Published July 12, 2019
MEDFORD — Melrose defeated Medford 10-0 to win the second game of a three-game playoff series to determine the District 12 11-Year-Old Champions. Medford took the first game with a thrilling 11-10 victory.
Game two was played at Gillis Park in Medford on a sunny and very hot afternoon.
The game was a pitchers duel until Melrose erupted for eight runs in the fourth inning. Matt Palmer pitched a complete game gem for Melrose.
Melrose jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Cavan O’Leary drove in Josh Bird for the games first run. Melrose erupted for seven runs in the fourth inning, fueled by big hits by Brady Yee, Johnny Recinito, Cadel McKeown and Josh Bird. Melrose scored two additional runs in the fifth inning using aggressive baserunning by Josh Bird and Tyler Garipay to turn two walks into the last two runs of the game.
The story of the game was the pitching of Palmer, who threw a complete game shutout with five strikeouts. Melrose played great defense to prevent a good hitting Medford team from getting on the scoreboard. Catchers Ben Dugan and Cadel McKeown each threw out a runner on an attempted steal. The solid win by Melrose forced a third and deciding game in the best-of-three series with Medford to determine the District 12 Champion.
THE MELROSE U11 beat Medford to win the District 12 championship. Pictured in the front row from left to right is Tyler Garipay, Cavan O’Leary, Ben Dugan, Brayden Pesce, Josh Bird, Matt Palmer, Ian McKeown, Brady Yee, Brian Capodilupa, Johnny Recinit
Melrose wins game three for title
Melrose exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning to break open a very close game against Medford to win the District 12 Eleven-Year-Old championship. This game followed the same pattern as the first two games in the series, with great starting pitching and strong defense by both teams during the first part of the contest. Melrose starter Johnny Recinito allowed only two runs in five plus innings, and closer Brian Capodilupa shut down Medford in the sixth inning to seal the victory.
Melrose jumped out to an early lead in the second inning when Ian McKeown singled to center field to score Tyler Garipay and Cavan O’Leary. Medford tied the game in the third inning and the game remained tied until the top of the 5th inning.
Melrose regained the lead in the 5th inning when Matt Palmer and Johnny Recinito scored on RBI from Jack Feeney and Josh Bird. In the sixth inning, Melrose scored seven runs off hits from Matt Palmer, Jack Feeney, Johnny Recinito, Brady Yee, Cadel McKeown and Josh Bird. Brayden Pesce drove in the final run of the inning.
Coach Recinito inserted defensive replacements Brendan Sestito and Brayden Pesce to support closer Brian Capodilupa to seal the victory.
Next up for Melrose was the Section 3 11-Year-Old tournament beginning Wednesday July 10 in Canton, Massachusetts after press time.
