2011 BRENDAN GRANT MEMORIAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
ANOTHER SUCCESS

Seventh Annual Tournament Held
Friday and Saturday, 27 & 28 May 2011 in Belmont, Massachusetts

A mix of scorching sun and fair-weather-rain provided the backdrop for the seventh annual Brendan Grant Memorial Baseball Tournament. Solid crowds of spectators were once again rewarded with top-notch high school varsity baseball at the Brendan Grant Memorial Field in Belmont, Massachusetts. This four team tournament took place on Friday and Saturday, 27 & 28 May 2011.

The tourney makes excellent use of the Belmont varsity baseball complex, considered to be one of the top high school fields in the local area. The four participating teams were the varsity baseball programs at Austin Prep, Belmont, Lynnfield and Winchester High Schools.

The festivities officially started with the singing of the national anthem just prior to 2:15 pm, and the spectators were greeted with free drinks, hot dogs and popcorn. The first game of the tournament had Winchester as the visiting team versus Belmont in a contest that counted for both teams as a Middlesex League game. Belmont needed to win at least one of the two games during the tournament to qualify for a berth in the post season playoffs.

Belmont posted 2 quick runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back as they led throughout the contest. The hometown squad went on to add 3 more runs in the second inning, followed by 2 in the fourth inning on Junior Kevin Viglirolo’s first home run of the season. Winchester scored 1 run in the fifth, resulting in the final score of 7 to 1 with Belmont on top. Belmont pitcher Evan Nichols threw a complete game victory. The scorching high temperatures were a factor for Winchester starter Jed Robinson, who was replaced by Jonathon Redwine in the fifth inning.

The second game got underway at 4:30 pm with Austin Prep as the visiting team against Lynnfield having home field status. Austin Prep struck in the top of the first with 1 run, but in the bottom of the first Lynnfield responded with 3 quick runs via back-to-back homers from team captains Peter Franchi (Junior) and Rick Beradino (Senior). Franchi’s shot was a blast that cleared the scoreboard in right field with a runner on-board, while Beradino went solo over the left field fence. Then Austin Prep jumped right back with 6 runs in the second inning to grab the lead, and they never looked back. Lynnfield added 1 more run in the fourth inning, as did Austin Prep in the fifth, resulting in the final score of 8 to 4 with Austin Prep on top. Senior Tyler Finigan was the winning pitcher, with Lynnfield’s Joe Satorelli taking the loss.

Saturday started with the consolation game at 11:00 am that had Winchester facing-off against Lynnfield. A flip of the coin designated Lynnfield as the visiting team, and they struck first with 5 quick runs in the top of the first. This included another homerun by Rick Beradino, this time a 3 run shot. Lynnfield never let go of the lead and added 4 more runs in the second before unloading with 7 runs in the third inning, 2 in the fourth, and 2 in the seventh. This included another three run homerun in the second by Peter Franchi, again over the right field fence. Winchester posted single runs in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings, with Winchester’s Connor Steckel hitting the long ball over the center field fence in the sixth inning for 1 of these runs. Ben Kendrew was the winning pitcher for Lynnfield, with Connor Steckel taking the loss for Winchester.

As the bottom of the seventh was getting underway, Winchester trailed Lynnfield 20 to 4 and had three more outs before the game could be considered completed. Suddenly, the skies opened-up with torrential rains from a fair-weather summer rain-storm. Despite blue sky clearly seen all around except overhead, the rains really came down and the game was called. Thus the final score was 18 to 4 with Lynnfield as the victor, since the 2 runs scored by Lynnfield in the top of the seventh were not counted.

The rains came and went quickly, and once again the scorching sun returned. However, the infield surface had been considerably softened by the flash flood and too muddy to be used. Instead of waiting for an unknown period of time to get the varsity field back into playable condition, the championship game was switched to the nearby Junior Varsity field due to a different infield clay mix that was in better shape from the quick rains.

Once underway, the championship contest proved to be a real pitcher’s duel between Belmont’s Sophomore Mike Richardson and Austin Prep’s Senior Captain Ryan Havey. Throughout the game each team only allowed two clean hits amongst several other players reaching base on walks or errors. None of this amounted to any real threat until the bottom of the fifth inning. With the game tied at 0 to 0, Belmont’s Jamie McLaughlin was thrown out at the plate after a clutch single by Eric Griswold to right field. In the top of the seventh this scene was repeated by Austin Prep. But this time it was a clutch hit to center field by Matt Dube to advance runner Chris Bundock, with the runner safe after another close play at the plate. Austin Prep had now snatched a precious one-run lead in a very hard-fought game. Belmont Freshman pitcher Brendan Shea came in to relieve Richardson, and facing the heart of the Austin Prep order struck-out the next batter to end the brief Austin Prep rally.

Belmont failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, and ultimately handed the crown to Austin Prep as the new Tourney champions. Final score: Austin Prep 1 and Belmont 0. This game was a great contest of two excellent baseball squads, and it ranks as one of the toughest pitchers-dual since the tourney began seven years earlier. This year’s MVP trophy went to Austin Prep’s Ryan Havey, the winning pitcher in this hard-fought championship contest.

All four teams showed lots of talent and demonstrated plenty of excellent baseball. With Austin Prep as the overall winner, Belmont placed in the number two runner-up slot, followed by Lynnfield and then Winchester. Click here for all the details on last year's tournament contest. The standings since the tournament first began are:
2005: (1) Lynnfield, (2) Winchester, (3) Belmont, (4) Bedford
2006: (1) Lynnfield, (2) Belmont, (3) Winchester, (4) Bedford
2007: (1) Belmont, (2) Austin Prep, (3) Winchester, (4) Lynnfield
2008: (1) Belmont, (2) Austin Prep, (3) Winchester, (4) Lynnfield
2009: (1) Winchester, (2) Lynnfield, (3) Belmont, (4) Austin Prep
2010: (1) Belmont, (2) Lynnfield, (3) Winchester, (4) Austin Prep
2011: (1) Austin Prep, (2) Belmont, (3) Lynnfield, (4) Winchester

Adding to this year's excitement was a parallel whiffle ball tournament organized for local 9 and 10 year olds participating in Belmont Little League. Approximately 70 youngsters participated on multiple teams that played on an adjacent field. A series of games provided a "mini" tournament that produced a lot of smiles.

Numerous volunteers were instrumental in putting this year's tournament together, helping with refreshments, team support, and making sure the field and facility were in fantastic shape so that the entire event ran smoothly. Heartfelt thanks are extended to the following sponsors who provided significant support or in-kind donations:
Champions Sporting Goods, Belmont MA
Embassy Trophy of Waltham, Waltham MA
D. Muzzioli Associates, Belmont MA
James J. Duffy, Inc., Charlestown MA
Northeast Industrial Tech Inc., Grindco Group, Boston MA
Roessler & Sons Memorial, Woburn MA
The Meat House, Arlington/North Andover MA

The long list of volunteers is likewise noteworthy, and a tip-of-the-cap goes to all the dedicated volunteers that assisted throughout the tournament. Special thanks goes to former BHS baseball coach Pete Noone for helping to organize the event and championing the activity behind the scene. Additional thanks goes to Belmont Athletic Director Jim Davis, Belmont Trainer Sarkis Asadoorian, and the Belmont School System, as well as the dependable crew of the Belmont Grounds and Recreation Department for keeping the field in top shape.

As those who attended will tell you, the seventh annual Brendan Grant Memorial Day Baseball Tournament provided incredible excitement and some top quality good old fashioned high school baseball. Again, our heartfelt thanks go out to all who helped make the event a success.

We look forward to seeing you at next year’s tournament!