2020 54+ Wood Bat

Boston Wolfpack 9, Maine Diamond Dogs 2
 

Submitted by Sterling Endicott

The Boston Wolfpack won the 54+ division of the MSBL Holiday Classic with a convincing 9-2 win over the Maine Diamond Dogs.  The Pack went 3-0 in pool play then defeated the Jacksonville Hops in the semifinal to set up a rematch of last year’s final.

The game went back in forth with Maine scoring in the top of the third on a single by Jay Hoyt and Boston plating one run in the bottom half of the inning.  The two teams each scored a run in the fourth but then in the fifth, the Wolfpack took the lead for good on a leadoff triple by Jeff Fox and hits by Jose Delgado and German Rivera.

The Diamond Dogs loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on a double and two walks to make things interesting.  Mark Whiten relieved Jim Kearschner and got a strikeout and tapper to the mound to end the inning and extinguish Maine’s last scoring opportunity.  The Pack then added on with two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh, capped off by a 3-run homerun by Whiten, to put the game out of reach.  Eddie Fuller was named tournament MVP as he set the tone from the leadoff position the entire weekend.

The win was the Boston Wolfpack’s 14th title at the Holiday Classic in their 20 years as a club and the 60th MSBL tournament that they have competed in.  In all, 178 players have been on the Pack over 20 years, including the manager of the Diamond Dogs, Clair Crandall, who was on the very first Wolfpack team that won the MSBL Holiday Classic in 2001.  Gary D’ambrisi said it best after the game, “Did we all ever imagine 20, 30 years ago that we would still be playing competitive baseball into our 50’s and 60’s and beyond?  We are truly blessed with the friendships and memories that we have developed through men’s baseball.”  Well said.