'We’re just a team with heart and soul': Clinton, Silvester quickly close Case in Division 4 baseball round of 16 (2024)

CLINTON — The question wasn’t whether Brian Silvester was rested and ready, but rather if he’d be rusty.

After all, the sophom*ore ace was coming off a 15-day layoff when he took the ball for the Clinton High baseball team Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the Division 4 state tournament.

No cause for concern as Silvester was his typically polished and sparkling self, allowing one base runner over seven innings as the third-seeded Gaels defeated No. 14 Joseph Case, 5-0, before a sizable and appreciative audience at the Clinton Veterans’ Athletic Complex.

“Usually when I have longer breaks my arm feels better than ever,” the 5-foot-10, 180-pound right-hander said. “So I just went out there and tried to do what I usually do.”

Silvester allowed one hit, a one-out single in the second, and didn’t walk a batter — the count only reached three balls on two occasions. He struck out six, including inning-enders in the first, second and seventh.

Focused, flexible and working fast, Silvester was efficient and effective, throwing 58 of his 76 pitches (.763) for strikes in a contest that lasted 74 minutes.

“They got on the fastball (at the start),” Silvester said after improving to 6-0 and receiving a Gatorade bath from his jubiliant teammates. “So I threw a couple of breaking balls, and they were early on those, so I kept throwing them.

“And when I found out they couldn’t hit the fastball later in the game, I started throwing more fastballs, and it just worked out.”

Now the Gaels have more work to do as they’ll host No. 6 Pittsfield (18-5) at noon Saturday in the quarterfinals.This is the furthest they’ve advanced since the statewide tournament format debuted in 2022, having played in the first round two years ago and reaching the second round last spring.

“This is a good baseball team we have here,” coach Mike Santasania said. “We’re deep pitching wise, and this is a great bunch of kids who love to play this game. As long as we keep swinging the bats, we’re going to be fine.”

Case, which is located in the South Coast community of Swansea, finished 11-11. Other than the aforementioned single, the Cardinals’ only other base runner came via an infield error in the seventh.

Sophom*ore right-hander Aeadan Borges flummoxed the Gaels early on, retiring the first 10 batters on 27 pitches. But the home team remained upbeat.

“The attitude in the dugout was there,” said senior tri-captain Mike Vanasse, who’ll attend the prestigious Isenberg School of Management at UMass beginning in September.

“The bats weren’t at the start, but we started to heat up.”

Indeed, the Gaels scored two runs in the fourth as junior Davis Lunn doubled and came home on a wild pitch before Silvester delivered Vanasse (single, steal) with a two-out single up the middle.

That’s how it remained until the sixth when Vanasse kept the inning alive with a two-out double, junior Ethan Frisch followed with a single, and Silvester cleared the bases with a home run to left field to make it 5-0.

The Clinton coaches didn’t hit the ball, but they did make the call.

“In the dugout, they could tell the signs by the (Case) coaches,” Silvester said. “And if (my coaches) said my first name, it was a fastball.

“I heard that and just knew it was coming and turned on it best I could.”

It was the first homer on a regulation-size field for Silvester, who finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs. Vanasse had two hits, including a double, and scored twice, while sophom*ore Josh Nelson also doubled as four of the Gaels’ seven hits went for extra bases.

And while the Gaels left the field content, they’re far from satisfied.

“At this point we’ve been working hard all season, and we’re going to continue to do so throughout the whole week,” Vanasse said. “Going to the cages on the weekends, going to the field on the weekdays. And we’re just a team with heart and soul.”

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Clinton, Silvester quickly close Case in Division 4 baseball round of 16