BRAINTREE -- Every baseball parent’s dream is to see their child hit a home run, let alone catch one.
In what was straight out of a storybook, Logan Brady clobbered a three-run home run over the left field fence in the fourth inning for Bridgewater American, falling right into the hands of his dad, Paul.
The homer ended up being the winning runs for Bridgewater as they defeated Braintree American, 5-3, in the Section 2 Championship to advance to the Massachusetts state tournament. The winner of states goes to New England Regionals.
“As the ball was hit, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s coming kind of close’ and I’m like, ‘Oh man, that’s coming right at me,’” Paul Brady said. “Then I just closed my eyes and caught it. It was awesome.”
The game was tied 1-1 going into the fourth inning. Bridgewater American coach Rich Florence repeatedly told his team to "keep fighting" at the plate. Whether there were two strikes or two outs, he wanted them to battle until the last pitch.
With two down, Cam Goodwin hit an RBI single to put Bridgewater ahead 2-1. Then, with two strikes and two outs, Jake Tayag managed to rip a single up the middle to keep the inning going for Luke Brady, whose three-run shot put his team up 5-1.
As he trotted around the bases, his teammates were bursting out of the dugout with excitement. When Brady hit home plate, he was mobbed by his teammates who were full of smiles, slapping his helmet as they jogged back to the dugout.
“That’s pretty special,” Brady said about his dad catching his home run. “And it’s my mom’s birthday too so couldn’t be better.”
Braintree closed the gap in the fifth inning to cut it to 5-3. Daniel Psaros hit an RBI single, and Tyler Donovan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in another run. Braintree provided some late-game dramatics in the bottom of the sixth, getting runners on first and second to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, however Bridgewater relief pitcher Mason Genatossio settled in, striking out the next batter and then forcing a pop-up to seal the win.
And make no mistake about it, this team has its eyes on the state title, and Williamsport.
“If we play our game then we can win it all,” Brady said.
It was a satisfying win for Bridgewater, not only for moving on to the state tournament, but for beating a team they lost to in group play. Bridgewater dropped their first game at sectionals to Braintree 5-2 on Tuesday, but bounced back to win their next two games against Shrewsbury and Mansfield.
Bridgewater coach Rich Florence said that his team is “relentless” when faced with adversity.
“One through 12, they just grind, grind, grind,” Florence said. “I just feel so fortunate as a coach. It doesn’t matter where we are in the order, I just feel like we’re going to be able to score runs.”
Brendan Moyer had another solid start on the mound for Bridgewater. He went 4⅓ innings, giving up no runs on five hits and seven strikeouts. Micah Poulter and Genatossio came in for relief to close out the game, giving up just two runs combined over the final 2⅔ innings.
Luke Fantasia got Bridgewater’s scoring started in the first inning with an RBI double. He also tallied a single in his third at bat. Landon O’Hearn and Jake Florence also recorded hits in the game. Jeremiah Gonzalez also drew a walk in his second at bat.
Florence said the goal for his team coming in was to win districts, and then once that happened, they shifted to eyeing the sectional title.
Mission accomplished, but there is now more work to be done.
“Now our goal is going to shift one more time,” Florence said.
Opening ceremonies for the state tournament will begin on Thursday at Deyermond Park in Andover. The championship is slated for Sunday, July 28.
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