Bromfield’s Chase Donahue winds up. Donahue struck out 11 batters in four innings and contributed to a lopsided win over Boston Collegiate Charter, the team’s opponent in the first round of the MIAA Division 5 playoffs.(Photos by Kent Boynton)
Perhaps the biggest surprise among Bromfield’s varsity teams this postseason has been the 15-member Trojan baseball squad. With a 10-7 regular season record and ranked 27th among the 76 schools in Division 5 of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, few expected the team to advance beyond its preliminary round in this year’s playoffs.
But after burying Boston Collegiate Charter 12-1 at home June 4 and upsetting the No. 7 seed Frontier Regional Redhawks 2-1 at Deerfield June 6, winning its round-of-32 game, fans are giving the team a second look. “It was a long bus ride, but worth it,” said Lonnie Quirion, now in his second season as head coach and the father of two Trojan players.
The pitching of starter Chase Donahue and reliever Graham Benway was decisive in Monday’s win. Donahue, with his trademark fastball, faced 19 batters in five innings, striking out five, walking two, and giving up only one hit. Benway got the save, giving up four hits and walking one Redhawk but, crucially, striking out the final Frontier batter in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, leaving the Redhawks’ tying run on second base.
Bromfield scored its two runs in the top of the sixth inning when second baseman Brady Quirion drove in shortstop Lonnie Quirion and Zack Lizotte with a two-out single. Lizotte was pinch-running for center fielder Tucker Madison,
“It was a great upset for us,” said Coach Quirion in an email to the Press. The win allowed Bromfield to advance to a round of 16 game against No. 11-seed Douglas. But the Trojans lost that game 9-4 on Wednesday, ending their quest for a Division 5 title.
Bromfield team member Melkamu Creaghan strides to home plate as teammate Chase Donahue cheers him on. Creaghan attends Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River, which plays in an MIAA-sanctioned baseball co-op program with Bromfield.
