Will the real Massachusetts champion please stand up? The battle for dominance among the Bay State’s 14-year-old baseball teams is set to be waged between Norwood and Pittsfield at 8 p.m. Saturday at Adams Field, with the Norwood boys firmly believing they are tops in the state. “We’ve got a bunch of kids who, at game time, pull their hats down and play ball,” said coach Joe Jacobs. “They are all instinctive ballplayers. They know when to tighten the screws down.”
Norwood earned the right to play for the de facto state title by winning nine consecutive games during tournament play. After sweeping the district tournament with a 5-0 record to advance to the state tournament in Plymouth, Norwood opened with a 3-0 victory over host Plymouth before routing Cambridge 12-1 and sweeping Gateway in a pair of victories, 11-7 and 12-5. “We came back from a 5-0 first-inning deficit and beat Gateway,” Jacobs recalled.
Pitchers Cory Sennott and Chris Foley have led the way on the mound as Norwood’s top hurlers. “The bigger the game, the greater the pressure, the better [for Foley],” Jacobs said. “He thrives on it.” Sennott—who bats second in the lineup—and Foley also split time at third base, while shortstop Brian Williams serves as the leadoff man, and Niko Rodriguez plays second base. First baseman Jesse Shaughnessy anchors the middle of the order as the team’s clean-up power bat. “He’s the big bat of the lineup,” Jacobs said of Shaughnessy. “Jesse is basically the team leader. He backs it up with word and deed. He’s the first one to get in somebody’s face and he greets you at home when you do something good.”
Behind the plate, Sparky Crossen handles the catching duties after starring on last season’s Norwood 13-year-old team that advanced to regional finals. “He’s a very good defensive catcher,” Jacobs noted. “He has allowed one passed ball in our first nine games.” Joe Trahon, Kevin Kuietauskas, Tim Norton, and Tim Kelleher round out the outfield, with Kelleher and Norton sharing time in right field. “Kelleher and Norton both have a knack for getting on base,” Jacobs said. “They are Theo Epstein’s dream.” Following the state title matchup, Norwood is scheduled to meet Middle Atlantic champion Readington, New Jersey, at 2 p.m. Sunday. (Reporting by Jason Richland, The Patriot Ledger).
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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