HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Mission accomplished for Milton; Wildcats finally wear Div. 2 crown

WORCESTER – It was state title or bust for the Milton High baseball team this spring.

Bust never had a chance.

Fueled by a near-miss in last year's playoffs, the Wildcats vowed to return in 2022 and finish their unfinished business. The final domino fell Saturday night at Fitton Field on the campus of Holy Cross as Northeastern-bound co-ace Charlie Walker pitched Milton to a 4-2 win over King Philip in the Division 2 state championship game.

It was the first-ever state crown for the Wildcats, secured in their first trip to a final since 1974.

Winning not only made history, but it also eased the sting of last year's 2-0 loss to Hopkinton in the Division 2 South final, in the old playoff system.

"We went on a run last year and these guys felt like they left something on the table," coach Brendan Morrissey said, "and they weren't going to let anybody get in their way (this time)."

Moments later, Morrissey was ambushed from behind by some of his players, who doused him with the contents of the water cooler. On an unseasonably chilly night that concluded in a fine mist, the postgame bath wasn't nearly as refreshing as you would think a mid-June one would be.

No matter. No one on Milton's side was feeling any pain.

"It feels unreal," Walker said of winning it all. "I've been working for this for years. Every guy the entire year gave their effort every single day. This feels great."

"We came so close last year," junior third baseman Jimmy Fallon said. "It feels so good to finally accomplish it."

The top-seeded Wildcats (22-3) never got to be the underdog, never got to play the "nobody believed in us but us" card. They were supposed to win, and they did.

"Definitely there was a lot of pressure," Walker said, "but pressure's a privilege. We all live for that. We want that pressure. It just motivated us every day."

"I think we had a lot of people with high expectations for us," Fallon agreed, "but we just went day by day, went about our thing our own way. We knew we were a phenomenal ballclub, and this is what we wanted for the past two years."

The dream season also proved that Norm Walsh can pick a winner. The legendary BC High coach, who won 622 games and three state titles over four decades with the Eagles, was casting about for a new job this spring. A Milton resident, he hooked on with the Wildcats as a volunteer assistant and came away duly impressed by what he saw.

More: HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: BC High legend Norm Walsh getting up-close look at Milton juggernaut

"I knew going in that they had a (high) talent level," Walsh said. "I knew it was going to be a lot of fun. To go wire-to-wire, that's impressive. We did that (at BC High) in 2001, and for these guys to do it really is something."

Why were they so good?

"They're very coachable and they want to be excellent. That's the key," Walsh said. "They want to get better every single day. They listen, and they're a great bunch of kids."

The championship game was another all-around team effort.

Start with Walker, who picked up the complete-game win, allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. He did plunk one batter, hitting KP's Shawn Legere on the top of the helmet with what appeared to be a curveball leading off the fourth inning. The ball bounced over the protective netting behind the plate and became a souvenir.

Walker calmly retired the next three batters. It was that kind of night for the senior right-hander, who threw 90 pitches, 62 of them for strikes. He finished the season with an 11-1 record, including 3-0 in the five-game playoff run.

"Every single pitch he throws he can throw consistently for a strike," senior catcher Shea Donovan said. "And he can be confident with every single pitch."

Walker, who shared the ace mantle the last two years with classmate Brian Foley (headed to UMass-Lowell), acknowledged that he didn't have his Grade-A fastball in this one, but his curve was sharp from the outset and he used it effectively.

"Usually I get a feel in the bullpen" for whether it's on or not, Walker said. "Today I felt it pretty good, so I started throwing it a lot."

"That's what Charlie Walker does," Morrissey raved. "He's one of the best competitors in the state. There was no way he was going to lose this game today."

Milton never trailed in this one as the Wildcats staked Walker to a 2-0 lead after two innings. The offense wasn't as potent as it was in a 13-6 semifinal win over North Attleboro – Milton scored nine runs in the first inning in that one – but the Wildcats made their six hits count, scoring single runs in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings.

"We move guys along, get them over, get them in – stuff like that," Walker said. "We just add on runs. You can see we didn't score two runs in any inning today but we just tack on every chance we get."

Milton got strong production from the bottom of the order. No. 8 hitter Ryan Kelley walked and scored in the second and singled and scored in the sixth. And No. 9 hitter Marcus Ollivierre had three productive at-bats – he singled in the second, reached on an error and scored in the fourth and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the sixth to help manufacture a run.

Said Ollivierre: "Helping the team win is all that matters to me."

"Marcus is the man," Morrissey said. "He's the best No. 9 hitter in the state. He absolutely flies (on the bases) and he gives us tough at-bats. We love having him there."

Fallon (2-for-4) led off the bottom of the first by legging out an infield hit and stole second with one out. It was the first of six bags that the Wildcats swiped on the night. They also forced KP starting pitcher Rudy Gately (who was very good in defeat) into a balk.

"The whole year we've been aggressive," Morrissey said. "These guys, they deserve it, right? They're a fast team, they play the game hard. That was our motto all year – take it to the other team and live and die aggressive."

Owen McHugh plated Fallon with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Donovan made it 2-0 in the second when his RBI groundout scored Kelley, who had drawn a one-out walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

No. 2 King Philip (16-9) got a run back in the third on an RBI single from Max Robison, but Milton answered in the fourth when Ollivierre scored on a wild pitch for a 3-1 lead.

Fallon tripled home Kelley in the sixth to make it 4-1.

KP's Brendan Sencaj tripled leading off the seventh, but Walker quickly defused the situation by retiring Gately on a run-scoring groundout, striking out Travis Crawford and getting Matt DiFiore to ground out to Kelley at second, touching off a wild celebration that was long in the works.

"It feels absolutely unbelievable," Donovan said. "This was the No. 1 goal; it's what we've been working for all year. When you start playing as a freshman, this is what you look forward to. This is the thing you want. Especially going out as a senior, I couldn't be happier."

Ditto for Walker.

"Great way to cap it off," he said of his storied career. "I've been up here since freshman year and I've loved every second of it. It's kind of sad to see it end, but it couldn't end on a better note."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Milton High baseball lives up to expectations, wins Div. 2 state title