By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - When cross-town rivals Attleboro and Bishop Feehan meet on the diamond there is likely going to be a lot of drama and a game that come right down to the final pitch. Saturday morning was no exception.
The Bombardiers lost a one-run lead in the seventh, but scored in the top of the eighth and held on for a 6-5 extra innings victory over the Shamrocks at Beach Field.
“It’s been the way it’s been the past few years between Feehan and Attleboro,” said Attleboro coach Matt Bosh after the game. “We take the lead then they take the lead and we managed to hang on. Both teams played great.”
The Bombardiers held a 5-4 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh, trying to hold on to get junior starter Nate Tellier a win. Tellier went five innings, striking out seven and giving up only four hits and three runs. Kyle Sullivan gave up one run in the sixth and 6-foot-6 junior Nolan Kane was on for the save.
Feehan leadoff hitter Matt Everton hit a sinking liner to right that Justin Lako, who entered in the sixth as a defensive replacement, was able to track down with a great sliding catch. Unfortunately, that confidence would lead to him being too aggressive on a liner by the next hitter, Jack Hanson, and the ball went to the wall for a triple rather than a single.
“It’s easy to say keep it in front of you, keep them to a single, but the competitor in you wants to make that big catch especially after he made the one before,” said Bosh. “I don’t blame him for that. He tried to make a play and it didn’t work out.”
Josh Fortier hit a sacrifice fly to center bringing the run home and forcing extra innings. Lako quickly redeemed himself in the eighth. The senior lined a single to left off Shamrocks reliever Alex Richardson with one out and then stole second. It was the first ball that Attleboro had hit out of the infield off Richardson since he took over in the sixth.
After DH Ernesto Espinal drew a walk, senior Tim Christensen provided the big hit by going the other way with a line drive to right that dropped in and allowed Lako to race home with the go-ahead run. Kane made it hold up in the bottom of the inning with some help from Lako who made a great running grab down the line.
“Timmy Christensen with that huge hit in the eighth inning to take the lead and Nolan Kane came on those last two innings and pitched great,” said Bosh. “Whether it was pinch hitting, pinch running, defensive substitutions, a lot of guys contributed today.”
He added, “Thursday was a tough loss with the walk-off loss to Mansfield and then to come back to beat Dartmouth at their place [on Friday] and then to beat Feehan -- it’s good resiliency by our kids.”
The Bombardiers struck first off Feehan starter Andrew Blomstedt. In the third, Espinal drew a leadoff walk and Christensen followed with a double to right center that put two in scoring position with no outs. After a shallow fly to center, Tyler Stowe plated Espinal with a groundout to short.
The lead did not last long. Kevin Higgins drew a walk from Tellier to start the bottom frame and moved to second on a passed ball. After Tellier struck out Everton, Hanson reached on an infield hit and Jim Mendillo drew a walk to load the bases. Fortier got the run home on fielder’s choice to second.
Attleboro regained the lead in the fifth. Tellier walked to start the inning and stole second. He was able to walk home when senior centerfielder Matt Elliot deposited a two-run homer over the fence in right center. It was his second homer in three games.
“That was huge,” said Bosh, who added with a laugh, “It didn’t look like [a homerun] at first. I told him, it kind of looked like you caught it off the end of the bat and it carried, but he was like no, I got it coach.”
Bosh continued, “He’s one of the best hitters in the Hockomock League. We really count on him for a lot.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Feehan got to a tiring Tellier. Higgins started the inning with a double and scored on a double by Hanson. A grounder moved Hanson to third and he scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3.
Bosh was pleased with the start from the junior, “He didn’t really pitch last year, so this is really his first year pitching. His pitch count was a little high, but I thought he settled down and overall he pitched very well.”
He added, “He throws hard. You don’t think it to look at him, but he’s got good velocity on his pitches.”
The Bombardiers took back the lead in the sixth and gave Tellier the chance to pick up a win. With two outs, Richardson hit Austin Perry, Espinal reached on an error, and Christensen walked. Freshman catcher Dakota Kirby hit a high pop fly into the swirling winds above Beach Field and the ball dropped just behind second base allowing two runs to come around to score.
Attleboro (4-2) will get back into Hockomock League play on Monday at Community Field against North Attleboro.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.