After a season that saw the Marblehead baseball team go 13-4 and earn a share of the Northeastern Conference South Division title, several members of the Magicians were honored when the NEC All-Stars were released — including the late Stephen Gridley, who was posthumously named NEC Coach of the Year. Gridley died in May 2020.
Gridley — who was born in Lynn and raised in Peabody before starring in three sports for Bishop Fenwick and then playing baseball at Salem State — impacted the lives of many players and coaches on the North Shore over the past 20-plus years. Over the past several years, Gridley has served as an assistant coach at Marblehead under his great friend Mike Giardi. It was Giardi who nominated Gridley for the award.
Elsewhere for Marblehead, the Magicians had two players — catcher Charlie Titus and centerfielder Godot Gaskins — named to the NEC All-Conference Team. Titus had a great season both behind the plate and at bat, catching one of the deepest rotations in the league while also hitting .353 and knocking in 23 RBI — good for second-most in the NEC. Gaskins was the quintessential leadoff man for Marblehead, batting a hefty .345 and stealing 19 bases while also scoring 17 runs.
Marblehead also had three players named to the NEC All-Star Team in Jacob Sherf, Sami Loughlin and Schuyler Schmitt.
Peabody also had two All-Conference selections after a solid season that saw the Tanners take down Lynn Classical in the first round of the Division 1 North tournament before bowing out to Lynn English, as centerfielder Ryan Knight and shortstop Juan Tolentino were both selected.
Tolentino and Knight both proved themselves to be two of the best hitters in the league, with Tolentino batting a hefty .370 and smashing two home runs from the leadoff spot while Knight put up an on-base percentage of .550 and scored 19 runs on the year.
The Tanners also saw ace Justin Powers and infielder Nick Villano get named to the NEC All-Star Team.
Masconomet slugger Sean Moynihan took home NEC MVP honors after leading the league in RBI (24) and also serving as the Chieftains’ closer, while Saugus’ Nathan Ing, Winthrop’s Bobby Hubert, Masconomet’s Aaron Zenus, Danvers’ Joe Zamejtis, Gloucester’s Jack Costanzo and Zach Abbott and Beverly’s Austin Bernard rounded out the NEC All-Conference Team.
The rest of the NEC All-Star Team is made up of Swampscott’s Connor Correnti and Nate Stern, Saugus’ Jason Casaletto, Salem’s Bobby Jellison, Masconomet’s Erik Sibbach and Ethan Cote, Danvers’ Brendan Trohon and John Curran, Gloucester’s Zach Morris, Brett Moore and Zach Oliver, Winthrop’s David DiCicco and Beverly’s Sam Armbruster.
