One-man bomb squad: Duxbury's Ayres blasts walk-off grand slam to sink Braintree
DUXBURY -- A suggestion for the next Netflix "true crime" documentary: a limited series showcasing the violence that Nick Ayres is committing against baseballs this spring.
The Duxbury High senior third baseman homered again on Wednesday. And, true to form, his latest blast was drenched in drama.
Having already hit a grand slam (against Nauset) and a walk-off (vs. Plymouth South) this season, Ayres mashed them up together this time. His two-out, walk-off grand slam flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 victory over Braintree.
The Wamps opted to walk No. 3 hitter Chris Walsh to set up a force at any base, but Ayres, who was 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts up to that point, made them pay with his fourth home run in seven games. His superbly timed power surge is a big reason -- although not the only one -- that the Dragons are off to a 6-1 start after a sub-.500 finish (8-12) a year ago.
"I'm just never going to doubt myself in that situation," said Ayres, who will play Division 1 baseball at the University of Maine next season. "I know what I can do. I'm never going to be overconfident, but I'm never going to doubt myself."
Ayres came into the game hitting .444. A 1-for-4 day will drop that average a bit, but he's up to four homers (he had five all of last season) and 16 RBI (more than halfway to his junior-year total of 28, which led the Patriot League, by the way).
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"It's unbelievable," Walsh said of Ayres' clutch production. "Being able to see it right in front of me, it's truly amazing. Going into the season we knew what Nick was capable of doing, and he's absolutely lived up to the hype that he's had. There's never a time in the game where I don't think Nick's going to succeed. He works so hard. I'm so happy for him to have this much success. He's really the backbone of this team. It's awesome to see that."
Asked if he had seen a hitter on this kind of a heater before, Duxbury coach Brandon Josselyn joked, "Yeah, David Ortiz in the World Series a little while ago. (But) not with any of my guys. He's really just been on it. It seems like it's all in big situations, too."
'He has that edge to him'
Ayres' latest heroics ended what might be called a mini-slump. He wasn't happy with his performance in Monday's 8-2 win over East Bridgewater and he was positively seething after striking out in the first and third innings of this one, stranding a runner in scoring position both times. He also flied out leading off the sixth.
"I think I went 0-for-6 (over the past two games) up until that at-bat," said the 6-1, 265-pound righty who was a two-way lineman on Duxbury's state-title football team in the fall. "It felt really good for me. All the emotions came out. I was struggling. After walking back (to the dugout) after two strikeouts in this game I just wanted to throw something (in anger) but I know I can't. So all those emotions come out after you do something good."
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Duxbury fell behind 2-0 in the first inning as Braintree first baseman Jack Fitzgerald (a University of Dayton commit) doubled home a run and later scored on an error. The Dragons got a run back in the second on Reilly Murray's RBI single, but it was all zeroes after that as starting pitchers Dan Surette (Braintree) and Jack Gallagher (Duxbury) were both sharp, as was Dragons reliever Eion Plunkett, who retired all four batters he faced to earn the win.
Brady Wilson led off the Duxbury seventh with a single, and Surette then hit pinch hitter Anthony Rabeni. Leadoff hitter Michael Hocking erased Rabeni at second on a force play as Wilson crossed over to third. Surette fanned Connor O'Connell for the second out as Hocking stole second.
That brought up Walsh and put Braintree in a tough spot. Pitch to the Northeastern commit who came in hitting .476 ... or play with fire in the form of Ayres.
"I know (Ayres) is a good player and he's been hitting home runs left and right," Braintree coach Bill O'Connell said, "but it was more about trying to set up a force (at any base). Hey, he made us pay."
Surette fell behind 2-1, and Ayres swatted the next pitch over the fence in left-center to hand the Wamps (2-4) their second straight loss. Braintree mustered one hit after being no-hit by Norwood last game.
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"It was a high and outside fastball," Ayres said of the home-run pitch. "I was overthinking everything leading up to it. Last game I was overthinking; we faced a good pitcher. This game I was overthinking just because I had a bad game last game. So this time I just said, 'See the pitch and hit it. That's it. Treat it like it's batting practice.'"
"He has that edge to him," Josselyn said of Ayres. "I think it was the right move to intentionally walk Chris to get to him. I think it's the right baseball move, but as a hitter I think you have to take that personally. And he does. He kind of gets up for those moments."
Big (football) man on campus
Ayres had a big moment in football in the fall, helping Duxbury beat Grafton, 42-7, to win the program's first state crown since since 2016 and complete a 12-0 season. Ayres, who played offensive guard and nose tackle, walked out of Gillette Stadium that night cradling the Div. 4 Harry Agganis Trophy.
"He's playing baseball in college, but he's no slouch (in football)," Josselyn observed.
Walsh can testify to that. A senior receiver on that team -- he had 51 catches for 1,210 yards and 19 TDs in the fall -- Walsh raves about Ayres' athleticism.
"He's unbelievable," Walsh said. "I remember we were playing in the state semifinals against Holliston and all season Nick played offensive line and he played a little bit of defensive line because they were saving him. That game I think he played every single snap both ways. After the game the Holliston coach said, 'That's the best lineman we've played on both sides of the ball all year.' That just goes to show how talented Nick is and how good of an athlete he is."
Ayres said he chose Maine for baseball because he felt a connection with Black Bears coach Nick Derba, who made it as far as Triple-A in the Cardinals' chain back in the day. Ayres also likes Maine's facilities ... and the fact that they were the only Div. 1 school to offer him.
"I knew I wanted to challenge myself with the hardest level of play possible," he said.
Ayres joked that the cold, cloudy conditions at the Chandler Elementary School field on this day was perfect practice for his upcoming life in Orono. "This is going to be a shorts day in Maine," he said with a laugh.
No one knows if Ayres' power will translate to the college game, but he's been doing this for a while -- Ayres' dad Harry recalls him hitting four home runs in as many at-bats in one game when he was 11 -- and Josselyn notes that his star is hardly a one-trick pony. A slick fielder and agile baserunner, Ayres also is a patient, intelligent hitter.
"He never really seems overmatched," Josselyn said. "We've faced some pretty good pitchers and he's just been on them. The walk-off home run against Plymouth South was on a first-pitch curveball. It's not like he's a fastball-only hitter. He processes a lot from the pitches that lead up to an at-bat and he takes it all in and is able to execute, especially in times when we need him to."
Ayres had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after the 2021 football season -- an injury that delayed his offseason baseball training and may have scared off potential college suitors at the time. With his college future secured he acknowledges that he's playing with a clear mind now.
And, yes, he's keeping Maine updated on all his big hits.
"I've been sending the coaches (up there) the video," he said with a grin. "They said it was pretty cool. I have another video to send them today."
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Duxbury baseball stuns Braintree as Ayres belts walk-off grand slam
