On the surface, a 13-0 shellacking in baseball doesn’t hold a lot of weight.
It did on Monday. Young celebrated a win on Senior Night, but the bigger moment was coach Chris Cassidy earning his 400th win in 20 seasons at the school.
His seniors prepared a post-game speech unbeknownst to him.
“It shows their character,” Cassidy said. “It’s been a great year. It is a great group of kids and its why I do what I do. It’s nice to get something back from them.”
He noted that his first season in 1995 and his first city title in 2007 were two of the more memorable years.
One of his most consistent performers this season, leadoff hitter Justin Mitchell remembers his coach asking him and his teammates why they loved playing for Young (21-9).
“Not only does he make us work on baseball in practice everyday, he also helps us work as people,” Mitchell said.
On the field, Young played like the top seed of the Public League tourney against Carver (13-2).
The Dolphins went up 4-0 in the first inning with no outs.
“It was awesome,” Mitchell said. “We hoped that we would be able to play well and hopefully get out of here sooner than a usual game.”
Mitchell, who hit 3-for-3 with an RBI and three steals, scored first after walking and stealing a base before designated hitter Andy Hayes drove him in with a single.
Then there was a three-run inside-the-park home run from first baseman Jonathan Eng, who finished with two hits.
Second baseman Charlie Daley got the final RBI of the inning with a line-drive double to left to make it 5-0.
In the third inning, third baseman Alex Mitchell reached second on an error and scored on another error.
Justin Mitchell scored again on an inside-the-park homer from center fielder David Craan to make it 8-0 in the fourth inning.
The Dolphins scored five more runs and ended the game in the top of the fifth when relief pitcher Zach Hayes secured the shutout.
“They had a little more confidence than our club, we were nervous,” Carver coach Eli Smith said.
Starting Dolphins pitcher Thomas Hennelly fanned six batters in four innings and allowed one hit to move to 6-0.
Andy Hayes went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Young will play again Tuesday at home with a chance to host the Public League quarterfinals on Wednesday. The semifinals and title game are Friday and Saturday at neutral sites.
