Lou Tompkins All-Star Baseball finished their season by crowning champions in the 17u A Division and the 15u B Division.
In 17u, Medford rallied as the #5 seed and took home the title with dominant pitching. They beat #1 Acton-Boxboro in the semi-finals and #3 Brookline for the title. In 15u #2 Woburn took down #3 Stoneham in the semi-finals and #1 Wilmington in the finals to secure their title.
The league was played under the cloud of COVID-19 restrictions, but the players, coaches, and league officials all did a great job and league president Ralph Martignetti was happy to announce there were zero reported COVID cases during the season.
The North End Dodgers, sponsored by the North End Athletic Association (NEAA), under coach Kevin “Sully” O’Sullivan had an entry in the 15u division. The North End team was slightly undermanned this year as they had no 15 year olds on their squad, but they battled gamely all year. By the end of the season, the team was playing very solid baseball and even upset a couple of teams who were battling for playoff spots.
“We were young, but we battled all year and never gave up,” said coach Sully. “We had some 12s and 13s like Matt Griffin, Max Howard, Ryan McHugh, Desmond O’Hearn, Alex Puopolo, Gunnar Larson and Richard Wells who grew all year and will be ready to hit the ground running next season. We also had our solid 14s including Richard Bova and Nik McHugh who were leaders and will be counted on to lead us again in 2021.”
The North End Dodgers will be back and stronger than ever in 2021. We also look forward to renewing our Baseball Exchange with North Adams as COVID-19 forced a one year hiatus of the Exchange, making this the first time in 30 years the Exchange didn’t happen.
Special thanks to the N.E.A.A. who continues to support sports in the North End with an unceasing commitment. Also, all the parents who allowed their children to play and supported the coaches throughout the season. We could not have done it without you.
