HAMILTON — After sweeping through their opponents from the Cape Ann League Kinney division, the Hamilton-Wenham baseball team added another impressive win to its resume against a former league member.
The Generals needed only five innings to handle Masconomet, 10-0, on a wet and dreary Wednesday at Patton Park. It was a business-like showing from a Hamilton-Wenham team that’s won seven straight, sits at 16-3 with one regular season game remaining, and seems to be firing on all cylinders on the eve of the state tournament.
“It’s a sign of our experience,” Generals coach Reggie Maidment said of his team’s success against teams from higher divisions. “We’ve been able to keep things in check in these big games, not getting too high or too low. That’s what good teams do.”
The Chieftains (8-9) are on the opposite end of the experience spectrum with two seniors on the roster and underclassmen all over the diamond. They’ll need to shake this one quickly, since Friday’s regular season finale at Melrose is a must win in terms of qualifying for the state tournament for an 18th consecutive season.
“I want to practice on Saturday,” Masconomet coach Bryan Duplissie said. “It’s a one-game season for us now; tournament baseball is the best time of the year. We want to be a part of that and we need to come out and play like we want it on Friday.”
Senior Jack Cooke posted his fourth win of the year, striking out five and allowing only three Masconomet baserunners. He pounded the strike zone to the tune of over 66 percent of his 67 total pitches and faced only 18 batters.
“Jack’s had a great season. With the stuff he has and the work he puts in, we knew he had a chance to be exceptional,” Maidment said. “He works really really with (catcher) Chase Cann. Chase knows what stuff is working and what’s not on any given day, and he calls a great game.”
Junior Caden Schrock put a charge in an off-speed pitch for his second home run of 2025 in the bottom of the first, scoring Cole Scanlon (walk) and putting the Generals on top, 2-0, early.
“He’s a big, strong kid and anytime he gets a barrel on the ball, he’s got a chance to put it out,” Maidment said of Schrock. “He’s also become a great two-strike hitter with a really good approach. That’s the experience that comes from hitting in the 2-or-3 hole for two or three years and all the experience he had from his other varsity sports (football and basketball).”
Hamilton-Wenham scored three in the first, two more in the fifth and added five in the fourth. Shortstop Owen Waddell had two hits and three RBI while Cormac Heney (1-for-2) and Galen Clark Goldfeld (1-for-2, 2 runs) also collected RBI.
Scanlon wound up walking three times and scoring twice, Schrock scored three times and Cann added an RBI single.
Once the game got out of hand in the fourth, the Chieftains began lifting pitchers at the 20-pitch mark to preserve arms for Friday’s must-win game. Cruz Zizza, Aidan Brown, Jacob Sofronas and Andrew Cooper all got mound work and catcher Drew Nelson did a good job handling the changes.
Offensively, sophomore Chase Lepre’s 2-out single (capping off a 9 pitch at-bat) in the second was Masconomet’s only hit.