Sachem Baseball Wins First Game in State Tournament

They had to wait 26 hours longer than expected. It would have been expected for the 13-year-old Winchester baseball team to come out a little anxious, a little restless.

On Friday they prepared for their first game in the Babe Ruth State Tournament, but the weather decided it wasn't the best night to play baseball. Then as the Sachems showed up on Saturday to begin the pool play section of the tournament, the first game on the day's schedule went four innings longer than expected.

The Sachems had to sit and wait another two hours past their expected start time before they were able to finally walk onto the grass at Adams Field in Quincy. And when they did, the District 2 Champs showed why they're in this tournament as they defeated Medford in the first of three pool play games, 9-2.

"This win is definitely going to give us confidence moving forward in this series," Winchester coach Rich Michienzi said. "Not only did we have the rain out, but then (Saturday) we had the two-hour delay. The guys kept themselves in control, they weren't restless and they remained focused."

Winchester continues their tournament Sunday when the team plays Wakefield at 5 p.m.

It was easy for the Sachems to remain in control when pitcher Robert Nadel throws the ball the way he did Saturday night. The right-hander kept the Medford team off-balance most of the night with his three-quarter delivery. His slightly unorthodox arm slot as he winds up gives his ball that extra movement, making it tough for the opposition to get a handle on.

"It's just natural," Nadel said of his arm position. "I don't really know how much my ball moves, but people say it does."

Nadel finished the game with five strikeouts, five walks and two earned runs, both given up in the last inning.

As well as Nadel pitched last night, his task was made a little easier by the potency of the Sachem offense. After the first inning, Nadel never had to pitch with less than a three-run lead.

It started in the first when Warren Asdornvuttikrai got Winchester on the board with a two-run single, driving home Nolan Redler (2-for-4, three stolen bases, two runs scored and two RBI) and Ian Stackel (two runs scored).

The scoring continued in the second when Redler drove home Davis Clarke and Phil Woolston.

With an early five-run lead, Nadel was able to shutdown the Medford bats and help lead his team to a crucial opening-game victory. But he did have some help from his defense.

With runners on second and third and one out in the fourth, Winchester had a comfortable, but uneasy 6-0 lead. Nadel got the Medford hitter to foul out to first baseman Teddy Carellas who made a nice over-the-shoulder grab near the fence. The runner from third tried to tag-up, but Carellas turned and fired a pristine ball to Redler who applied the tag, ending the threat on a slightly unusual double play.

And then in the sixth inning, left-fielder Nick Valdario made an impressive running catch as a scorching line drive surely looked like it was going to fly over his head, scoring a run and giving Medford an opportunity to get back in the game.

Now the Winchester team has to quickly move on from Saturday's success and prepare for the second game of this possible five game tournament.

"(Sunday's) another day," Michienzi said. "These are 13-year-old boys, you never know what you're going to get. But if we continue to play defense like we did (Saturday), then we'll be tough to beat. We did a lot of good things (Saturday night)."