The Walpole Rebel baseball team is one of the more promising varsity sporting teams assembled in the 2012 school year here at the high school. With one of the most intimidating batting line ups in the state – starting with Boston College recruit Johnny Adams and ending with hero of the 2007 Little League World Series Mike Rando – and a skilled pitching staff led by senior Mike Baryski, there really is not limit to what this team can accomplish. A state championship is more than just a possibility, as this team has the potential to be better than any other in the state. There has been hype all year around this team, but many players are just happy that spring is finally here. Junior pitcher Mike Gaughan said, “It just feels great to be back on the mound, but it feels even better when I remeber the defense I have behind me.
Baryski took his first start on the mound against Newton North, and managed to lead the team to a hard fought, close victory. The game did not go too smoothly for Walpole, as the 4-2 lead they built into top of the 9th had disappeared by the bottom of the inning after a series of clutch hits by Newton North and some untimely walks by the Walpole pitching staff. It took some late game heroics and the experienced base running of Adams to put the game away in the 10th. Adams said about the game winning play, “It was really pretty lucky, you don’t usually expect a pitcher to get too wild in a situation like that, but we’ll take a win however we can get it.”
The win over Newton North moved Walpole to second in the Herget conference, just one spot behind Wellesley. However, Wellesley happened to be their next game – and they carried the momentum of their extra inning victory into this game and claimed first place for the Rebels. But this game didn’t need any more than 8 and 1/2 innings – Walpole demonstrated their dominance by batting in 9 runs and allowing only 4 on the defensive end with senior Kyle Donnelly on the mound. On a good day such as this one, the opposing pitcher can never relax, and every batter for Walpole is a potential threat. Now, Walpole owns a seven game winning streak, an undefeated record, and a 6th place ranking for the state of Massachusetts.
Coach Bill Tompkins has coached an assortment of great teams in his career, and this year’s is sure to be another to add to the list. It’s not often that a high school baseball team this athletic, this smart, and this deep comes by – but this is one of those teams. They have already been tested by poor conditions, top prospect pitchers, and the pressure of extra innings, but have prevailed on each occasion. And now they are moving onto Welleselley with a top state ranking in their sights.
