Malden High Golden Tornado Baseball Team honors trio of captains on Senior Night

Four-year varsity players Ryan Coggswell, Ezechiel ‘Zeke’ Noelsaint and Jake Simpson in spotlight

By Jason Mazzilli

The Malden High School Golden Tornado Baseball Team had its best season in 30 years this past spring, finishing at 16-5 overall, including a solid second-place finish in the Greater Boston League at 10-4, just behind GBL Champ Somerville, with the Highlanders coming in at 12-2 GBL. Major contributors to the team’s success this season were its three senior captains: Ryan Coggswell, Ezechiel “Zeke” Noelsaint and Jake Simpson.

The three seniors were honored on Senior Night at the final home game of the season held at Pine Banks Park, which ended up being a 7-5 win over visiting Medford. The three seniors also served as team captains for the second consecutive year and all are four-year varsity players. All three seniors were recently named to the 2024 Greater Boston League All-Star Team.

Noelsaint, the first Haitian American Malden High student-athlete to be selected as a GBL Baseball All-Star, also recently played in the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association (MBCA) Eastern Mass. Senior Select All-Star Game for the North Team, which played the South Team at Monan Park, UMass Boston. Noelsaint smashed a 30-year school record this year when he stole 48 bases in 19 games, topping the mark of 47 stolen bases by former Tornado All-Scholastic and Hall of Famer Kurt Gaudet for the 21-4 1994 Malden team that won Malden’s last Greater Boston League title and is enshrined in the Golden Tornado Hall of Fame.

“All three of our seniors were major contributors for the past four years and big reasons why we have won 27 games over the past two seasons,” said eighth-year Head Coach Steve Freker, who also coached Malden High Baseball from 1985-1999. “They are all hard workers, intense competitors and true gentlemen and leaders. We really could not have asked for three better guys to have on our team the past four years.”

Following are capsule looks at the three Malden High senior graduates:

Ryan Coggswell: Three-year starter at second base… #16 had a steady glove and footwork, solid and accurate arm… named top student-athlete for the year at Malden High for academics and athletics with a 4.827 Grade Point Average… ranked #7 in Senior Class… hit just over .400 (.405) for season, 11 RBIs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 22 stolen bases, caught stealing just once… named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Academic All-American Team for Massachusetts, along with teammate Zeke Noelsaint… named recipient of 2024 Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association (MBCA) Scholarship… also a GBL All-Star and captain for Varsity Gold Team, which won the 2024 GBL Championship for the first time in 26 years… “Coggs” is headed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall, where he intends on studying nursing… “Ryan is that rare combination of elite athlete and elite student and we leaned on him a lot these past several years,” Coach Freker said. “He was truly an extra coach on the field and one of those guys you can’t really replace because of his unique abilities and character.”

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  Ezechiel “Zeke” Noelsaint: Malden High’s first-ever Haitian-American GBL Baseball All-Star in 2003, he duplicated the feat this season while setting a new school record with 48 stolen bases in 19 games played, averaging over two swipes per outing… The 6-3, 175 Noelsaint was considered the best overall athlete in the Class of 2024 and a two-sport captain, heading up the Varsity Basketball team as well, where he led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots… This past spring #22 flirted with the .500 batting mark, finishing at .481 and leading the team in runs scored (31), the most in years… His biggest strength was undoubtedly his defense, as he was considered the best defensive centerfielder in the GBL, playing error-free in the Malden outfield for the second consecutive season, 39 games in two years… He is headed for the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he intends on studying Engineering… named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Academic All-American Team for Massachusetts, along with teammate Ryan Coggswell… “I have been coaching high school baseball since 1985 and Zeke is one of the top pure athletes of the hundreds of players in those years,” Coach Freker said. “Not many Malden High players have had the season Zeke had this past spring, he truly was the engine for a lot of our wins and his school record for stolen bases is just remarkable.”

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  Jake Simpson: A four-year varsity starter for Malden – at third base his freshman year and shortstop/pitcher the past three years… also a captain and GBL All-Star for the co-op Varsity Boys Hockey team with Everett… In the second half of this past 2024 season, #11 was arguably the best two-way player in the league, going 3-1 on the mound with a sizzling 0.57 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 25 innings… At the plate, Jake hit over .550 in his last 10 games, 22-for-40, leading the Malden team in that span and for the season in RBIs… “Jake got better and better as the season went on and he really established himself as one of the very best players in the Greater Boston League,” Coach Freker said. “Whether it was on the mound or at the plate, Jake came through in the clutch for us again and again. We won’t soon forget the bomb triple he hit against Needham in the State Tourney. He almost went yard.” “Jake’s best baseball days are ahead of him, too, and we expect him to be an asset to the Salem State team beginning next fall.” Next fall Simpson will attend Salem State University, where he intends to study Business or Sports Management.

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