The Norwood American Legion baseball team suffered a heartbreaking and dramatic setback in New Bedford, dropping a 5-4 decision in 10 innings to Manchester, New Hampshire, during the second round of the American Legion Northeastern Regional Tournament. For a powerhouse Norwood squad carrying an impressive 32-2 record into the contest, the extra-inning loss—culminating in a 350-foot game-winning home run by Manchester’s John Marcotte—left the two-time Massachusetts state champions facing elimination and forced to battle back through the losers’ bracket against New London.
Norwood appeared poised to secure a hard-fought victory when it took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. Center fielder Ted Decareau executed a spectacular, diving catch in deep right-center field for the second out, firing the ball toward first base to catch a runner off guard. However, an errant throw kept the play alive, allowing Manchester to mount a furious ninth-inning rally. With two outs and two strikes against him, Manchester’s Joe Devine launched a fastball from Norwood pitcher Jim McCready over the right-field fence, tying the game 4-4 and stunning the Norwood bench. One frame later, Marcotte led off the 10th with a game-ending blast to seal the comeback victory for the New Hampshire state champions (28-13), who were guided by veteran coach John Reilly.
Norwood had built its early advantage through opportunistic hitting and solid pitching. Left fielder Kevin Igoe drove in Norwood’s first run with an RBI single in the third inning, while a fortunate two-run bloop single by Mike Wall in the fifth—following walks drawn by Decareau and Chris Maloof—extended Norwood’s lead to 4-1. Starting pitcher Scott Generazo labored through five-plus innings, escaping constant jams while surrendering just one run and five hits before giving way to relief pitcher Bill Goonan, who handled defensive duties at shortstop before taking the mound. McCready pitched effectively in relief before surrendering Devine’s ninth-inning equalizer.
Reflecting on the decisive pitch after the tough loss, Norwood Coach Pete Wall remarked, “One bad pitch… I told him to keep it high on [Devine] and it was a low pitch.” Asked how he planned to rally his stunned squad for the remainder of the double-elimination tournament, Wall admitted candidly, “I just don’t know. If I knew, I’d be a [bleep] genius.” (Reporting by Thomas Ohlmeyer, 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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