A Look Back at the Stoneham Baseball Season

The dream run for the no. 16-ranked  baseball team came to an end Sunday afternoon after .

The Spartans managed to get into the tournament after rattling off six consecutive wins to end the regular season. The team not only made the tournament, but picked up a preliminary-round victory, beating Madison Park 11-6 to advance to the second round, where they lost to Lynnfield.

Senior captain discussed the team’s defeat to Lynnfield in his last game as a Spartan.

“It was pretty cool knowing that we had an amazing chance of knocking these guys out of the tournament,” Young said. “We were expected to lose and all the pressure was on them, not us, so we went into the game with the mindset to prove everyone wrong, but unfortunately we came up a bit short.”

While the Spartans lost the playoff tilt, Young confessed it was a tough way to go out.

“It was a nail-biter the entire time and games like that don’t come around very often,” Young said. “It was unfortunate to be on the losing end of it, but I’m glad my last game was a great one.”

Young recalled some of the memorable moments from the season.

“Steve’s (Keskinidis) was amazing, making the tournament on our very last game of the year, finishing the regular season on a six-game win streak and then winning our first tournament game were all great memories,” Young said. “Also, beating Melrose 1-0 was great. It was an awesome year and I can’t just narrow it down to one moment.”

Young said he is going to miss his teammates and acknowledged the Spartans were the true definition of a “team.”

“This team was amazing and full of good ballplayers and good kids,” Young said. “We were a very unselfish team and I am happy to say that I finished my high school career with this group of kids and coaches.

“These guys deserve so much for how hard they worked this year. We truly did help turn this program around this year and prove so many people wrong.”

Young also acknowledged the importance of the coaching staff this season.

"I want to personally thank and Coach Sannella because the team would be nothing without them," Young said. "They are the two best coaches I've ever had and their hard work shouldn't go unrecognized."

Meanwhile, senior second baseman recalled the 2012 season and how their run in the state tournament came to an end.

“The final game was really heartbreaking,” Carino said of the loss to Lynnfield. “We had the lead late and couldn’t manage to hold on to it. We had great pitching and defense throughout the season and it was no different in this game.”

Carino said the team had something to prove all year to the league and in the tournament.

“It was truly a great experience,” Carino said. “We had such a great chance to prove to the State that we were a force to reckon with and like our coaches said, all the pressure was on them (Lynnfield) and we just had to go out and execute.”

Carino looked back at the team’s win in the Woburn Invitational that earned them a berth in the state tournament.

“My most memorable moment was the win against Bedford,” Carino said. “It was total team effort and everyone contributed to the win.”

As for what he'll miss moving forward, Carino said: “I think the thing I will miss most is the camaraderie of the team and how we worked to win,” Carino said.

The team finished 10-12 overall (9-11 regular season; 1-1 playoffs) after starting the season just 3-11. Yianacopolus and the Spartans will look to improve on their overall record and make it to the tournament for a second consecutive season.