DORCHESTER – Last May, Don Fredericks passed away at the age of 79.
A leader in the Massachusetts Coaches and Umpires Associations, Fredericks was also a seminal figure in the Braintree baseball community.
In over 20 years as head coach of the Wamps, Fredericks won more than 300 games. In 1995 he was inducted into the Massachusetts Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Following his passing in 2024, Braintree organized a baseball tournament in his honor to close the 2025 regular season.
“We just wanted to do something that continued the legacy of Don Fredericks, who was so influential in the baseball coaches association and the umpires association,” Braintree coach Bill O’Connell said. “We just wanted to kind of have an annual thing so his legacy and his life is always remembered for what he did for so many people.
“Hopefully this tournament is going to go on forever.”
The tournament which featured BC High, Braintree, Plymouth North, and Westwood, was initially supposed to start at Braintree High School Friday night.
Due to the rain however, the first round games were moved to Saturday at Monan Park in Dorchester.
BC High’s coach Steve Healy, who offered up the change of venue, said, “we couldn’t say yes fast enough,” when he was approached to play in the tournament.
“I grew up playing against Coach Fredericks, I grew up in Quincy and he would coach summer ball and Legion, and he was the most brilliant coach,” Healy said. “When he walked into the park, there was an aura. It was a different atmosphere, the game always meant more. He brought the energy, he brought the juice, and he was a brilliant tactician, great motivator.”
When Healey first began coaching, Fredericks was right there to offer an ear or a different drill to practice. Whenever the coaches association would meet, Healy would make sure to catch Fredericks beforehand to pick his brain.
“He’s given me some of my best practices ideas,” Healy said. “We would always meet in the lobby at like 7:30 in the morning before the conference. And it was just me with my notebook being a sponge, taking wisdom from Donnie Fredericks.”
Healy’s BC High squad took on Plymouth North in the first game of the day at 11 a.m. Entering the contest, BC High had dropped three in a row, and North was coming in as the No. 1 seed in Division II.
The visiting Eagles however met their match in BC High’s junior pitcher Matt Reardon.
Junior Matt Reardon pitching for BC High baseball.Peyton Doyle
Through the first three innings Reardon had allowed just one baserunner. His lone mistake was a pitch sent over the right field wall by North’s Dan Kenney to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
The home run though didn’t bury Reardon, it only made him mad. He struck out four of the next five batters he faced after the homer.
“It ticked me off a little bit, not gonna lie,” Reardon said. “But I just tried to stay composed, not let it get in my head and start getting everywhere. Just tried to stay composed and do what I do. It was just one bad pitch, it’s not gonna mess with me.”
In the bottom half of the fourth, with BC High trailing, the end of the order delivered for Healy’s squad.
Brody Beale kicked things off with a double. After Jackson Richard walked, No. 9 hitter Brenden Ryan delivered them both with a triple to make the game 3-2 BC High.
“He’s done that quite a bit,” Healy said of Ryan. “He’s a very strong kid, you had the ball hooking, the rain was driving at the time, you had a lefty. There was a lot of things in our favor. I don’t think most people realize it, he’s a kid going to play college football, he benches like 355 pounds.
“Most nine hole hitters when they come up, the right fielder if probably thinking pop up. But with Brenden’s case, we’re thinking it’s probably gonna one hop out of the yard.”
Once Ryan was singled home by Wyatt Miller, BC High held a two-run lead.
In the top of the fifth, Reardon did his job, keeping North off the board for the final frame of his outing.
“Matt had all four pitches working, throwing ‘em for strikes in any count,” Healy said. “That’s kind of like a coach’s dream, when you can mix and match and he was mixing and matching consistently.”
For Reardon, the Fredericks tournament is both a chance to play for a unique cause, and also prepare for next week’s state tournament.
“This tournament is obviously super meaningful, but I think it’s also a great opportunity for us as a team to just try and move forward and get the wheels on the bus turning before the tournament and just kind of get ready to go for game one,” Reardon said.
Matt Reardon completes an inning on the mound for BC High Baseball.Peyton Doyle
Reardon’s replacement, Anthony Dufour, allowed just one run in his two innings, and secured the 4-3 first round victory for the Eagles.
In the second game of the day, Braintree matched up with Westwood in what instantly looked to be a low-scoring affair.
Wamps sophomore Luke Joyce did not allow a single hit in his first four innings, and struck out nine during that span.
“It was just momentum,” Joyce said. “I was just moving fast, making them call time, just pumping strikes. I wanted to be out there.”
On the other end, Braintree only scratched together two hits themselves, but they turned into a pair of runs thanks to crafty base running and situational hitting.
“Coach Fredericks would’ve been thrilled, that’s Braintree baseball right there,” O’Connell said. “Grind it out, play some small ball, get guys in scoring position, and we were able to produce some runs today.
“Luke, he’s our guy, he’s our dude and we play really well behind him. Today he was exceptional on the mound.”
Sophomore Luke Joyce pitching for Braintree baseball.Peyton Doyle
As the game went on, Joyce piled up more strikeouts. The only danger he ran into was in the sixth inning.
With a runner on third and two outs, Westwood hoped the big lefty would slow down his delivery.
As Joyce began his windup, the runner on third took off for home. Catcher Sean Stenmon was ready for it however, and after snagging the pitch, dropped down the tag to get the out at home and end the inning.
“That was crazy, my heart dropped,” Joyce said. “I’ve never felt something like that all year. I threw it high and left it up to the catcher.”
After getting out of the jam, Joyce ended the game in the seventh, striking out two more batters to finish with 15 total, and a complete game shutout.
Luke Joyce celebrates a strikeout for Braintree baseball.Peyton Doyle
With the win, Braintree will face BC High in the tournament final, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The day and location are still up in the air however with both Monan Park and Braintree High being possibilities.
No matter where they play or when, Joyce knows the Wamps are ready to take home the crown in the first Fredericks Memorial Tournament.
“Having Fredericks from our town, we’re supposed to win this,” Joyce said. “A lot of people look at us and say, ‘they kind of have to win this, it’s their town.’ It means a lot, gotta play like it’s a playoff environment, it’s not just a regular season game, that’s for sure.”
