NATICK – For the second game in a row, the Wellesley Raiders baseball team started strong, gave up a lead, and needed an explosive offensive inning to come away with a road win.
After beating Framingham on Monday, Wellesley got it done in Natick on Wednesday. The Raiders posted a five-run sixth inning to win 7-2 and move to 6-1 on the season.
“It’s nice to have games like this here where teams can find their identity,” Raiders coach Ted Novio said. “Teams say to themselves, ‘You know what, we’re a tough team. When our backs are against the wall, and somebody has come back right at us and is challenging us, we’re ready for the challenge.
“They’re ready to take it on, and that’s what I like to see. This game’s not gonna be easy like it was the first couple of games where they went out and won 8-0 and 11-1. There are going to be some grind-it-out type of games like this one here, and I’m proud of them for being able to do so.”
Just like their game against the Flyers, the Raiders were cruising early.
On Wednesday night, Will Zalosh scored on a sac fly from Will Webster to take a 1-0 lead just three batters in. In the next inning, Wellesley added another as Jack O’Grady scored, while Cole DeFina got himself stuck in a rundown.
Will Zalosh (2) scores for Wellesley baseball against Natick.Peyton Doyle
Defensively, Wellesley was incredibly comfortable in the first two frames. Sophomore Max Boehm struck out five of the first six Redhawks he saw, and after two, the Raiders led 2-0.
“Today, and to start the season, it’s been my slider,” Boehm said. “I’ve been working in the offseason with my coach, and it’s really allowed me to diversify from a normal fastball to a curveball arsenal. It’s really got guys off-balance.”
Sophomore Max Boehm pitching for Wellesley Baseball.Peyton Doyle
On the other side, despite the two-run deficit, Natick sophomore Thurston Kiefer was dominant in his own right. The righty didn’t allow a hit and struck out four Raiders in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to keep the Redhawks in it.
“Just those two guys through the five innings were neck and neck,” Natick coach Jason Hoye said of Boehm and Kiefer. “[Kiefer]’s a talented kid, and he competes very well. He’s tough, he’s gritty, he’s got all the attributes you want in a young pitcher.”
Thurston Kiefer pitching for Natick baseball.Peyton Doyle
With Kiefer holding Wellesley close in the top of the fifth, the Redhawk offense finally broke through against Boehm in the bottom of the frame.
After Colby Ciavarro and Luke Dougherty walked, Cam Gobeille lofted a fly ball that carried past Wellesley’s left fielder. Landing just out of reach, Ciavarro and Dougherty scored on the double, and Natick tied the game.
Following the double, Boehm and catcher Cam Lynch settled things once more. Boehm struck out the next batter and then induced two straight ground outs to stop the scoring at two.
“I trust Cam completely,” Novio said. “I let him call the games; I don’t call a single pitch. Every once in a while, I’ll say, ‘Why did you call that pitch?’ but that’s a part of the learning process. He knows because he’s a smart kid; he knows his pitchers. He’s astute to learn every single kid and what’s working for him on a certain day.
“I trust him with our game calls 100 percent, and we’re very lucky to have him.”
At the top of the sixth, the game differed in Lynch’s hands. Leading off the inning, Lynch laid down a bunt and was ruled safe after being called out.
“That was all him,” Novio said of the bunt. “Now, I did say all along that I want to find us trying to make something happen, and he took it upon himself to make that play.”
Junior Cam Lynch batting for Wellesley Baseball.Peyton Doyle
The idea for the bunt came a few innings before for Lynch.
“I saw the third baseman backing up on me during the at-bat before, and we need to get something going; they just tied the game,” Lynch said. “So I just laid it down. I did that a lot freshman year and got it done; I was fast enough.”
The bunt was followed up by a double from Will Webster, and after a walk and a strikeout, Wellesley’s No. 6 hitter Jack O’Grady came to the plate with the bases loaded.
The Raider sophomore found a gap with the infield in, sending a single through the infield to score Lynch and Webster and take a 4-2 lead.
A couple batters later, Dylan Crean added on the job, plating two more runs on a single. With Will Goggin later scoring on a wild pitch, the Raiders held a 7-2 lead.
“I think this team has so much depth,” Lynch said. “We had our six-hitter get that huge hit with bases loaded, and we had a freshman, Dylan Crean, he had another huge hit. I think, legitimately, anyone at any moment can have a hit. It doesn’t have to be the top of the lineup.”
Jack O’Grady (10) and Chase Murphy (3) score for Wellesley Baseball.Peyton Doyle
In the bottom of the sixth, Max Boehm was relieved by senior Lincoln Loftus, who struck out four batters in two innings to secure the win. The Redhawks struck out 13 times, which is uncharacteristic for a Natick team that entered the game 4-0 with 39 runs scored.
“We didn’t play our best baseball today. We struck out too many times and took too many pitches looking,” Hoye said. “That’s not our style. We try to compete with two strikes and try to get a ball in play.
“Our relievers struggled as well; they came in, and they were getting behind early in counts, and that puts the offense in a better position. Good news is we get a second crack at these guys later in the year. We gotta turn the page quickly because we’re on the road against Waltham tomorrow.”
