reading got a hit to center field, which brought in the three base runners. The batter stopping on third base was told to run home by his third base coach, who was obviously trying to tie the game again. However, the runner was out at home, which cause a little bit of controversy.
The Warriors were victorious. It was an excellent win that most kids on the field, including the coaches of both teams and fans watching the game were unsure what had just happened. It was an exciting game and the two best teams were certainly on the field that day. Fortunately for the Warriors, they are now champions of the 2016 Jimmy Fund Baseball season.
The Warriors thanked and congratulated the team’s coaches, Chuck Reeves, Bruce O’Rourke and Mike Labieniec, for an excellent job teaching, coaching and helping these kids with the game.
Each kid on the team had their place on the field or at bat or both and they all did a fantastic job playing together as a team. Additionally, the team raised $2,420 for the Jimmy Fund. A great lesson of giving back to those in need for these young kids.
