Wilmington’s entry in the A Division of the Bay State League improved to 8-0 in the second half of the season with two lopsided victories over the weekend.
Wilmington clobbered Sudbury on Sunday by a 21-8 score just a day after a 19-8 thumping of Methuen at Boutwell Field in Wilmington.
The team finishes the second half of the season this week on Tuesday with a trip to Methuen and a Thursday home game against Stow at Boutwell with the first pitch being thrown at 5:45 p.m.
Stow had a record of 6-2 as of Sunday.
The win over Methuen wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
The Wildcats trailed 2-0 after the first half-inning and 3-2 in the second before rallying to take a commanding 10-3 lead.
Methuen scored five times in the fourth to make it 10-8, but Wilmington answered with nine runs in the bottom of the fourth to stop the game by the 10-run mercy rule.
In the bottom of the fourth, Wilmington faced Methuen’s third pitcher of the game to start the inning.
Luca DiCenso reached on an infield hit and stole second before Josh King reached on an error when his fly ball to centerfield was dropped. Another error on a grounder back to the mound off the bat of Jack Quinn loaded the bases and set up Bryan Callahan’s RBI single to make it 11-8.
John Boland drew a walk, forcing in Wilmington’s 12th run, before Owen Daly’s infield hit down the third-base line scored Quinn to increase the lead to five, 13-8.
With one out, Joe Langone drew a bases-loaded walk for another Wildcat run and a fielder’s choice grounder by Jake Russell plated Daly to make it 15-8.
Zach Strand was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and DiCenso, in his second at-bat of the inning, greeted Methuen’s fourth pitcher of the day with a grand slam homer to end the game.
Down 2-0 early, the Wildcats tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the first.
With one out, Russell reached on an error, stole second and went to third on a passed ball.
Declan Riley walked and stole second before DiCenso’s grounder to third was thrown away, scoring two runs to tie the score.
Methuen regained the lead in the top of the second, but Wilmington answered with six runs in the home half of the frame to take command.
Callahan led off with a base hit, took second on a grounder by Riley and third on a passed ball. Daly then came to the plate and absolutely blasted a two-run home run that rattled around in the trees in center field.
The dinger gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish.
With two outs, Langone and Russell had back-to-back singles and a hustling Riley loaded the bases with a hustle play, striking out but reaching first base when the ball got away from the Methuen catcher.
After Callahan scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3, DiCenso drew a base on balls to reload the bases.
Methuen made another error on Nick Collins’ ground ball, plating the speedy Russell for a three-run lead and setting up Quinn’s two-run single to right/center that made it 8-3.
In the third, Methuen was help scoreless in the top of the frame and some nifty Wildcat defense was on display.
Callahan made a great stop on a grounder to third for out No. 1 before back-to-back strikeouts by DiCenso ended the inning.
Callahan’s glovework at third was one of two great plays by Wilmington. Quinn made a diving catch of a fly ball to start Methuen’s second inning.
In the bottom of the third, Riley walked and Daly came up next and blasted his second home run of the day, another deep shot into the woods to make it 10-3. The next time Daly came to the plate, the Methuen outfielders practically straddled the fence in anticipation of another blast.
Methuen didn’t quit down by seven runs and scored five runs in the fourth, setting the stage for Wilmington’s knockout punch moments later.