You know what I’ve been thinking? After St. Mary’s baseball team defeated Mansfield to advance to the Division 2 semifinals Saturday, I asked coach Derek Dana if he just loves down-to-the-wire wins. An emotionally-high Dana shook his head no, but was happy nonetheless.
St. Mary’s defeated Wakefield in the round of 32, courtesy of Tommy Falasca’s walk-off single in the seventh inning, but I’m here to talk about this week.
Against Reading Memorial Wednesday, St. Mary’s squeezed out a 4-0 win as Falasca delivered again with a complete-game shutout. Josh Doney made, arguably, the biggest play of the game – a line-drive double put things away in the sixth inning.
Fast forward to Saturday, and the Spartans trailed Mansfield 3-1 in the seventh. That said, good teams don’t quit. From Falasca, to Michael DeMaino, and especially to Tad Giardina – who secured the walk-off hit – it was truly a comeback for the ages in a 4-3 win.
Having watched St. Mary’s four times over the past month or so, let me just say: the morale and energy is off the charts. The Spartans support and encourage each other every game, and King Philip needs to play a complete game Tuesday to cool down red-hot St. Mary’s.
To Dana and company, good week.
