By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The Boston Red Sox have been playing a game on Patriots Day with an 11 a.m. start time since 1959. Walpole and Xaverian high schools have created their own rivalry to mimic the Sox with an annual baseball game at the same date and time.
This year’s contest matched #5 ranked Division 2 Walpole against Division 1 Xaverian who was ranked #8 playing at Xaverian’s home field which is of college-level quality. Walpole is the only non-Division 1 school in the top ten.
Xaverian took this year’s chapter of the rivalry, 6-2, thanks to some timely hitting and quality pitching.
Both teams play a quality schedule to prepare them for the state playoffs. The Bay State and Catholic Conferences have some of the best baseball teams in the state each year. Xaverian and Walpole are mirror images of each other in terms of quality pitching, baseball smarts and timely hitting right down to their matching blue pinstripes.
Xaverian is the three time defending Catholic Conference champions. Walpole is the defending Division 2 state champion. The diamond battles between these teams have been evenly fought through the years.
Xaverian’s head coach is Westwood resident Gerry Lambert. Lambert is a member of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. A coach for nearly two decades with over 300 wins, his teams are known not only for winning, but for their discipline, composure, and preparation, hallmarks of a coach who understands that success begins long before the first pitch. He is the son of legendary Walpole Little League coach, Gerry Lambert.
Chris Costello is in his 11th year as the Walpole boys’ head coach but has been a part of the program for nearly 40 years finally capturing the elusive state title in 2025.
This year’s matchup was indicative of the quality baseball of each squad. The game was scoreless through three innings as Xaverian’s senior Colin Mont (Sacred Heart) and Walpole’s junior Matthew Lencioni matched zeroes. Both teams threatened but couldn’t score.
In the fourth, Lencioni hit the first two batters. With two outs, Xaverian’s Beckett Delleo, who resides in Walpole, hit a Texas League blooper to centerfield that landed between three fielders to break the ice. Greyson Mazza and Jake Turner followed with singles to put up a crooked number for the Hawks, 4-0.
Xaverian (5-3) tacked on another run in the fifth against Timberwolf sophomore Blake Pileski. Walpole’s centerfielder Aidan Hoyle made a tremendous catch crashing into the outfield fence to keep the score close.
Walpole (6-1) did not go quietly as junior captain Shane Harrington and senior Ryan McDonald led off the sixth with singles. They both came around to score on balks to close the gap to 5-2.
The Hawks added another run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by senior captain Nolan Rappoli (Harvard). Hoyle made another great catch on the play in left center field but couldn’t recover to throw out the tagging runner.
Pitch counts play a critical strategic role for high school baseball coaches. Walpole has five games between April 20 and 27th. Xaverian has four games over the same span. Developing balanced pitching is key over the long haul.
These types of games provide the mental toughness and fortitude to complete for a state title. We will see both of these nines come playoff time.
