Dominating Freshman Performance Leads Wildcats to Win

If Wilmington High School freshman pitcher Jackson Gillis had any nerves entering his first varsity start on Monday, he certainly didn’t show it.

Gillis fired a complete game and struck out 15 batters against rival Tewksbury, jolting the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory that was the team’s first of the year.

“I talked to him before the game and he was nervous, as he should be because he’s a freshman,” said head coach Aldo Caira. “So I think that should build his confidence up, and it should build the whole team up. It’s a young team. Hopefully this is the right way to step off for the rest of season.”

Wilmington didn’t wait long after the game’s 10 a.m. start to pounce on the Redmen. Leadoff hitter Brendan McDonough led off with a double, Tim Woods worked a walk, and Corey Stillings ripped an RBI double to start the game.

The next hitter, Michael Curtis, pushed home two more runs with a single to give the Wildcats the early advantage.

“We kind of woke up and got the bats going real early,” said Caira. “It was nice to get going early and we had them on the ropes. It’s nice to get a win, and I was happy with the way they played. Defensively, we made the plays we had to make.”

While the victory was a welcomed sight for Caira’s charges, the offense remains a bit of a concern. Wilmington managed just one hit after the first inning, and has struggled at the plate during its 1-2 start to the season.

Still, the future is bright for the Wildcats, who are likely to improve as the year goes along. The team features just five seniors, and the majority of the lineup is made up of young players.

One thing Caira is especially looking forward to is getting out his radar gun to clock Gillis, his undefeated freshman fireballer. The Wildcat mentor said over the winter Gillis was throwing more than 85 MPH.

“When he was throwing the fastball for strikes, he was overpowering,” said Caira. “They couldn’t get around on him.”