Medford High baseball falls to North Andover 8-1 in D1 prelims

NORTH ANDOVER - The Mustangs couldn’t stop the surging Scarlet Knights, Thursday afternoon.

North Andover pitcher Kenneth Martin was a force on the mound and at the plate, as the No. 38 Medford High baseball team fell to the No. 27 seeded Scarlet Knights 8-1, in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 1 State Tournament. With the win, the Knights (13-10) advance to face No. 6 Xaverian (11-9) on Monday.

Fresh off a tourney clinching victory over Woburn in their regular season finale, Medford was looking to extend its magic.

Martin had other ideas. The North Andover pitcher kept a potent Medford lineup in check. The right-hander held the Mustangs to just six hits, no walks and one run. He hit a batter, while fanning seven through six strong innings. The pitcher also helped his own cause driving in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the third, before adding insurance with another RBI double in the sixth.

“They were aggressive at the plate,” said Medford coach Orazio Azzarello. “We kind of knew that going into the game. They made the plays. A game like this, you’ve got to make the plays and hit with them. We just didn’t hit.”

Medford High starting pitcher Travers Moodie was tagged for 10 hits, three walks and five runs, while striking out three in four innings. The staff ace was coming off a masterful performance of his own, tossing a two-hit shutout against Woburn five days earlier.

“Travis is our best guy, so we went with him the whole way,” said Azzarello. “They were just aggressive at the plate. They got the timely hitting and we just didn’t.”

Trailing 1-0, Medford battled back. Senior Ethan Ramsey drilled an RBI double, scoring John Wright in the top of the third.

“Ethan was injured at the beginning of the year,” said Azzarello. “It was great to see him get the clutch hit.”

That was all the offense Medford would muster.

The Knights exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Seth Heacock led the hit parade. The NA centerfielder ripped an RBI double plating Joey Dorsey. Brayden Salach followed slashing a two-run single scoring Jacob Gallant and Heacock. Angelo Hoil-Soto capped the rally lofting a sac fly building the 5-2 advantage.

Smelling blood, Heacock seemingly put the game away the following frame. The centerfielder clubbed a clutch two-run triple off Medford reliver Christian Valentino maintaining their 7-1 edge.

Salach closed the contest. The lefty yielded no hits and no walks, while punching out two in his lone inning of relief.

Medford senior Mike Morando went 2-for-4 with a double. Moodie and fellow senior Jayden Burns had the other Medford hits. Senior Emet Chasteen was hit by a Martin pitch in the fourth.

With the loss, the Mustangs end the season at 10-11.

“They fought all year long,” said Azzarello. “They had to win the last game of the year to get into the tournament, which is a great thing for Medford. That’s two years in a row now. It’s probably been 10 years since we last did that. It’s an accomplishment and great to see. They believe in themselves. Hopefully this is ongoing.”   

The Mustangs will lose a total of nine seniors in the offseason including Dave Crohan, Joshua Lemotte, Ryan Mabardi and Carlos Loredo.

“We had nine seniors, so next year we’re going to be young, but we are growing,” said Azzarello. “I like what we’ve seen from the younger kids. We’ll be back.”