Budgell helps Newburyport baseball rally past Pentucket in tournament opener
Jun. 22—NEWBURYPORT — Monday was the kind of day Jax Budgell dreamed about when he transferred back to his hometown school this past summer.
After playing three seasons of high school ball at the Tilton School in New Hampshire, Budgell returned to Newburyport High for his senior year due to the pandemic and rejoined his old youth teammates for one last ride. With the Saint Anselm commit in tow the Clippers won the Cape Ann League Kinney Division title and earned a date with archrival Pentucket to open their Division 3 North tournament run.
It doesn't get much bigger than a local rivalry game in the state tournament, but amid the high pressure Budgell stepped up and delivered.
The senior reached base three times and was responsible for Newburyport's last four runs, playing a key role in helping the Clippers rally from an early deficit to beat Pentucket 5-2. Budgell's two-run double in the third inning gave the Clippers the lead for good, and a misplayed grounder in the fifth plated two more runs to give starting pitcher Jack Fehlner all the breathing room he would need.
"I couldn't wait to get back with my boys and now that I'm back I couldn't ask for anything else," Budgell said of getting to play in a state tournament game with Newburyport High.
Early on it looked as if Newburyport could be on upset alert as Pentucket's bats heated up in the top of the third. Pentucket's Kyle Ventola, Will Roberts and Trevor Kamuda all ripped doubles in quick succession, with Roberts and Kamuda driving in runs to give their team an early 2-0 lead.
Newburyport responded immediately, with Brady Ford drawing a leadoff walk before Fehlner and Ryan Archer had back to back singles. Archer's single snuck through the infield to score the pinch runner Steve Lawton, and two batters later Budgell sent a liner up the middle to give the Clippers the 3-2 lead.
From there Fehlner settled down on the mound and allowed only two baserunners the rest of the way. The CAL Kinney Player of the Year finished the complete game with only two runs allowed on four hits, and after Michael Habib and Jacob Buontempo scored on Budgell's fifth-inning grounder Fehlner made sure that Pentucket never had an opportunity to threaten again.
Through he wound up taking the loss, Pentucket starter Andrew Melone pitched well in defeat. Melone went the full six innings and allowed only three earned runs on five hits, and Roberts led Pentucket's offense by reaching base twice, first on an error and then with the RBI double.
"I couldn't have asked for a better year and a better group of kids," said Pentucket coach Kevin Murray, whose team finishes 9-8 on the year. "It's been absolutely awesome, definitely put some normalcy in the past year we've had, and it's been great."
With the win Newburyport improves to 12-4 and will now hit the road to face Middlesex League contender Stoneham in the Division 3 North Quarterfinals. That game will be played at Stoneham High on Wednesday starting at 4 p.m.
