As soon as Cam Booser landed in Boston, he could feel all the memories coming back.
“I wanted to deny it as much as I could but as soon as we got into the city I was like man I missed this place,” the former Red Sox left-hander said. “My girlfriend and I truly loved our time here, the city is great, the people were great, it’s hard not to admit we missed it. It’s a great spot.”
Booser, back at Fenway Park this weekend for the first time since the offseason trade that sent him to the Chicago White Sox, was one of the feel good stories of the 2024 Red Sox season. The longtime journeyman finally made his MLB debut at age 31 a year ago this week after overcoming every form of adversity you could imagine throughout his formative years.
He battled alcohol addiction along with numerous injuries, including a broken femur and broken vertebrae in high school, Tommy John surgery in college and a broken back suffered after he was hit by a car during his recovery from a torn labrum. He retired from baseball in 2017 and spent several years working as a carpenter before attempting a comeback.
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Booser’s story was prominently featured as part of “The Clubhouse: A Year With The Red Sox,” the new Netflix documentary series that premiered earlier this month. Booser said he has not seen the show yet, but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share his story.
“I’ve heard it’s phenomenal and I heard they did a great job. I’m trying to refrain until the offseason until I can, I just want to stay focused on the clubhouse in here,” Booser said. “I think the biggest takeaway is if anybody can watch that and relate in any way, I guess if it can help even one person then it was worth it.”
Booser followed up his emotional debut by posting a strong rookie season in the big leagues. He appeared in 43 games for the Red Sox, posting a 3.38 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, and following the season he was honored as the recipient of the 2024 Tony Conigliaro Award, which recognizes a “Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.”
He was traded to the White Sox in exchange for a minor league pitching prospect in December, but Booser made Chicago’s Opening Day roster and has largely picked up where he left off. Entering this weekend’s series he had posted a 2.57 ERA with 10 strikeouts through his first seven appearances.
But while he’s generally tried to stay business as usual since joining his new team, Booser said he’ll always hold a special place in his heart for the Red Sox.
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“At the end of the day I’m incredibly grateful that the Red Sox gave me an opportunity to make my dream come true,” Booser said. “When I was 30 years old coming out of indy ball they were really the only team that gave me an opportunity going into 2023. It’s no lie, you can look at the stats, at the start of ’23 I had an awful rough start, and they gave me opportunity after opportunity to figure it out.
“So I’ll always be grateful for them for giving me an opportunity, one, to stick with it, and two, to live out my big league dream,” he continued. “It was always my dream to debut here at Fenway in a Red Sox uniform so I’m incredibly grateful to them that I got to make that a reality.”
An inbound stretch of Storrow Drive and Soldiers Field Road will be closed each night through August for tunnel repairs, officials announced.
Starting Monday, the closures will begin at 8 p.m. and last until 5 a.m., state officials said.
Road closures begin at North Harvard Street in Allston and stretch along the Charles River Esplanade to Mugar Way in Boston, near the Hatch Memorial Shell, officials said.
Traffic will be detoured into Cambridge over the Anderson Bridge, along Memorial Drive, and then be routed into Boston over the Longfellow Bridge.
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The closures will allow ongoing repairs to the Storrow Drive Tunnel in the Back Bay.The work is the first phase of a two-stage project to extend the lifespan of the tunnel, which carries roughly 50,000 drivers to and from downtown Boston daily.
The outbound portion of the tunnel and accompanying roadways will not be affected.
State transportation officials said changes to the work schedule will be made when necessary to minimize impacts during major local events at TD Garden, Fenway Park, or during the FIFA World Cup and 250th anniversary celebrations scheduled for this summer.
Additional changes may be made without notice due to weather.
Transportation officials have not specified when the closures will end.
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Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.
OXFORD — Ole Miss softball is back in the NCAA Tournament after making the Women’s College World Series a season ago.
The Rebels (34-24) will play Boston (46-13) on May 15 (1 p.m. CT, ESPNU) in the Lubbock Regional. Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the regional, and Boston is the No. 3.
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Texas Tech (52-6), the No. 11 overall seed and regional host, will face No. 4 Marist (37-19).
The Rebels went 6-18 in SEC play this season, and have a largely new-look roster from the team that made the WCWS last season.
Ole Miss beat South Carolina and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to improve its seed.
Freshman Madi George has burst onto the scene in the SEC. The first-year infielder leads Ole Miss with a .385 batting average. She has a team-high 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Seniors Emilee Boyer (3.86 ERA), Kyra Aycock (3.97 ERA) and junior Lily Whitten (3.04 ERA) are the primary options in the circle for coach Jamie Trachsel.
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Trachsel is in her sixth season leading the Ole Miss program. She led the Rebels to their first WCWS appearance in program history in 2025.
What to know about Boston, Texas Tech and Marist in Lubbock Regional
Boston entered the Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the Terriers delivered. Boston beat No. 2 Colgate 12-1, becoming the second team in Patriot League history to four-peat as conference champions. Boston is on a 12-game winning streak. Kylie Doherty leads the team with a .396 batting average and 26 home runs.
Texas Tech made the 2025 WCWS championship series, losing to Texas in three games.
Texas Tech lost just three Big 12 games this season but lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders are a strong threat to get to the WCWS again. There are four Texas Tech batters hitting over .400. Star pitcher NiJaree Canady leads the Red Raiders with a 1.24 ERA. She has 209 strikeouts.
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Marist plays in the MAAC and won the conference tournament. Marist split a two-game series against South Carolina early in the season. Ava Metzger (12-3, 2.51 ERA) and Peyton Pusey (.404 batting average) lead the team.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
Attendees held umbrellas as The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Mojo, a music brand and concert organizer, was founded in 2021 by Charley Blacker, Alex Parker, and Emily Donovan while they were students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The trio of friends decided to create Mojo out of their shared love for music and house shows.
“We saw there were so many local musicians that were so talented, but they didn’t have the platform we thought they really deserved,” Blacker told the Globe during Saturday’s festivities. “So we thought if we could do the behind-the-scenes work of organizing photographers and [provide] a social media platform, we could give these musicians the platform they deserve.”
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Attendees danced as The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Five years later, the team behind Mojo is sticking to their mission, tackling their biggest venue yet with this weekend’s event at City Hall Plaza, which previously served as the original location for Boston Calling before it moved to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. Boston Calling announced last year that it is taking a one-year hiatus in 2026, with plans to return in 2027.
In addition to getting the chance to work on such a big event with his best friends, Blacker hopes Mojo Boston can help “lead to a lot more opportunities for local music.”
People browsed food vendors at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
There was a wide range of genres represented at Saturday’s event, from the pop-rock stylings of The Bends to house and garage music from DJ AC Slater. Prior to the Boston debut, Mojo brought a festival to Pennsylvania’s Happy Valley in April and returned to Amherst later that month to host another event.
Mojo Boston attendees and former UMass Amherst students Emily Bowler and Max Debeau have been familiar with Mojo since its inception, watching the organization go from hosting basement shows to full scale music festivals. Debeau noted how many of the acts at Saturday’s event have worked with Mojo in the past, performing at UMass and other shows around the Bay State.
“To see it all come together has been great,” Debeau said. “This is the stage that they all deserve.”
“It’s crazy how quickly they were able to erect something so amazing,” Bowler added.
Amanda Giroux danced away from the stage while The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Formed in New Bedford, the band Autumn Drive was one of 18 acts that performed at Mojo Boston, and they are no strangers to a Mojo show.
“We’ve done, I think, every single Mojo that there is, so we’re very tight with them,” said guitarist and singer Charlie Gamache. “When we found out they were doing a big festival [in Boston], I was like, ‘We want in no matter what.’”
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The band emphasized how much their relationship with Mojo has meant to them over the years, with Autumn Drive drummer Joe Gauvin praising the organization for “always putting us in front of a crowd that’s there to see music and hear us.”
Michael Asulin, of Stoughton, and Jackie Ludicke, of Miami, Fla., talked while wearing ponchos at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
From a makeshift stage out of wooden pallets in his basement to Boston’s City Hall Plaza, Blacker is is proud of Mojo’s success and is already looking ahead at what’s to come.
“This is really just the start of it all,” said Blacker. “We have very lofty ambitions and goals, and we have nothing but confidence in our ability to accomplish everything we set out to do.”
Gitana Savage can be reached at gitana.savage@globe.com. Follow her on X @gitana_savage.
