The Chelsea High baseball team will take part in its Journey to the Tourney when the Red Devils play host to Weston in an opening round matchup of the MIAA Division 3 North sectional baseball tournament today (Thursday). The contest is scheduled to begin at 4:00. With an 11-7 record, Chelsea holds the eighth seed in the Division 3 North bracket, while Weston, seeded ninth, carries a 12-8 mark. Chelsea is a member of the Small Division of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference, whereas Weston competes in the Small Division of the Dual County League. Should the Red Devils prevail, they will face the winner of the Greater Lowell versus Saugus/Madison Park matchup. Greater Lowell, the top seed in the North bracket, will play the victor of that contest on June 4. This means a Chelsea victory over Weston would leave the Red Devils without a game until at least June 6, and more probably Monday, June 7. The seeds 16 and 17 are held by Saugus and Madison Park respectively. Weston presents a strong challenge, having defeated two teams that Chelsea has also faced. Earlier this season, Weston topped Greater Lowell 7-4, accounting for one of only two losses suffered by Lowell, the CAC Large Division champion. Additionally, Weston defeated North Shore Tech of the CAC Small Division 18-6 last week. Chelsea has beaten North Shore twice, by scores of 6-3 and 11-10, but suffered a 4-0 loss to Greater Lowell. “I spoke to the North Shore coach and he said they have a strong lineup from top to bottom,” said CHS head coach Alan Beausoleil. “But every team in the tourney deserves to be there and will be a tough opponent.”
The Red Devils wrapped up their regular season last week with games against Matignon and Greater Lawrence. On Friday, Chelsea fell to Matignon 6-1, with fielding errors in the second inning playing a major role as five Matignon runners scored. Eli Ortiz was replaced by Jose Pineda, who delivered three and one third strong innings of relief, surrendering just one run on three hits. The Chelsea batters, however, could not close the gap, hampered by a failure to get timely hits despite having runners in scoring position in nearly every inning. Peter Marmolejos collected two hits, Juan Encarnacion had a hit and a run, and Pineda contributed a double and an RBI. Saturday’s outcome on the local field proved far different, as Chelsea dominated Greater Lawrence 12-2. Adonys Urbaez was outstanding on the mound, pitching six innings while allowing three hits and one run. Offensively, Urbaez led the way with two hits—including a triple—three RBI, and two runs scored. Encarnacion went 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI; Ryan Motta also went 2 for 2 with an RBI; and Pineda recorded a hit, a walk, was hit by a pitch, scored twice, drove in two runs, and stole a base. Four Red Devils earned selection to the CAC all star team and participated in the all star game held Tuesday. Urbaez pitched a 1-2-3 inning and scored a run; Pineda had a hit and two RBI; Luis Diaz singled, walked twice, and had an RBI; and Ortiz reached base. The all star contest, featuring a mix of CAC teams and players, ended with Chelsea on the losing side of a 6-4 decision.