Masco Baseball defeated the Melrose Red Hawks 3-0 on Monday night thanks to an outstanding outing by sophomore Drew Gustafson and clean defense in the field.
Gustafson would start the game strong, retiring the first seven batters he faced, while showing impeccable control of his pitches striking out 4 batters in that span.
“Every time Gustafson gets on the mound he does exactly what we need him to do,” said senior Chase Caron. “He throws strikes and trusts his fielders to make plays. He does not try to do too much and when the moment is big he shows up even more.”
In the bottom of the second, in a game that had not seen a runner on base, senior captain Gabe Fales led off the inning with a single and was able to steal second following an errant throw over to first on a pickoff attempt.
With one out in the inning and Fales in scoring position, Caron smacked a single up the middle. Fales hustled home from second, scoring the Chieftains’ first run of the game putting them on top 1-0.
“I was looking for the fastball. That is what our coaches tell us, to hunt the fastball early,” said Caron. “The pitcher gave me what I was looking for and I picked it up early and got a good barrel on it.”
In the top of the third inning, following a walk and a hit by pitch, Melrose had two runners on base and the Chieftains were in need of a clutch play. With two outs, Gustafson made a tremendous pickoff move to get the runner at first ending the inning and the Melrose scoring threat.
“We have certain calls from the dugout for pickoffs. Through the new pitchcom communication I have direct communication with the catcher so I can relay a sign into the catcher if we want a pickoff,” said Assistant Coach Bryan Duplissie. “If you can cut down a rally by picking someone off, it just deflates the other team. It is something we practice a lot.”
In the bottom of the fourth, with Masco holding onto a slim 1 run lead, they were threatening once again for more runs. Following a leadoff base hit by Fales and a beautiful sac bunt by Gustafson to move Fales up to second who took third following a passed ball, senior captain Anthony Cerbone got on base with a walk. Early in the next at-bat, with two outs, Cerbone darted for second as the pitcher stepped off the mound. Seeing this, Fales took off for home and would score as Cerbone impressively dodged the tag at second base, allowing Fales’ run to count and the inning to continue.
“Good base running is what makes us win close games,” said Fales. “When we have trouble on the bases, we lose. Staying focused on smart base running allows us to win the games we need to.”
In the top of the fifth inning, Masco continued to play a stellar defensive game. Following a base hit by Melrose senior captain Ben Cassavoy, he took off from first attempting to steal second. Cerbone made a tremendous throw down to second to Fales, who put the tag on Cassavoy for the second out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Masco would once again show their baserunning prowess. Following a walk from senior Brady Forde and a tremendous bunt by senior Ryan Corcoran to move Forde up to second, Forde attempted to steal third. On the throw down, the ball popped out of the third baseman’s glove and went off into foul territory down the left field line. This allowed Forde to run home. Despite a stumble running down the line, Forde stole home as the ball popped out of the catcher’s glove, giving Masco the 3-0 lead.
Gustafson would continue his excellence throughout the game, pitching a complete game while only allowing one hit as he struck out 6, leading Masco to their second victory in their last five games.