August 12, 2024
As Yogi Berra once said “You can observe a lot by just watching”. For anyone lucky enough to watch the Hingham 8U RED baseball squad take the field the past couple months, you observed greatness. These true “Boys of Summer” capped off an unbelievable season on August 3rd beating Bridgewater 5-4 at Bayuk Field in Foxboro to win the 2024 Friendship League Championship. The Friendship League consists of 76+ teams across Eastern Massachusetts with eight divisions. Following an eight-game regular season, all 76+ teams play in a survive and advance playoff tournament. Hingham enters two balanced teams into the league with the other being the 8U “White” team coached by legendary Tufts University pitcher Mike Byron. The White crew had a remarkable season in their own regard winning their own division and being one of the final eight teams standing in the playoffs.
Hingham 8U RED was led by Skipper Pete Pasciucco, someone whose own baseball career peaked at eight years old. Pasciucco was assisted by number of superb coaches including Jack Greeley, John McDonald, Brendan Bowes, Dan Clark and Jeff Greenman. The team had incredible pitching from start to finish with Charlie Hutchison, Jake McDonald and Matty Greeley leading the way, a trio comparable to Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz of the 90s. Justin DesRoche – a fan favorite – and Johnny “Bench” Pasciucco provided consistent pop in the meat of the lineup and a solid backstop for the young hurlers. River Greenman played a near-perfect second base all year and Charlie Sanfilippo added some left-handed power in the back half of the order. Hank Berte, Austin Bowes and Nolan Lynch were three of the hottest hitters in the playoffs while Will Swope was a coach’s dream playing any position needed and playing it well.
Jack Clark and Gavin Kittredge were impenetrable in the outfield and the ultimate team players. The boys went 12-1-1 overall with too many memorable wins to mention. They squeaked by Scituate 5-4 in the opening round of the playoffs thanks to a walk-off hit by Charlie Hutchison at Powers Field, the ballpark named after his late grandmother, Donna Powers, a local hero whose dedication to youth and women’s sports in Hingham is unmatched (…and for those scoring at home, Charlie’s dad is Dean Hutchison, a 1989 Hingham Little League All-Star). In addition to knocking off perennial powerhouses Milton and Braintree in the second and third rounds of the playoff, the Mini-Harbormen beat previously undefeated and #1 seed Plymouth in the quarterfinals behind phenomenal pitching by Justin DesRoche. The semi-finals might have been the best 8U game ever played, a classic 2-0 win over a gritty Parkway team behind a massive crowd at Haley Field which included web gems galore, a masterpiece on the hill by Hutchison and McDonald, and a couple Johnny Pasciucco rockets. The championship was a nail-biter but the good guys came out on top with the help of a game winning double by McDonald.
Terrence Mann of Field of Dreams fame told Ray Kinsella “The one constant through all the years has been baseball.” No words have ever been more accurate in 2024. Keep an eye on this bunch of eight year olds…they are just getting started.