HAMILTON — Slung over his shoulder in the style professional wrestlers have worn their championship hardware for more than a half-century, Cormac Heney talked about what the Hamilton-Wenham baseball team’s ‘belt’ meant to him.
“It’s for people who put the team on their backs,” said the 17-year-old Heney, who was masterful Monday afternoon at Patton Park, striking out 13 Blue Hills batters over six innings of work and guided his third-seeded Generals to a 3-0 victory in the first round of the Division 4 state tournament.
“For me it’s about going out and doing my best and try to shut down a solid Blue Hills team,” added Heney. “But for me, the belt truly means teamwork. Even though only one person gets it after each win, it means a whole lot more than that.”
The fourth of five Heney brothers (preceded by Aidan, Seamus and Liam, with younger brother Nolan coming up the pipeline) to star for Hamilton-Wenham Regional certainly didn’t let the postseason glare bother him in this one. Mixing an 85 mile-an-hour fastball with a nasty slider and other offspeed offerings, the senior captain scattered four hits and one walk while never letting any Warrior past second base.
At one point, Heney struck out eight straight batters. He gave way to Owen Waddell after throwing 96 pitches (66 strikes), then watched as his teammate set Blue Hills down in order in the seventh and final frame.
“I felt good, like any other day that I’m pitching,” said Heney in perhaps the understatement of the postseason. “It was a team effort, though. My catcher, Chase Cann, was great; he’s been solid all year, coming up with clutch hits and clutch blocks behind the plate. He doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves.”
A big smile broke out over head coach Reggie Maidment’s face when he was apprised of what Heney said about his batterymate.
“There’s a reason Chase is a second team Cape Ann League all-star,” he said. “He commands the pitching staff well, he works well with (Heney) when we come in and ask what’s working and what isn’t, and on top of that they’re really good friends, which adds a whole other layer to their dynamic.
“Cormac’s slider is tough, and he can throw it for first pitch strikes,” Maidment added. “Knowing that we have that trust in him to do so is huge.”
Hamilton-Wenham will now face 19th seeded Cohasset back at Patton Park Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Although two-thirds of the outs they recorded came via strikeout, the Generals did have a defensive gem in the top of the sixth when right fielder Caden Schrock ventured into foul territory to catch a long fly ball off the bat of Thomas Willard, then spun and fired a strike to third baseman AB Labell to nail Blue Hills baserunner Kevin Farmer trying to get 90 feet closer to home plate.
“That was one of the best plays I’ve seen in this park,” admitted Maidment. “His momentum was taking him near the road (adjacent to the right field line) but he was able to get square, make the catch and, with his momentum going the other way, throw a seed to get him out at third.”
The Generals, who had five hits, got the only run they’d need in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Cole Scanlon bunted in front of the plate for a base hit, stole second and third, and strolled home on Schrock’s long sacrifice fly to center.
Labell singled with one out in the fifth and scored on a sharp single to left by Gian Gamelli, doubling the hosts’ lead. They tacked on another in the sixth after Cann doubled to right, was sacrificed to third by Waddell, and scored on Jack Cooke’s infield groundout.
“It wasn’t our best offensive day, and there’s a few at-bats we’d like to have back,” said Maidment, whose team left the bases loaded twice. “But that’s baseball; they made the plays to get out of a few innings, but we made enough plays to win. And it’s like I told the guys before the game, ‘Playoff baseball is totally different. We’re not playing to try and win by five runs or to move up in the polls; we’re just trying to win and move on. Period.’
“This group is always working together,” he added. “With seven seniors and seven juniors, it’s a close bunch that’s been playing baseball together a long time.”