Norwood Caps Dream Season, Captures First State American Legion Title Since 1942-August 15, 1985

Norwood baseball has enjoyed a historic run of success, having defeated both the defending high school and American Legion champions—Braintree—in successive tournaments, alongside handing Bay State League rival Natick its only two losses of the high school season. Last night, left-handed ace Bob Baxter added the final chapter to a storybook campaign. Baxter scattered seven hits, retiring 14 consecutive batters at one point, and led Norwood to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Grafton Hill to capture the state American Legion championship—marking Norwood’s first state Legion title since 1942.

For veteran Coach Pete Wall, who battled illness all week, the victory brought sweet vindication. “I knew we were going to have a good club,” he said. “We just needed two good pitchers. We ended up 31-5; that’s a hell of a record. What can I say; all our hard work paid off. It’s a great feeling.” Though Wall’s high-powered offense was held to just five hits, three proved to be all Norwood needed in the third inning. Chris Maloof singled with one out, advanced on Andy French‘s walk, and both executed a double steal before Ned Brigham rocketed a two-run triple into right-center field. Dave McMullin then followed with a single to drive in Brigham for what stood as the game-winning run. Brigham, who had previously struck out twice on breaking balls, anticipated a fastball from Grafton Hill pitcher Bob Kelley and capitalized. “I was looking for a fast ball and hit it as hard as I could,” Brigham noted.

Grafton Hill struck first with single runs in the first and second innings—opening the game with a single by Tom McDonough, followed by RBI hits from John Lombardi and Kelley, before a throwing error allowed Joe Texeira to score. However, once settled, Baxter was virtually untouchable, retiring 22 of the final 24 batters by keeping the Zone 4 champions off-balance with a deceptive fastball and low-breaking pitches. “I didn’t know if I could shut down a good hitting lineup like that,” Baxter admitted. “I was throwing as hard as I could for as long as I could; I knew we have Timmy [Cox] to come back if we had to play a third game. I felt better the longer I threw.”

With the state crown secured, Norwood shifts its focus to the Northeast Regional Tournament, set to begin in Bristol, Connecticut, on August 21.

(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