Braintree prevails in inaugural Don Fredericks Tournament

DORCHESTER On the day local legend Don Fredericks passed away last year the Braintree baseball organization pulled out a win in extra innings over rival Walpole in a match that felt as though the former coach was right there with the initiative It s only fitting then for the Wamps to pull off a similar ending in the inaugural Don Fredericks Memorial Tournament s championship tournament relocated to Monan Park Sunday afternoon Backed by a gritty complete competition from Connor Grieve in which he stranded six base runners Braintree - rallied from a two-run deficit by scoring a run in each of the fifth sixth and seventh innings en direction to a walk-off - win over BC High Eagles - starter Hudson Verrill held the Wamps hitless for the first innings and they only had three overall But a client approach drew enough baserunners to give Braintree a fighting chance and Michael Ryan hit a walk-off single in the seventh inning to deliver an emotional win It s just kind of symbolic I don t know if I believe a lot of that stuff but it s making me think about it stated Braintree head coach Bill O Connell That was an old-school grind-it-out gritty Braintree competition As it got deeper into the championship and we kept it close we felt like that s when we d have a chance to come back with our mental toughness and all and they did a great job The day prior star pitcher Luke Joyce delivered a -strikeout masterpiece in the semifinals of the tournament an outing O Connell can t speak enough about Grieve didn t replicate that gem but had a major performance in its own right to earn the championship s Danny Ventura Greater part Valuable Athlete award BC High racked up seven hits and a walk against him only striking out twice Both of the runs it scored came with two outs using RBI singles from Wyatt Miller -for- and Jackson Richard in the third and fourth innings respectively to build a - lead Outside of those two knocks though Grieve consistently limited damage by throwing strikes and forcing easy outs to the defense behind him One of his strikeouts came with two outs and two on in the third inning and he stranded two in the sixth with one out by forcing soft contact Once the number was tied after six Grieve needed just four pitches to set down BC High in the seventh I just sought to throw strikes don t give them anything right down the middle that they could hit in the gap Grieve announced I feel like I did a really good job of just throwing strikes attacking hitters and making them put the ball in play And my defense did a great job behind me In our undertaking the greatest compliment you can get is if you re a grinder O Connell added We re just a bunch of hometown guys playing for their region Connor Grieve he s a grinder Patience proved especially vital for Braintree on the offensive end as Verrill innings no hits four walks one unearned run three strikeouts stymied the Wamps for much of the way An error on an attempted double-play with one out in the fifth inning knocked him out of the challenge and the rally began Sean Canavan right now singled to load the bases and Owen Donnelly walked in a run to cut the deficit to - BC High reliever Adam Bushley forced Ryan into a double play to preserve the lead but Grieve led off the sixth inning with a single Pinch-runner Max DeRoche advanced on a passed ball and came around when the Eagles erred trying to throw him out at third on Matt Rogers sacrifice bunt Bushley stranded Rogers at third with one out though Sean Stenmon s walk and another Eagles miscue put runners on first and third with one out in the seventh Ryan had one pitch to get the job done before O Connell longed to signal for a squeeze bunt and he sent it to right field for the win I knew we were going to stay in this meeting fight back Grieve revealed And I had a really good feeling around the fifth sixth inning when we were getting guys on that we were going to win this event I knew Ryan was going to get it done The win is a big lift for Braintree which heads into the state tournament without two of their top players in their normal roles because of injury But also for what it represented in honor of Fredericks in front of his family in attendance It was emotional because Donny has meant so much to all of us O Connell reported He was such a great mentor Not only to watch him as a coach but when I got the job he wrote me personal letter in pen and paper I still have it to this day This tournament is going to go along longer than any of us are coaching we just want to kickstart it to keep his legacy and his name out there for years to come O Connell informed us before the tournament that the whole town expects us to win this Grieve added This was a tournament we need to win would be a big announcement going into the playoffs