Wahconah Takes on Groton-Dunstable in State Semis

The Wahconah baseball team had a lot of fun clowning around during a nearly three-hour rain delay at Saturday’s Western Massachusetts Division 3 title game.

 

It had even more fun celebrating its 13-3 victory.

 

But it hasn’t all been merriment for Wahconah this spring. There was a time back in April when the playoffs -- let alone the sectional title -- appeared to be in doubt.

 

“We had such a roller-coaster year,” senior catcher Matt Schneider said after Saturday’s win. “We were 3-1 to start, and then I think we lost four in a row, so we were 3-5. We were kind of scratching our heads about what to do.

 

“We actually had a big team meeting at that point. We stayed after about an hour after the game and just talked.”

 

Whatever was said appears to have done the trick.

 

“We changed our practices, changed our mindset, we came out with a lot of energy from then on,” Schneider said. “And I think we’re 13-3 since that point.”

 

Wahconah takes a six-game winning streak into Tuesday afternoon’s game against Groton-Dunstable at Worcester’s Tivnan Field.

 

Groton-Dunstable is 21-0 after a 1-0 win over defending Central Mass champ Auburn in last weekend’s final.

 

The Crusaders feature a potent attack with three players hitting .400 or better and five hitting .350 or better, according to the Worcester Telebram. Chris Lattini leads Groton-Dunstable with a .442 batting average.

 

Wahconah will not face Groton ace Justin Watt (7-0, .16 ERA), who pitched a complete game shutout against Auburn. But that is small consolation since the Crusaders’ No. 2, Joe Simeone, is 6-0 with a .18 ERA.

 

For Wahconah, Gage Frazier, who threw four innings in the sectional semifinal win on June 8, has an 8-0 record and a 1.70 ERA.

 

Offensively, Schneider leads Wahconah with a .423 batting average and 28 RBIs. Five Wahconah regulars are hitting better than .300, including Ty Cowdrey, Cam Taylor and Andrew Beaudoin, who all are hitting .373 or better.

 

The winner of Tuesday afternoon’s game goes back to Worcester on Saturday for the state championship game against the North-South winner. North Reading meets East Bridgewater on Wednesday in Lynn.