A no-hitter and solar eclipse? It was an historic day for high school baseball at Polar Park

WORCESTER — The Shepherd Hill baseball team saw something nearly as rare as a solar eclipse on Monday.

A no-hitter.

As part of a high school baseball doubleheader at Polar Park, Shepherd Hill sophomore pitcher Angel Paulino didn’t allow a single hit and tossed a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over Worcester Tech.

Move over solar eclipse, Paulino was the shooting star Monday.

“It didn’t feel real,” Paulino, 15, said. “I realized in the dugout that I threw a no-hitter at Polar Park. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Two insanely rare things happened tonight, but I definitely think the no-hitter and this game will be more memorable for me than the eclipse,” Shepherd Hill junior captain Collin Moody said.

A Polar eclipse

Nearly 18 miles away from Polar Park, Hudson High baseball coaches and players watched the solar eclipse as a team from their outfield grass.

“When our game Monday was postponed because of the eclipse, we figured we’d lean into it and have some fun,” said Hudson coach Tim Reinhardt, whose team wore eclipse glasses while listening to ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd. “I think everyone, the coaches and players, got into it more than we had expected.”

As the Shepherd Hill baseball team boarded the bus to take them to the home of the Worcester Red Sox, the collection of Rams also enjoyed the rare celestial experience of watching the moon obscure the sun.

“We had a bunch of people on the bus with glasses who were watching,” Moody said. “We saw the best of it when we were leaving our school around 3 (p.m.)”

In what was originally supposed to be a three-game parlay at Polar Park, the first contest between Doherty and South — and all other Worcester Public School sporting events held between 2 and 4:30 p.m. — was postponed due to the eclipse.

By 5 p.m., Shepherd Hill and Worcester Tech took the field in what turned out to be a historic event.

With Paulino (7 innings, 3 walks, 2 hit batsmen, 15 strikeouts) not allowing a hit across seven innings and 100 pitches, the Shepherd Hill southpaw became just the third person to toss a no-hitter at Polar Park.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Sean Boyle tossed a no-no in his first Triple-A start in 2021 before three WooSox pitchers combined for a no-hitter in 2022.

For Paulino, Monday’s outing was a first for him — and the first no-hitter seen by many of his teammates.

“He’s a young kid with a bright future,” said Shepherd Hill senior captain Logan Daniels, who did a “great job” catching Paulino’s no-no. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us.”

Said Shepherd Hill coach Mike Daley: “Angel is one of the best young pitchers around this area. ... Good for him, he threw a no-hitter at Polar Park, it’s amazing.”

“This is an unreal moment,” Paulino added.

An experience ‘a lot of kids dream of’

Sitting in the stands at Polar Park to watch the no-hitter Monday was Jack King.

The Burncoat High senior has attended Triple-A games at Polar Park since the stadium opened in 2021 and has played in high school games in each of the past three years at the home of the WooSox.

Getting to play on the same field as major leaguers like Chris Sale and Trevor Story has been a major perk for the 17-year-old from Worcester.

“It’s definitely been a blessing getting (to go to) this stadium in the city that I grew up in,” King said. “And then to get to be on it as a player has been a great experience.”

King went 1 for 2 with three RBIs, while teammate Brady Fenner tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits in a 16-0 win over North in the high school nightcap.

For first year Burncoat coach Benji Borrero, who was the coach at North High the past three seasons, switching benches for this year’s game at Polar Park was bittersweet.

“It’s a little tough because of the kids I know at North, but I have to adjust and try to win the game,” said Borrero, who graduated from Burncoat in 1997. “It’s a good experience for the kids. They were very happy and couldn’t wait to play the game today.”

For Mark Goodridge, who is in his first season coaching the Polar Bears, getting to spend his second game of the season in the visitors’ dugout at Polar Park was a privilege.

“It’s certainly something that these kids will never forget,” Goodridge said. “It’s a great day for the student-athletes here. It’s something that hopefully they remember and that we get to keep doing.”

That sentiment was shared by many who played baseball at Polar Park on Monday.

No-hitter or not, solar eclipse or not, it was a day for the history books for four high school baseball teams from Worcester.

“Win or lose, it was an amazing experience that a lot of kids dream of,” Worcester Tech senior captain Anthony McCullough said.

“It was an unreal day all around and adding (a no-hitter and solar eclipse) on top of it was a great thing to be a part of,” Shepherd Hill junior captain Tommy Hennessey said. “Great experience all around.”

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Shepherd Hill's Angel Paulino tosses no-hitter in doubleheader at Polar