The Bromfield baseball team (12-6) beat the Mystic Valley Eagles (13-7) by a score of 8-3 Sunday, June 2, to advance to the round of 16 in this year’s Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 5 baseball tournament.
Isaac Xu pitches against Mystic Valley, June 2. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
The game was played at home on the hottest day of the weekend, with temperatures in the low 80s and clouds that mercifully hid the sun for much of the afternoon. The Eagles coach said the teams had arrived early but remained on the air-conditioned bus. Fans of both teams watched from the parking lot, the slopes beyond center field, or even a few seats behind the fence at home plate.
Bromfield’s victory came late in the game, capped by catcher Brady Quirion’s home run, his first ever for the team, he told the Press. Third baseman Nate Pertoso was the game’s leading hitter, with three hits, two runs, and two stolen bases. Shortstop Russel Kilkenny and left fielder Zach Lizotte had two doubles, two RBIs, and one run apiece.
The two teams were scoreless for the first three innings, as Bromfield’s pitcher, Isaac Xu, and his teammates retired Eagles’ batters 1-2-3.
At the top of the fourth inning, however, Mystic Valley’s batters got the better of Xu, who walked a batter, hit one with a bad pitch, and allowed three hits, at one point loading the bases. The Eagles left the inning with a 3-0 lead, but that was the end of their scoring as Xu steadied and gave up no further hits.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pertoso scored Bromfield’s first run after getting to first base on a base hit, then stealing second and third bases, and dashing for home on a second-out pop fly. In the bottom of the sixth, the Trojans surged ahead with a flurry of singles, doubles, and Brady’s home run, scoring seven runs in 10 at-bats, giving the team an 8-3 lead. When Eagles batters stepped to the home plate for the last time, Xu, pitching his seventh inning, struck out two and forced the third to ground out.
While trying to steal second base, Nate Pertoso reaches for first base before the first baseman can tag him out. During the inning, Pertoso went on to steal two bases and earn the first run of the game after a sacrifice popup.
“I thought Xu did a great job on the mound today,” said Coach Lonnie Quirion after the game. “He’s got a fastball, slider, and a changeup that are all pretty good.” Xu faced 27 batters, striking out four, walking two, and allowing three hits and three runs.
As for the team? “I mean, just the way they came back, it was a lot of fun. … I’m really happy for them, I’m proud of them,” said Quirion.
The hopes of the 16th seeded Trojans were dashed Wednesday, June 4, when they traveled west to play a round of 16 game against the fourth seed Pioneer Valley Black Panthers. Bromfield lost 11-0.
