Waltham High School baseball team knocks off Newton North to end regular season

Nothing says Memorial Day quite like a beautiful afternoon at the ballpark.

The scene at Newton North High School on Monday was picturesque, with blue skies shining down on the ballfield as parents and students pitched lawn chairs on the outfield grass.

The Hawks enjoyed the atmosphere as well. The team concluded their stellar regular season with a 5-3 defeat of the rival Tigers. Currently positioned at 13th in the MIAA Division 1 power rankings, the Dual County League Foley Division champions improved their record to 14-6 with the victory.

WHS performance was not perfect, but the team showed the guts to hold on through multiple patches of adversity.

Superb defense, clutch pitching and intelligent play guided the way for the Hawks and allowed them to maintain what was a slim advantage for most of the game. 

Senior pitcher Conor Gavin steadied the team with four innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts while freshman left-hander Brendan O’Toole worked the final three frames for the save.

Junior Hunter Fucci got Waltham on the board in the second inning with the help of some coaching wizardry. The outfielder reached on a base hit before swiping second and third. After sophomore infielder Jack Tamburro walked, the Hawks executed a dynamic double steal to score Fucci and take a decisive 1-0 advantage.

From there, the Hawks held on by the skin of their teeth with some brilliant defensive plays. Sophomore first baseman Brian Fleming was hearing the chirps from the Newton North faithful all game, but he silenced the crowd by turning an excellent 3-2-3 double play after the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the second frame. Gavin then recorded a strikeout to freeze two runners in scoring position.

That trend would continue throughout the subsequent stanzas. 

A smooth play by shortstop Tamburro concluded a Newton North threat in the third inning before a web gem of a diving stop by senior captain Connor Chiasson at second base halted a Tigers baserunner at third to end the fourth inning. 

NNHS advanced two players into scoring position yet again in the fifth frame only for O’Toole to discontinue that opportunity with a massive two-out strikeout. O’Toole was also able to leave a runner on second base in the sixth inning by pitching to contact and forcing a pair of groundouts.

Waltham finally got the bats going in the seventh inning to provide some insurance runs for O’Toole. Fucci doubled to get the rally going, and the Hawks loaded the bases from there. Junior Tim O’Toole then took advantage of some high grass around first base, beating out an infield single to double the lead. All it took from there was sophomore Billy Champion getting hit by a pitch and Fleming striking a two-run single to center field to put the game out of reach.

The hard-fought win will buoy the Hawks spirits as they prepare for a deep run in the MIAA state tournament.