The North Reading baseball team is back on top.
A proud baseball program that served as the standard for excellence for almost half a century under the state's all-time winningest coach is a champion once again. North Reading jumped out to a 5-0 first-inning lead against Arlington Catholic in the MIAA Division 3 Tournament championship game, ultimately holding on to a 10-3 victory for its first state championship since 2012.
With the title, North Reading coach Eric Archambault completes his goal of restoring the program to its glory days under longtime coach Frank Carey, who retired in 2014 as the state's all-time leader in wins with 736. Carey's teams won 25 league titles, three Eastern Mass. titles, five North sectional championships, and two state titles.
Archambault, who was Carey's successor in 2015, is now halfway to the state championship total.
As if North Reading wasn't enough of a feel-good story, the team dedicated its championship to 16-year-old former third baseman Brady Cullen, who received a devastating diagnosis of a brain tumor (pilocytic astrocytoma) last August. The non-cancerous tumor was too close to his brain stem to be operated on. After months of appointments, his medical team at Mass. General Hospital recommended radiation to stop it from growing. He received the last of his 30 radiation sessions in May before ringing the bell at Mass. General Hospital to signify the end of his treatment.
Big-picture issues aside, we should give a tip of the cap to the players who performed on the brightest of stages. Here's a look at seven players who starred in the MIAA D3 state championship win for North Reading.
