HOLDEN — If you’re a hard-core fan of the boys of spring, aka the Wachusett Regional High baseball team, this is your time of the year to shine.
The Mountaineers began a streak of 10 games that concludes on May 17, so fasten those seatbelts for a lot of action on the diamond, says head coach Jeff Kodys. He says his troop is ready, willing and able to take on any challenges that come their way.
First up were the visiting Blue Devils of Leominster High on April 29, who entered the matchup at 6-1. Junior Nate Roy drew the starting assignment for Wachusett (3-4) going 4⅔ innings. Roy surrendered a pair of first-inning runs before shutting down Leominster until yielding to reliever Matt Moreno, who finished the game. Leominster came out on top in this one, 8-7.
“I was trying to keep it simple and just throw strikes when I’m focusing on the batter, Roy said. “Adrenaline was keeping me going. We have to show up at practice every day and work to get better.”
Leominster pulled ahead with 5 runs scored in the fifth to seemingly put this one in the win column, but the Mountaineers had other ideas. With two away in the bottom half of the frame, Wachusett rallied to within one run when Travis Laidlaw (2 hits from the leadoff position) singled. Brendan Mariani cracked a two-base hit before co-captain Ben Domineck belted a two-run triple that plated Laidlaw and Mariani. Domineck would come home on a wild pitch to make it 8-7, but the Blue Devils would hold the scoring to close out the game.
“I’m really proud of the team, because today we really got the bats going,” Domineck said. “That should mean good things going forward. This is a very young team with only four seniors, but I can see improvement in everyone. Everyone swung the bats today. We had key hits in key situations. We looked good even though we lost.
“He threw me an inside fastball, which I caught off the hands,” he continued in explaining his triple. “It was a great swing, and we needed it to get going.”
“They definitely showed some compete. We’re in the game with a very good baseball team,” said Kodys. “We’ve got a busy week coming up, so hopefully we’ll turn the page and move on. We’re working on some things. We’re young. We’ve got things to work on every day.
“These kids are ready to go. I don’t think we have to motivate them. They’re ready to go, and they know they have to show up every day and keep on doing what we’re doing and improve on the things we need to.”
The team next takes on host Springfield Central on May 10 under the lights for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
