Norwood High School’s Brian Adams did double duty for the Mustangs on Saturday. Adams hurled seven innings of one-run, four-hit relief and doubled home the run that gave fifth-seeded Norwood a 7-6, 12-inning victory over King Philip in the first round of the EMass. Div. 1 baseball tourney.
Adams, a senior shortstop and the Mustangs’ fourth pitcher Saturday, had thrown only 10 innings all season. Just as surprising was that Adams’ RBI double came with runners on first and second and no outs, a situation that often calls for a sacrifice bunt. “I think I caught King Philip off-guard,” said Adams of his hit off of reliever Randy Levecque that brought Jim Doherty home. “Everyone in the ballpark expected me to bunt, but I’m glad I hit away.” It was Norwood’s ability to hit the ball a long way that put it in position to win the game. After falling behind, 4-0 in the fifth, a three-run homer by John Crimmins pulled the Mustangs even at 5-5.
Paul Samargedlis’ solo shot to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning forced extra innings. Both blasts landed halfway up the screen above the left-field fence. “We took advantage of two bad pitches and that was the ballgame,” said Norwood coach Pete Wall. “Adams did a great job, expecially since we were hurting for pitchers.” King Philip scored twice in the fourth inning and three times in the fifth for its 5-0 bulge. Sean Kelly began the Warrior fifth by singling off of Ted Towne, who replaced starter Greg Gamel after 2 1/3 innings.
Kelly scored on a passed ball and KP pitcher Scott Grzenda walked and came around Jim Weir’s single. Tim Coyle relieved Towne in the fifth, but the Warriors added three more on an RBI single by Grzenda and Weir’s two-run single. The Mustangs finally broke loose in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs to tie it. Coyle led with a walk and moved to second on a Jeff Putnam single. An error on Todd Newman’s bouncer to short loaded the bases with none out.
Tom Benson’s fielder’s choice and an infield hit scored two runs, leading to Crimmins’ dramatic blast. King Philip took a 6-5 lead in the sixth when Jason Romsey doubled and came home on Paul Carlow’s sacrifice fly, but Samargedlis’ homer gave the Mustangs new life heading into extra innings.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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