Double the glory, pride in Westwood
Baseball, lacrosse squads win titles
Westwood players surrounded leaping pitcher John Sheehan after Westwood defeated Frontier Regional, 12-6, during Saturday’s Division 3 State Championship baseball game, for their first state title in 45 years.
(Globe Staff / David Kamerman)In the stands at the Wayland High football field late Saturday afternoon, a beaming Westwood High baseball team waited. Earlier, the Wolverines won the Division 3 championship at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. Now, they were basking in the glow of their first state title in 45 years, relaxing as the girls' lacrosse squad took care of business.
They earned the respite. Powered by talented pitching, an offense that didn't quit, and a coaching staff that worked just as hard, the Wolverines erased all memories that this was a .500 team with a week left in the year - hardly the stuff that inspires victory parades.
"I know everyone loves a winner," said coach Brian Whelan, who also coached the 2002 Division 3 state hockey champions, the last time two Westwood teams won a title in the same year (girls basketball). "But we were 8-8 at one point. I credit the kids. They did it themselves."
The players made the plays at the right time, but Whelan and his staff orchestrated the championship through scouting and savvy management.
Because of the tight slate of games, coaches balance title hopes with the need to protect their young pitchers. Westwood's three aces were well-preserved, as Whelan knew exactly how much the arms of senior John McGee (three wins in the tournament) and juniors John Sheehan (3) and Ryan Walsh (1) could carry.
At the same time, Westwood coaches fed the Wolverines reports of which opposing hurlers were on short rest. The result - an offense that consistently caught fire at the right moment, piling up seven or eight runs in an inning to put a game out of reach. The Wolverines outscored their opponents, 68-25, in seven tournament games. "Some guys they got on early, and some guys they worked and got them in the fifth inning, the sixth inning," said Whelan. "We were giving them information, and they were processing it."
After the postseason grind, the Wolverines earned their victory parade. Their counterparts, No. 1 from wire to wire, beat Longmeadow, 10-7, to finish 24-0-1 and capture their third title in six seasons (2003, 2005).
"The guys waited, not only to cheer on our game, but they waited through the ceremony, and it was some time before they got back," said Westwood girls' lacrosse coach Leslie Frank.
Meanwhile, Westwood was waiting for them. The team buses rolled off Route 128 and into town. Escorted by fire engines and police cruisers, the teams paraded through the streets, as residents lined the streets to greet them.
The caravan stopped in front of Morrison Park, where Westwood Little League paused its all-star celebration to meet their high school heroes. The police blocked off the street, and the newly minted champs streamed off the buses.
"All the kids were out on the streets, the kids were slapping high fives, the parents were congratulating the kids. It was cute," said Frank, who said she saw homemade signs in the crowd touting "Two crown town" and "The little town that could."
"I'll tell you what, it was one of the best feelings for me personally, and for my players, when we drove into town with the lacrosse team," said Whelan.
"The town really reaches out," said Frank on Monday, after her team went to meet town selectmen, Patrick Ahearn, Nancy Hyde, and Phil Shapiro. "A lot of recent times where we've had to pass bills to get more money for schools, you wonder, 'How can they be so supportive?' But you just recognize that Westwood has such a nice sense of community. They're involved in everything we do."
W. Bridgewater coaches retiring
Ask West Bridgewater softball co-coach Ed Fitzgerald how his team has been so successful lately, and his facetious reply has a ring of truth to it.
"Great coaching," he laughs.
But he and co-coach Richard Zanca have retired, leaving the Wildcats to find someone new to continue the run.
Though they didn't end on a Division 3 state championship (losing to Turners Falls, 2-1, in 10 innings), Fitzgerald and Zanca's record speaks for itself. The two have led the Wildcats to six of the last seven Division 3 South titles.
The key? Hard work in the offseason.
"When we first came down here, 13 years ago, we said if they want to start winning league championships, and competing for state championships, they'd have to play summer ball," said the 61-year-old Fitzgerald, who like Zanca wants to free up more time for his family. "It's a big, big commitment."
Of the Wildcats, only Alyssa Williams (expected to try out at University of Massachusetts at Lowell) and Mayflower League MVP Meg Dow (who will play field hockey at Assumption) graduate, leaving a core of Tayla Miller, Alyssa Grey, Danielle Correia, and Adrianne Kotsiopoulos, all who play in summer leagues.
Local talent at Shriners Classic
There will be no shortage of talent at the 30th edition of the Shriners Football Classic, which kicks off tomorrow at Bentley College (7 p.m.).The South squad features 26 area players, including linebackers Michael Abany of Mansfield and Brad Poirier of Marshfield, both of whom led their teams to the postseason as running backs. Brockton's Peter Colombo is the head coach of the South squad.
