After starting the season 5-1 in TVL league games, the Hillers were ready for their next game. However, this time it was special for both the Hillers and their opponent Medfield. Friday, April 29, the teams played at Fenway Park.

The Hillers fell short losing 0-2 to the Medfield Warriors at the home of the Boston Red Sox.

The players arrived early to warm up and take pictures capturing a once-in-a-lifetime experience as fans from both towns enter the big league stadium.

Both teams started strong defensively. Medfield’s ace Thomas Shurtleff threw a complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts, while senior co-captain Andrew Gaughan took the mound as Hillers starter.

“It was an awesome experience. One that I will never forget,” said Gaughan. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t pull through for the win. We fought hard but Shurtleff is really talented and we struggled to hit well off him.”

The first inning ended with multiple strikeouts from both teams.
In the second inning, Medfield had runners on first and third with two outs. Senior co-captain and catcher Dylan Locke threw out a runner trying to steal second base to end the inning, leaving the runner on third.

The first hit for the Hillers came in the third inning from junior third baseman Joe Scardino. However, the Hillers came up shy with no score as they left runners on first and third.

At the bottom of the third, senior co-captain Nick Paharik took the mound for the Hillers, blanking the Warriors to keep the game 0-0.

Top of the fourth with two outs, seniors Scott Pagliuca and Andrew Gaughan both got on base. However, they were left stranded for no score. At the bottom of the fourth, Medfield took advantage of a couple of errors from then shortstop Andrew Gaughan and scored the first run.

Senior Mike Burney took the mound to pitch the fifth inning. The fifth inning resulted in no runs scored.

The sixth inning saw the Hillers go three and out. Medfield again got runners on first and third with two outs. This time a double down the third-base line brought in another run, making it a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Jack Aurthor made an appearance on the mound for two innings allowing zero runs. Aurthor was called upon despite being on the JV team this year.

“I’m glad that coach put in the whole team. It was a memorable experience for everyone and they all got a chance to play,” senior co-captain Nick Paharik said.

Top of the seventh and final inning, senior John Wauters got a single and advanced on an error. Again, the Hillers failed to score with Medfield winning 2-0.

“It was a bummer we didn’t clinch the dub, but it was still a lot of fun playing here,” Wauters said. “Medfield is a really good team and we kept fighting, but hopefully we’ll bounce back in next week’s game.”

Despite the loss, the Hillers relished the experience of playing at Major League Baseball’s oldest stadium.