When Latin Academy's Conor Walsh found out he was going to be taking the mound for the Boston City League championship game against East Boston, the senior had only one thing on his mind.
Payback.
After shaking off a rough first inning, Walsh went the distance while striking out nine to avenge a loss to Eastie in last year's tournament and lead the Dragons to their first city title since 2004 with a 9-5 victory at Roberts Playground.
"My team was really behind me after the first inning,” Walsh said. “They told me to pick my head up and just pitch the way I normally can.”
The Dragons, who lost to the Jets in the semifinals a year ago, found themselves in a 4-0 hole after just the first inning.
“We were preaching to (Walsh) all game, that it was a long game,” Latin Academy coach Anthony Bernazzini said. “It's a long game, to stay loose, that we were going to get our offense going. And hopefully, when we get our opportunity, we'd take advantage, which we did.”
Did they ever.
Shane Lake opened the bottom of the fourth for Latin Academy by reaching on an error, with the ball skipping to the fence. Lake scored on an infield hit by Ryan Lonergan to give Latin Academy its first run of the day and the Dragons were ready to seize the momentum. When Aidan Rivera-Castro roped a bases-loaded triple down the right field line, scoring three, Latin Academy had a 5-4 lead. The Dragons would go on to score seven runs in the inning to take control.
“Aiden is the guy that gets our offense going,” Bernazzini said. “He's our leadoff hitter. And he's got a lot fire, he's got a lot of passion. And he absolutely hates to lose. We talk about that all the time. He's a guy that gets our offense going. He's a leader on the field.”
East Boston was led by Josue Baez, who cranked an inside-the-park home run to make it 7-5 in the fifth inning. Joe Serpa also contributed for the Jets, picking up two hits while driving in two runs.
When the game concluded, Walsh was named Most Valuable Player.
“The last few games we've played, we've played them as if they're a playoff games," said Walsh. "And I think this really emphasizes that we can do anything as a team, as long as we keep our heads up and play as a team.”
With one title under their belts, the Dragons hope they can continue to turn heads in the MIAA Div. 3 tournament.
“It's huge,” Walsh said. “It really puts us on the map as a team and as a school. We're no longer one of the lower-seeded teams. We're one of the well-respected teams now.”