THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 13, 2025 Page 11 HE HIT .556!!: Malden High freshman Davante Layine wins Greater Boston League Hitting Crown Leadoff hitter sets school record with .556 batting average, 30-for-54 this season By Nick Toscani I t was like instant folklore on the baseball diamond. In his very first game, in his very first at bat, on his very first swing, Malden High School's DaLayne also finished with 18 stolen bases and scored 23 runs to lead the team as well. Defensively, the Malden High freshman played every game at second base and was solid for the entire year. SPRING POP-UP MARKET Davante Layne, Malden High baseball freshman, was the Greater Boston League Batting Champion with a .556 batting mark this past spring. Above, he is shown with his parents Tara and Ramon and other family members at the Malden High Baseball end-ofseason dinner. (Courtesy/ Malden High School Athletics) vante Layne smashed a line drive single into right center, between the first and second basemen of Salem Charter Academy. Truth be told? The Golden Tornado ninth-grader started his Malden High baseball career in a state of en fuego in that first games of the season, and he never did cool off. Layne had his first multi-hit game of the season (2-for-4)— one of 12 games where he had more than one base hit— and basically never looked back. When the season finally came to an end, in a hard-luck loss in the opening game of the MIAA Division 1 State Baseball Tournament, Layne (who went 2-for4 in that game as well) had put together a season for the ages. Layne finished the season with the top batting average for a Malden High School player in decades, going 30-for-54 and .556 overall. The Golden Tornado ninth grader was one of a group of talented freshmen who became integral parts of the Malden season in their very first years. For the season, Malden had freshman in the everyday lineup batting leadoff (Davante Layne), hitting third was freshman Nick D'Anna, who manned third base the entire season and batting fifth was freshman Devin Milonopolous, who was the designated hitter and played in the outfield. D'Anna hit over .370 for the season and Milonopolous was at .341.All three and other classmates are expected to contribute in big ways again next year and thereafter. All three of the Tornado freshmen will be competing in the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association (MBCA) Freshmen Select State All-Star Game on Friday at Howard Park/Rotondi Field in Malden at 3:30 p.m. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/ Advocate.news.ma THE YARD @ BEACHMONT SQUARE 10 SUFFOLK DOWNS BOULEVARD SUFFOLK DOWNS - REVERE, MA (Steps from Beachmont Station & Amaya ) JOIN US AT OUR UPCOMING SPRING POP-UP MARKETS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH REVERE BEACH FARMER’S MARKET, FOR A DAY OF FARM-FRESH GOODIES, ARTISANAL BITES, AND FUN SPRING ACTIVITIES! SATURDAYS 11AM - 2PM MAY 17 JUNE 21
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