Pitching, defense and 'believing': Brockton High baseball team is off to a 5-2 start

BROCKTON – Boxers baseball coach Chris Brennan said pitching and defense have been instrumental in his team's 5-2 start to the season.

He's not wrong.

Allowing just five baserunners to a prominent Braintree lineup played a big part in how the Boxers earned a 4-2 win over the Wamps on Friday afternoon.

But after the game, junior catcher Armani LoRusso attributed it to one more thing.

“The energy is all in believing," LoRusso said. "Just believing in ourselves.”

Friday's result moved Brockton to within one win of last year's season total, as the Boxers are bouncing back strong after a 6-14 campaign last spring.

“It’s all the kids. They earned it," Brennan said. "They worked hard in the offseason, they come to practice ready to go. And, we’re older now. We were young for a couple of years – I think COVID hurt us – but we’re back on track. We look like a varsity team. We’re playing well. It’s fun to come to the ballpark.”

“It’s taken a lot of building. But we’re up right now. We might as well keep it going," senior pitcher Jackson O'Brien said. "It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come. We work very well with momentum and we’ll continue to do so.”

KEY PLAYS

O'Brien is both the team's top arm on the mound, as well as its leadoff hitter in the lineup. On Friday, he excelled in both roles.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, he belted an RBI triple to the right-center-field gap to score Anthony Veiga from second. He slid into third base head-first to beat the tag, as Brockton extended a 4-2 lead.

“I really didn’t think (Brennan) would wave me to third, so I tripped at second a little bit, but it’s part of the game," O'Brien said with a laugh. "We made it happen – whatever needs to be done.”

O'Brien went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk. He earned the win on the mound by pitching all seven innings and allowing just three hits and two walks. Four of the seven Braintree half-innings ended 1-2-3.

“He does everything,” Brennan said of O'Brien. “He’s a great leader. As far as a kid goes, you won’t find too many kids better than him. Any success he has, I’m happy for him because he’s worked hard. He’s earned it.”

“Everything about him has just grown," LoRusso said. "I think it really helps having a bond between the catcher and the pitcher, especially because we’re both captains together. We just feel natural together out there.”

Three batters prior to O'Brien's triple, left fielder Jordan Jenkins ripped a stand-up triple of his own down the right-field line to set up Brockton's two-run rally in the inning that broke a 2-2 tie.

Protecting the lead, O'Brien closed out the win with a high-heat strikeout, a flyout to senior Brett Keene in center field and a groundout to senior third baseman Dom Hopkins. He retired six consecutive Braintree batters in the sixth and seventh.

“I always go out on the mound with a lot of confidence. I mean, with my team behind me, how could I not?" O'Brien said. "They’re stepping up big for me and I really appreciate it.”

Hopkins pushed across the game's first run in the fourth inning, as he hit a hot-shot base hit up the middle to plate LoRusso from second.

A WINNING TURNAROUND

Many of the same players return from last season's 6-14 season – a campaign that featured a stretch of nine losses in 10 games that quickly extinguished the Boxers' bright 3-1 start – all just one year older, and improved.

“Last year, we were trying to piece together and find guys who can play," LoRusso said. "But this year, our problem is, we have too many guys to put on the field, which is the best problem you can have. It helps when you have that.”

LoRusso and junior first baseman Zeke Inchaustegui have each had more than one multi-hit outing this season, joining Jenkins, O'Brien, Hopkins, Brady Witt and Adam Perez in adding pop to the lineup. Inchaustegui blasted a three-run home run in Brockton's 5-4 win over North Quincy on April 7, the same game in which freshman pitcher Aaron Glaneuski recorded his first career win.

“We’re pitching well. Any time you pitch well, you give yourself a chance. And in the five wins, we’ve played good defense," Brennan said. "The two losses (15-3 to Bridgewater-Raynham, 7-6 to Stoughton), specifically the Stoughton game the other day, we booted the ball around and didn’t have a good day for ourselves in the field. Pitching and defense is always going to give you a chance, and right now we have that. And 1-through-9 we’re deeper in the lineup. Overall, we’re just a better team (this year).”

Now 5-2 with wins over Whitman-Hanson (by a 9-8 score), North Quincy (5-4), Quincy (11-1), Weymouth (5-4) and Braintree (4-2) already in the books, Brennan said this upcoming week's slate against conference foes New Bedford (Monday, home, 4 p.m.) and Durfee (Thursday, home, 4 p.m.), plus Westwood (Tuesday, away, 4 p.m.) is important in sustaining the team's early-season winning charm.

Brockton also finishes the season series against Bridgewater-Raynham on May 3.

Said Brennan of maintaining momentum, “Hopefully we can keep doing the things that have gotten us here and take advantage of the opportunities we have, when they arise."

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton High baseball team already one win shy of matching last year