Indrisano Delivered With the 2020 Title Being on the Line

Anthony Indrisano brought his ‘A’ game to the most important game of the Winthrop Senior League playoffs and the result was the 2020 championship for Bob Andy and his No. 1-seeed Cubs.

With Indrisano excelling on the hill, the Cubs took home the title in a season that marked the long-awaited return of Senior Division baseball in Winthrop, thanks to the leadership of Commissioner Mark DiGregorio and Little League President Joe Murphy.

Indrisano had pitched in two previous appearances in the finals. Zack Bogusz, the other ace on the staff, picked up the 8-5 win in Game 1. Robert Rich pitched well but the Cubs fell short, 11-10, in Game 2.

But when showdown time arrived in the third and deciding game, Indrisano delivered the best pitching performance of the playoffs, allowing three hits,  striking out eight batters and walking only one in a complete-game 10-2 victory.

“The real Anthony Indrisano showed up tonight,” Cubs Coach Bob Andy said after the game.

It was the 16-year-old righthander’s final game in the Senior League. Anthony plays varsity football, hockey, and baseball for the Winthrop High Vikings. With the high school baseball season canceled this spring due to the coronavirus, Indrisano and the other players in the league were returning to competitive baseball after a long hiatus.

Proud Family Sports Heritage

The Indrisano and Poto families had a front row seat for Anthony’s pitching gem, looking on from behind the backstop at Ingleside Park. His father, Steve Indrisano, was a coach of the Cubs. He played hockey at Northeast Regional for Coach Frank Musi, who built a dynasty at the Wakefield school in the 1980s and 1990s.

“I got to play in the Boston Garden in 1990 and 1991 state finals,” recalled Indrisano. “Unfortunately, we lost to Westwood in both games.”

Anthony Indrisano’s uncle, the great Anthony Poto, did leave high school athletics with a state championship. Poto was the dynamic playmaking guard alongside backcourt partner James Bono for the 1995 state champion Winthrop High School boys basketball team. It was Poto’s perfect pass at the Boston Garden that set up Todd Doherty for an incredibly clutch three-pointer from the corner that led to the Vikings’ unforgettable triple-overtime victory over Cohasset in the state semifinals. Winthrop, directed by head coach Peter Grimes and assistant coach Phil Lundberg, went on to defeat Sutton in the state championship game.

Though Anthony was unable to attend his nephew’s clutch pitching performance (he was at his daughter’s soccer game) the Poto family was well represented by Anthony Indrisano’s grandparents, John and Lorraine Poto, his mother, Marisa Poto Indrisano, and his uncle, John Poto III. Steve Indrisano’s mother, June McKinnon, also enjoyed her grandson’s triumph.

Anthony Indrisano was not the only baseball title-holder in the family this summer. His sister, Francesca, was a member of Coach Greg Sullivan’s Mariners, who won the 2020 Winthrop Little League championship. Unfortunately, the talented sixth grader broke her arm and was unable to take the field for the title run. Steve Indrisano was an assistant coach of the Mariners as well.

A Memorable Season

The Senior Baseball League season was delayed due to the coronavirus. But its eventual return was welcomed enthusiastically by the players and coaches.

“Just a fantastic job overall by Mark DiGregorio, who put in many hours helping to get the field ready,” said Steve Indrisano. “His work gave these kids an opportunity to play baseball. It was really a nice effort considering Senior Baseball had basically disappeared in Winthrop for a long time. To put it back in existence this year, field three teams and have the fun that we had, it was a really nice job by Mark to do that.”