THE WARRIORS are waving hello to the Div. 2 state tournament after their clutch, 5-4 walk-off win over Andover in the Jimmy Geanoulis Memorial Tournament at Peabody High on Saturday. Wakefield is off to Morelli Field on Sunday at 3 p.m. to meet rival Melrose in the preliminary round of the D2 tourney. (File Photo)

 

Travel to Melrose on Sunday for D2 prelims

PEABODY — It was a daunting task.

With two games left in their season, the Wakefield High baseball team traveled to Peabody High on Saturday for the Jimmy Geanoulis Memorial Baseball Tournament in need of one more victory to make the Div. 2 state tournament.

In their way was a talented Andover team – a squad who recently earned the No. 14 seed in the Div. 1 tourney.

In a battle of Warriors, it was Wakefield’s who came out on top, winning it 5-4 on a walk-off from Steven Woish.

With the game tied in the bottom of the 7th, Zack Kent walked with one out, was balked to second base and stole third, setting up Woish who drove him home and sent the Warriors off to the dance.

Wakefield took the early lead to set the tone in this one.

Kent had a 2-RBI base hit in the 1st to bring home Evan Simoneau and Matt Elwell as Wakefield’s top three hitters in the lineup did damage right off the bat.

John Porter got the start and did a nice job of keeping Andover off the board for the first two innings.

Andover reclaimed the lead with three runs in the 3rd.

Owen Riddell came on in relief and picked up a key double play to end the threat with Andover up 3-2.

That play gave Wakefield plenty of momentum as they bounced right back with two in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 4-3 lead. Elwell and Kent came around to score on RBI knocks from Nick Knowles and Tylor Roycroft.

Andover got one more in the 4th to tie it.

That would be it for the opposing Warriors as Riddell was locked in for the final three innings, keeping his D1 opponents off the board as Wakefield continued to search for that game-winning, season-saving run.

It was only fitting for it to come via a walk-off.

That victory sent Wakefield into the championship game of the tournament where they met host Peabody.

The Warriors got another dose of competitive playoff-like baseball. The Tanners were in need of a win to make the D1 state tournament and like Wakefield the day before, they got it with a one-run victory, keeping the trophy in Peabody with a 7-6 decision.

The teams were tied at 6-6 in the 5th in a back-and-forth matchup but the Tanners came up clutch to keep their season alive.

Wakefield still accomplished their goals for Memorial Day Weekend as they finished the season with an overall record of 10-10.

The Warriors earned the No. 34 seed in the D2 tourney. Originally expecting to meet Danvers in the preliminary round based on the MIAA’s final power rankings, Wakefield ended up with a new opponent as the tournament seedings changed with last minute record adjustments.

The D2 tournament features 40 teams across the entire state. Teams from Agawam to Falmouth, Westwood to Eastham.

So naturally, Wakefield drew: Melrose.

It’s a city south of Wakefield.

The two rivals will meet at Morelli Field on Sunday at 3 p.m.

It also happens to be a rubber match as the two split the season series with Wakefield winning game one on another walk-off, 9-8 on April 14 before Melrose took the second game, 11-7 on May 10 at Morelli.

That loss was the third in the row for the Warriors who were 6-8 at that point. They went on to win four of their final six to qualify for the tournament.

Live updates from the game can be found on Twitter @Wakeitemsports.