NEWS CORNER

Our Minutemen Baseball 16 Axis completed their first tournament of the summer this week at the Perfect Game Super 25 New England Regional Qualifier at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, MA. 

16 Axis competed against Route 2 Blue Sox, Evolution Baseball, Nokona 16u Braves, and eventual Tournament Champion - Team Eiger out of Bimington, NY. After four games, our 16 Axis team came away with a 2-1-1 tournament record and missed out on the playoffs by one point. 

We'll be back in action next weekend for a single doubleheader against the Saugus Wings at World Series Park in Saugus, MA ahead of our second tournament of the season, the 16u Boston Invitational at NEBC. 

Our 16 Axis team (2-0) travelled to Dover-Sherborn High School on Saturday afternoon to take on Fury Baseball. Liam Schofield (Newton South High School, 2021) and Mitchell Waksler (Newton South High School, 2021) took the hill in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively and continued their early season success.

Liam Schofield wasn't as sharp as he was last weekend, but battled through some control issues early on and gave the team a solid 5 innings of work. Offensively, everyone seemingly contributed -- Mike DiStefano (Waltham High School, 2020) had two hits (1 double) and a walk with three runs scored, George Athanasiadis (Landmark School, 2021) was 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and a walk with 1 run scored and 2 RBI's. Theo Sox (Newton North High School, 2020) was 2 for 3 with 2 hits (1 double) and a walk, Tom Leonard (Catholic Memorial, 2021) was 1-2 with a double and HBP with 1 run scored. Minutemen 16 Axis cruised to a 11-2 victory in Game 1. 

In Game 2, Mitchell Waksler again took the hill and though he wasn't as sharp as his first outing, he held the Fury offense in check -- Mitchell went 5 innings before the EBL mercy rule kicked in. Minutemen scored four runs in the 1st inning as they strung together good at-bats and had 7 consecutive hitters reach base. In the second inning, Mike DiStefano hit a missile to right-center for an inside-the-park home run! Minutemen tacked on another 6 runs over the next 3 innings -- John Nordman (Lexington High School, 2021) narrowly missed a grand slam home run by a few feet after a drive down the line to left field. 16 Axis finished off the doubleheader sweep with a 11-1 victory. 

Minutemen 16 Axis are back in action on Sunday, June 23rd vs. Nor'Easters North White at Victory Field in Watertown, MA at 9am. 

The 15U Axis Minutemen got their season off to a great start, going 3-1 in the weekend. They took a Saturday sweep of the Legends 15/16u travel team and then came away with a hard-fought split against the Fury on Sunday. The weekend saw some outstanding pitching performances, but the offense was the story, as the Axis boys recorded an impressive 45 runs on the weekend. Standouts with the bat were Jackson Linn on Saturday and Josh Garner on Sunday. Special mention goes to Griffin Bond and Zach Zimmerman for clutch, game-changing hits with men on base.

Liam Schofield (Newton South High School, 2021) throws 13 strikeout NO-HITTER against Legends Baseball in the season opener on Sunday, June 9th in Gloucester, MA! 

Liam was dominant from the start, as he pounded the zone early and often with his fastball on both sides of the plate. The offense got on the board in the first inning after a single from Matthew Favazzo and a moon shot triple to the fence from John Nordman who later scored on a fielders choice from Cooper Hill. The offense added two more runs in the 6th to secure the victory and the no-hitter. Liam ended the day with 13 strikeouts and only 1 walk as Team Axis 16u walked away with a 4-0 win. 

In Game 2, Mitchell Waksler took the ball and didn't disappoint as he threw 6 innings only allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 run (0 earned) and 5 strikeouts. The offense continued to roll -- Tom Leonard (Catholic Memorial HS, 2021) had a hit, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI and George Athanasiadis (Landmark School, 2021) had a huge 2 RBI double in the second inning that broke the game open. 16 Axis won 7-1 to start the season 2-0.

The dust has settled after a tremendous weekend of baseball for our 12 Navy team taking on the #2 AB Giants and the #1 seed Central Maine Rebels they split the weekend (2-2) with only 15 runs allowed in 4 games against the top two 12u DII teams within the EBL. 

The Minutemen bats were quiet on Sunday morning/ early afternoon at the Mini Fenway Park in Oakland, Maine as they took on two top pitchers within the EBL who pounded the zone in both games with hard fastballs. Justin MacCormack took the hill in Game 1 and held the high powered offense in check, only allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings pitched with 6 punch outs. Both teams played very well, showcasing solid defense and great pitching -- unfortunately, Minutemen fell 2-0. 

In Game 2, Cooper Tarlie battled through four innings, but the Rebels offense came alive in the third inning and pushed 5 runs across and the Minutemen were never able to string a couple hits together to get the offense back on track. Minutemen lost Game 2 by a 9-2 final. 

After the long drive home, we were scoreboard/ standing watching as we started the evening in 8th place with the 6th and 7th seed not having reported their outcomes and scores. By the end of the night, we realized that we would be the 6th seed and sneak into the EBL Championship Weekend beginning on Saturday, June 8th. 

We will take on the #3 seed Westford Jr. Ghosts at 9 am Saturday morning at Bishop Fenwick High School (99 Margin St., Peabody, MA). If we win, we play the #2 seed Freedom Baseball Blue at 11 am.  

Minutemen 12 Navy headed into Day 1 of the EBL's Division II Gold Bracket Playoffs as the #13 seed taking on the #2 seed AB Giants out of Saugus, MA. Minutemen were up against it in Game 1 as the AB Giants sent their ace, Jared Picatta (6-1, 28 IP, 54ks and a 1.29 ERA) to the mound. Jared was as advertised pumping strikes at 72-75 mph. 

Minutemen got on the board in the second inning as a Nico Hart walk, followed by back to back walks by Aaron Waksler and Justin MacCormack, Arjun Rath got an RBI the hard way by wearing a hard fastball to the ribs. Minutemen added a second run in the 4th after Emilio Berndt reached on an error, stole second base and scored on a Sam Fishman RBI single. The AB Giants tied it a 2 in the bottom of the 4th, but 12 Navy rallied in the 5th inning with Justin MacCormack walked, stole second and reached third on a passed ball. Avery Melton had the at-bat of the year, fouling six pitches off before beating out a hard hit ball to third base as Justin came in to score the eventual winning run. 

In Game 2, 12 Navy took a 5-0 lead into the 6th, but the story was Aaron Waksler as he carried a perfect game into the final frame. After an error and a clean single, the Giants got one across to make the game 5-1, Nico Hart made an unbelievable diving catch in left-center for out #2. Nico Hart seems to have the flair for the dramatic, as after a long fly ball was hit over his head to the fence, he threw an absolute bullet to Keenan Sawada who was waiting at second base and barely had to move his glove to tag the runner for the final out of the game!

Minutemen 12 Navy is back at it for Day 2 tomorrow at the famous Mini Fenway Park in Oakland, Maine against the #1 seed, Central Maine Rebels. 

Cal Hale was the story as he took a perfect game into the bottom of the 6th inning against Northeast Longhorns Orange Saturday afternoon in Ashland, MA. 

Unfortunately, the offense was unable to get anything going -- as the score remained 0-0 as the Minutemen took the field in the bottom of the 6th. Cal surrendered his only baserunner of the day with a leadoff walk, after a stolen base and a fielder's choice that moved the runner over to 3rd with 1 out. Unfortunately, the winning run crossed the plate with a passed ball -- Cal walked away with the loss without giving up a hit. 

In Game 2, the offense came alive with 5 runs in the first inning. Keenan Sawada led the offense going 3-3 with 2 singles, a double and a walk - he also had 5 stolen bases and 4 runs scored. Aaron Waksler held the opponent in check after surrendering 3 runs (2 earned) in the first inning -- Aaron went 4 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 earned runs and struck out 1. 12 Navy walked away with the win after 4 innings by a score of 15-3. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Farm BPI's New Partnership with College Coach®

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