The undefeated Needham Post 14 American Legion baseball team is headed to the state tournament after winning the District 6 senior championship Tuesday night.
Needham defeated Hyde Park 8-3 at Adams Field in Quincy to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1996. On Saturday night the team will face Shrewsbury Post 397 at Fitton Field on the College of the Holy Cross campus in Worcester. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Needham has made a habit of coming from behind in the postseason, including overcoming a 4-0 Hyde Park lead in the July 21 semifinal. “The first inning hasn’t been super great for us,” said first-year head coach Ben Maki.
After quickly falling behind 2-0 Tuesday night on a hit batsman, a walk and three soft singles, Needham tied the score in the bottom of the first on a triple by Nolan Bibbo, an RBI single by Adam Hess and three walks.
The second inning was the key. Needham loaded the bases on singles by Liam Field and Alex Giancola and a walk to Bibbo, then catcher Tyler Karp unloaded them with a booming double to deep left. That gave Needham a 5-2 lead, which proved to be insurmountable.
Karp, a recent graduate of The Rivers School who heads to Amherst College in the fall, knocked in Needham’s final run with another long double in the sixth. Behind the plate, he threw out one man who bunted up the first base line, snuffed out a would-be base stealer, and caught another runner off second who was tagged out in a rundown.
“Definitely the star of the game,” said Maki. “He played with more fire, more focus and more grit (than usual).”
Giancola had three hits and scored two runs for Needham. Bibbo scored three times. And third baseman Will Saratella made a diving stop to take away a Hyde Park hit.
On the mound, lefty starter Nick Buckley toughed it out after giving up those two early runs. He allowed just one more before being lifted with two on and one out in the fifth. Lefty reliever James Ko shut down Hyde Park the rest of the way without allowing a hit, even picking a runner off first as Hyde Park tried to mount a rally in the sixth.
Maki said seven players recruited from private schools (St. Sebastian’s, Belmont Hill and Rivers) have been big contributors to this year’s success, playing along with nearly a dozen from Needham High.
“We’re hoping this year will create some momentum and inspire more kids to play Legion ball,” he said.
After going 16-0 in the regular season, Needham marched through the double-elimination district tournament with victories over Foxboro, Franklin and two over Hyde Park. Shrewsbury figures to be a formidable test.
“They’re a very good team, a perennial power,” longtime Needham Post 14 baseball manager Mike Taggart said.
The state tournament is also a double-elimination affair, scheduled to run through July 31. After that comes the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., beginning Aug. 7. The American Legion World Series starts Aug. 15 in Shelby, N.C.
Maki, who played at Needham High, Class of 2001, said he originally turned down the head coach’s job. But the recent death of his mother, whom he described as Legion ball’s biggest fan, helped change his mind. “I felt it was something I had to do,” he said, and now hopes to return next year.
But first, the state tournament. “The stars are aligning for us,” he said. “Going 20-0 is not easy. It’s a credit (to the team). They play the right way, they listen, they’re coachable, they play hard.
“When we started, our only goal was the district. Now we need to win three more games to get to Manchester.”
After that, who knows?
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