Displaying both brilliant pitching and an overwhelming offensive onslaught, the Norwood American Legion baseball team opened the Northeastern Regional Tournament in New Bedford with an emphatic 15-6 victory over Portland, Maine.
Backed by Harvard-bound ace Bob Baxter and a relentless batting order that pounded out 15 runs on 14 hits against four different Portland pitchers, Norwood improved its stellar record to 32-1.
“There was no key to this game,” reflected Coach Pete Wall near the on-deck circle after the final out. “We just hit the hell out of the ball.” Norwood opened the scoring in the first inning capitalizing on walks to Chris Maloof and Kevin Igoe, a single by Bill Goonan, and a sacrifice fly from third baseman Mike Generazo. The floodgates blew open during a massive third-inning rally where Norwood batted around the order. Maloof lined a single to left, Mike Wall drove in a run to knock out Maine starting pitcher Mike Davis, Derek Ghostlaw launched a two-out, two-run triple to deep right field, and Jim Delbou crushed a two-run home run just left of the 370-foot marker in dead center.
Norwood extended its cushion to 10-0 in the fourth inning following walks to Baxter, Maloof, and Igoe, coupled with RBI singles from Wall, Ghostlaw, and Ted Decareau. Meanwhile, Baxter put on a pitching clinic, firing a complete-game four-hitter over seven innings while striking out 10 batters and lowering his earned run average below 1.80 against a potent Portland lineup that had entered the Maine state tournament boasting a .345 team batting average. Though Baxter surrendered three unearned runs in the fifth frame due to an outfield miscue and an opposite-field triple by Scott Dutton, and Norwood added five insurance runs in the eighth, the outcome was academic.
Outscoring its tournament opponents 25-4 over two rounds, the two-time state champion squad advances to face Sweeney’s Post of Manchester, New Hampshire, at Sargent Field. The New Hampshire titlist advanced by defeating Brattleboro, Vermont, 8-1, while New Jersey runner-up Irvington downed Cumberland, Rhode Island, 7-4, in tournament action.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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Norwood American Legion Crushes Weymouth 12-4 in State Tournament Opener-August 14, 1978
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Norwood Dominates Needham in Zone 6A American Legion Baseball Playoffs-July 26, 1978
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The John Balerna Show-June 3, 1978
Mustangs Blank Waltham in Tourney Opener In high school postseason baseball, you occasionally see an individual athlete put a team on his back and single-handedly dictate the outcome of a game. But what senior ace John Balerna did on Friday, June 2, 1978, went far beyond a standard standout performance. In the opening round of…
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Surgery Helped Bill Travers Elbow His Way To Big League Heights-July 4, 1976
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Mustangs Erupt for 21 Runs-June 4, 1975
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Norwood Legion Team Masters the Suicide Squeeze-July 3, 1974
The Norwood American Legion baseball team showcased a high-stakes brand of baseball on the evening of July 2, 1974, demonstrating a masterclass in the “suicide squeeze” play to secure an 8-4 interzone victory over Wellesley at Legion Field. While the play is often considered a rarity in the modern game, Norwood coach Frank Wall has…
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