MILFORD — Norwood American Legion Baseball Coach Pete Wall nearly missed the one game he would have regretted missing most in 23 years of coaching. A stomach virus forced him to miss work earlier in the day, but he recovered in time to see his sons, Pete Wall Jr. and Mike Wall, combine for six hits and six RBIs in an 11-2 thrashing of Braintree in the second round of the state finals. As the only undefeated team remaining in the tournament at 2-0, Norwood sits firmly in the driver’s seat. Braintree must defeat Grafton Hill before facing the steep challenge of beating Norwood twice to reclaim its state title.
The contest initially promised to be a classic pitchers’ duel, pitting Norwood ace Tim Cox (13-2) against Braintree star Rick Snyder (9-0, with a 23-0 career record in state play). Having previously faced each other during the high school season, Cox proved to be the superior right-hander on this night, striking out eight batters—six of them coming as the first out of an inning—and scattering eight hits to secure a complete-game victory. Braintree managed to put runners on base in every frame except the ninth, but crossed the plate only in the third inning when Chris Lane, who relieved Snyder after two innings and three batters, drew a walk, Paul Salvaggio singled, and Dan Lambert (4 for 4) drove them both home with a double.
Cox received tremendous run support as Norwood’s offense hammered Snyder for four extra-base hits in the opening frame alone. Chris Maloof led off the game with a double and scored on Mike Wall’s triple to center field. Following two infield outs and a walk to Dave McMullin, Pete Wall Jr. brought home two more runs with a double, and subsequently scored on Bob Goonan‘s double. Pete Wall Jr. added run-scoring singles in the third and fourth innings, while Mike Wall contributed an RBI double in the seventh. Andy French also chipped in with an RBI single, expanding Norwood’s commanding advantage to 10-2.
Norwood’s relentless 14-hit attack was distributed across the entire starting lineup. Cox even helped his own cause by driving in a run with a safety squeeze, supplementing his stellar performance on the mound. Conceding the night’s outcome, Braintree Coach Don Fredericks praised the opposing hurler, stating, “Timmy Cox proved something to me: He’s a fine pitcher. He didn’t have his blazing fastball, but he pitched a good game. He proved he can be better than Braintree when he’s out there. We didn’t belong on the same field tonight.” (Reporting by Mark Knowlton for 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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