Despite being disappointed to come away without the ultimate prize at the American Legion State Final Eight over the week, members of the Walpole Post 104 baseball team were able to appreciate and enjoy the ride of the season that saw them run the table in District 6 West and finish 32-3.
The 10 members of the team that played for the Walpole High varsity team were a combined 50-9 between the two seasons. Not too shabby.
What was universal to those on the squad was the fun they had, in being together on and off the field.
“My friends, my teammates and the memories we had together,” said infielder Pat Falvey, who turned himself into an everyday player over the summer. “It was a great season and a lot of fun.”
Those similar sentiments were echoed throughout the squad, from those who played nearly every inning to those who spent much of the time riding the bench.
“Its been awesome, my funnest year so far out of my four years playing here,” said right fielder Ricky Graham. “All the kids were great, I’m going to miss it.”
“I didn’t really play that much, and I still feel like I came out with so much, just from sitting on the bench watching,” said Jon Kelly, who got his first taste of the postseason against Hanover in the State Final Eight and two days later was starting in the championship game. “I had a lot of fun.”
Young guys like Jim Griffin, Ryan O’Coin, Alex Weldon, Tom Ryan, who like Kelly spent much of the season riding the pine, simply absorbing what they saw from the veterans in front of them and from the coaching staff. While other teams struggled to field a full squad toward the end of the season, Walpole was there 18 strong ready to win on that day, with those on the bench getting ready for their chance to shine in the near future.
“It was a dream come true,” said second baseman Joe Cabral. “To go 32-3 with those guys, we’ve been playing together for a number of years now together. It was a magical ride and I enjoyed every step of it.”
The magical ride included Walpole rolling through the regular season undefeated for the first time in the program’s history. Managing to avoid an upset in the first round of the sectional playoffs against Hawkeye A.C. with an eighth inning rally. Ricky Graham beat out a potential inning-ending double play ball to tie the game and Cabral pushed across the eventual winning run with a double to right-center, with Graham racing home for a 3-2 lead. Sam Murray, who won Game 1 of the series, slammed the door closed.
That comeback is one of the big memories that Post 104 has from a terrific season, as were Cabral’s two game-winning hits in South Hadley at the State Final Eight. He drilled a fifth inning single to break a 2-2 tie against Weymouth and a suicide squeeze in the 10th inning against Lowell that sent Walpole into the final.
Pat Nicholson continuously delivered whatever his team needed, whether at the plate or on the mound. Sam Murray continued his domination of the strike zone, picking up right where he left off from the high school season. Connor Thornton opened the season with back-to-back no-hitters.
For some, playing together means for the past 10 years growing up through the Little League system before heading into the high school, where 17 of the 18 on the roster are, or were, a part of Bill Tompkins’ program at Walpole High that has established itself as one of the top programs in the state.
According to coach Chris Costello, the bulk of the Post 104 success in the summer is directly tied to the Rebels coach.
“He’s the one that instills the fundamentals, how to carry yourself, how to behave on the field, off the field,” said Costello. “Those are the things that he instilled in them, he instilled in me as a player years ago.”
Costello, who went from the mound at Eldracher Field to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, is well aware how special this Post 104 team truly was.
“This is by far the best team I’ll ever coach,” he said. “If I ever coach a team like this again in my life I’ll be real lucky.”
