WATCH: 12-Inning Walkoff Win Headlines MIAA Tournament at Polar Park
In just its third year of operation, Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox, played host to a different sort of baseball on Friday, June 16 and Sunday, June 18. Gone was the WooSox faithful as the team was on the road in Norfolk, VA. Instead, Polar Park opened
In just its third year of operation, Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox, played host to a different sort of baseball on Friday, June 16 and Sunday, June 18. Gone was the WooSox faithful as the team was on the road in Norfolk, VA. Instead, Polar Park opened its gates and baseball diamond to high school tournament play as Worcester’s new ballpark was the site of five Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association 2023 Championship games.
Ten high school baseball teams across the MIAA’s five divisions did battle for state titles in June. Many students and families alike rotated through Polar Park’s navy seating bowl to cheer on their athletes. Patrons from as far as Bourne flocked to Polar Park to witness a tournament final rematch, a 12-inning thriller, and five high school teams be crowned state champions over the course of the weekend.
Tournament play began with a defensive Division-3 showdown between Oakmont Regional High School and Medfield High School. The defensive battle saw a 3-2 Medfield lead taken into the top of the 7th—the last inning of play in high school games. Yet, with two on and two out, Oakmont second baseman Ben Forbes strode to the plate with his team’s season on the line.
Forbes, dropping his batting gloves as he strode to the batter’s box, shot the first pitch he saw right back up the middle to score the game-tying run and force Medfield into the bottom of the 7th. But the D-3 action didn’t end in the next half-inning, nor the four extra innings thereafter.
The Oakmont hero at the plate, Forbes turned around to fire five scoreless innings from the mound, helping secure the 5-3 Oakmont victory, ending in the bottom of inning 12th.
With Division-3’s champions crowned, the Polar Park grounds crew turned the field around in record time to host the second match of the evening, MIAA Division 2’s contest between Milton High School and King Phillip Regional High School. A rematch of last year’s final that saw Milton win their first ever title in their first final berth since 1974.
The 2023 D-2 showdown shared more good times for the Milton Wildcats, as their roster prospered 6-2 to become the 12th back-to-back MIAA Champion in tournament history.
With two games concluded on Friday, tournament play continued Sunday, June 18 with a three-game slate to decide champions in D-1, D-4 and D-5. To start Sunday’s swing, Hopkins Academy and Bourne High School faced off for the D-5 crown.
It would be the No. 2 seeded Bourne Canalmen--who traveled over 90 miles from Cape Cod to Worcester--who would take the title, beating Hopkins Academy, 10-5.
The following game saw the crowning of D-4 champion, when No. 12 seed Abington faced No. 3 Seekonk. Although the Seekonk Warriors’ bats mustered five runs, it was their masterful pitching which shut out the Abington Green Wave to secure the state title.
To conclude the high school baseball festivities at Polar Park, the long-awaited D-1 showdown between No. 1 seeded Franklin and No. 2 seeded Taunton commenced at 7 PM Sunday. The defending champion Taunton Tigers had previously lost twice at the hands of the Franklin Panthers in the 2023 regular season, but the Tigers managed to win the title game 7-2 thanks to two explosive innings to start the game.
Taunton would win their second consecutive D-1 State Championship, joining Milton as 2023 repeat champions. These games were the first iteration of MIAA high school boy’s baseball played at Polar Park. On July 31, the home of the WooSox will host Cape League baseball when the Bourne Braves face the Wareham Gatemen.