HOLDEN — Most everyone in the town of Boxford would agree that Keith Koster Park has never looked better … but you won’t get any argument that a couple of new additions to start the 2027 season will make the place perfect.
Those would be the District 15 and Section 4 championship banners won by Boxford Little League’s 12-year-old all-stars this summer. They’re the first two major championship flags won by Boxford in the more than 50 year history of the league. Hanging proudly at Koster Park, they’ll serve not just as a tribute to the most successful team the town has ever produced, but as inspiration for the next generation of ballplayers … indisputable proof of what can be accomplished with some hard work and dedication.
Friday, Boxford’s bid to win the Massachusetts state championship, advance to New England’s and eventually reach the Little League World Series came to an end with a 7-2 loss to Pittsfield at Holden’s Swenson Field. The locals bowed out of the double-elimination state Final Four in fourth place (Bridgewater defeated Parkway in the title game Sunday morning).
Against the best Little League all-star teams in the entire state, Boxford held its own. The only 1-2-3 inning they had offensively over two games was the last one they played Friday against Pittsfield. Throughout Friday’s battle, Boxford put pressure on Pittsfield’s defense and got runners into scoring position. The timely hit to produce some big runs proved elusive, but that’s baseball sometimes.
Falling behind 3-0 after three innings, Boxford made it 3-1 in the fourth (Harry Stevens walked and stole home) and 4-2 in the fifth (Bennett Taeger was hit by a pitch a stole home). Pittsfield, however, scored three in the bottom half of the inning to pull away.
Graham McKenzie, Vincent Merullo and Stevens had Boxford’s only hits in Friday’s finale. The squad also drew three walks and reached on a dropped third, showing their willingness to do anything possible to get on the basepaths. Stevens and Merullo both stole two bases and Taeger and Henry Pracht swiped one.
Ben LaChance battle all day on the mound, going 4 1/3 innings and striking out four with no walks. He challenged Pittsfield’s hitters, was around the strike zone and had some tough luck as far as the opposition finding gaps in the defense. Merullo finished up, getting the last two outs.
Before the state Final Four began, Boxford manager Paul DeLeo said anything past the sectional round is gravy, a bonus, for any Little League team. He also noted that his team wasn’t just happy to be there and planned to compete. The weekend was absolutely a success on both counts.
Though Boxford dropped both games, as mentioned the team has baserunners in just about every inning and each game was competitive throughout (they led Parkway until the bottom of the sixth). Ace pitcher Jake DeLeo was phenomenal in his outing in Thursday’s opener, just as he has been throughout the entire summer.
Winning at the state level is hard. Peabody went 0-2 last year, for example. Over the last 12 years, Boxford is one of six local teams to make the state Final Four, and only Mark Bettencourt’s Peabody West squad in 2021 won it all. The others — Hamilton-Wenham in 2014, Beverly in 2016, Gloucester in 2017 and the Danvers Nats in 2018 — all lost in pool play or the state final.
So when Boxford looks back at the summer of 2026, they’ll think about the history they made together, not the two battles they lost at the end.
In this day and age, not many kids get to say they won the first District title in their town’s history (the last time in happened in D15 was a dozen years ago). Boxford did — and in dominant fashion with two straight no-hitters in pool play and six runs allowed the entire tournament.
The success is a big credit to Paul DeLeo and his coaches (Chris Merullo and Ralph Carrieri), who started with this group 3-4 years ago and have drilled and developed them so impressively. It’s a credit to Boxford Little League (led by President Mike McKenzie), which bought in, got great volunteer efforts to revamp its program and clean up Koster Park. It’s a credit to the mom’s who supported their kids, the businesses in town who donated and put up signs supporting the kids.
The Tri-Town has always had great baseball; Masconomet has won a handful of state championship and is always among the North Shore’s best high school teams. Harnessing that potential at the Little League level only took determination, imagination and elbow grease from kids and parents alike.
Now that the 2026 Boxford all-stars have proven the concept, a new standard has been set in town. If the next group can watch their work ethic, it won’t be long before they have to move those banners over to make room for some more.