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By Evan Mayer
Hometown Weekly Intern
As the defending district champs, Medfield picked up right where they left off, squeaking out a 5-4 victory against Needham. On June 8, Medfield boys Legion took the field for their opening day game. It was a nail-biter from the beginning, with solid pitching from both teams.
Medfield drew first blood in the bottom of the second with men on second and third. Left fielder Ben Adams singled and scored second baseman Josh Pertucci to record his first RBI.
Needham answered right back in the top of the 3rd with a run-scoring double.
With the score even, Medfield looked to extend its lead. With a ground rule double by first baseman Chris Mcgroy in the bottom of the third, Medfield was able to rally, scoring two more runs, ending the inning on top 3-1.
Needham showed some life in the top of the sixth as they tried to cut the 4-1 lead. After collecting back-to-back infield hits to keep the inning alive, Needham capitalized on the opportunity and scored three runs to tie up the game at four.
In the bottom of the sixth, Medfield looked to their shortstop, James Voss, who hadn’t had a hit all night, to carry their team to a two out rally. Voss showed his patience at the plate, drawing a walk. Center fielder Josh Katz followed with a base hit right up the middle, advancing Voss to third base. Voss then scored on a throwing error to take a 5-4 lead.
With three outs left in the game, Medfield’s Ryan Sliwinski looked to finish what he started by pitching a complete game to secure the first win of the season. With two outs, a deep fly ball was hit, carrying to foul territory where Adams was able to make the play of the game, reaching over the fence to snag the ball.
With 15 years under his belt coaching Medfield Legion, coach Rob Mintz feels the biggest challenge this season is “breaking in the nine new guys we have this year. With half the team being new, it will take a little time building team chemistry. But we have high hopes for this year and would like to make another run to the District Championship.
