By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
QUINCY, Mass. - In the bottom of the sixth in a two run game, Mansfield loaded the bases with no outs for the second consecutive inning. It was looking like the comeback kids were going to strike again. The Hornets have had a knack for scoring runs in the later innings and the stage was set for it to happen once again. But just like that, the momentum changed. After pushing across just one run and bringing the tying run to third, Norwood got the first out with a low, outside pitch for a called strike three. Four pitches later, a grounder up the middle turned into a double play. That momentum carried with the Mustangs as they plated five insurance runs in the top of the seventh and walked away with a 9-3 win for their second straight D1 South Sectional title. “That’s baseball for you,” Mansfield head coach Joe Breen said. “I’m envisioning us taking lead and going and shutting it down in the seventh and the next thing you know we’re chasing six. That’s baseball but our guys fought hard and that’s what they’ve been doing all season and I’m certainly darn proud of them.” Trailing 4-0 in the fifth, Michael Boen led off with a walk, Tanner Haggis followed with a single, Will Kelleher walked and Mike Arnold was hit by a pitch to bring Mansfield’s first run in. After a strikeout, junior Tyrone Pascual hit one deep enough to a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit . Trailing 4-2, Branden Nevius and Charlie DeMassi had back-to-back singles and Michael Boen was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Haggis got his second hit of the night to score Boen and keep the bases loaded with no outs but that would be all the Hornets could get across but the strikeout and double play. In the top half of the seventh, Boen struck out the first two batters but three straight singles, a walk and two errors allowed the Mustangs to create plenty of separation. “We had opportunities but I wish we had a few more of them,” Breen said. “We capitalized on a couple of them and made it a game but we needed a few more and we didn’t them.” Norwood starter Sean Mellen kept Mansfield off-balance through the first four innings. Mellen had seven strikeouts while allowing just two hits. “That’s a pitcher who’s kind of one those wildly effective guys where he throws two balls no where near the strike zone and then comes back with three right on the corner which is tough for hitters to get in a groove,” Breen said. “Our scouting report was to be patient and to capitalize on the strikes he does throw, but when you have a guy that throws that hard and he’s a competitor its tough to make something happen.” Mansfield’s Evan Kershaw was equally impressive on the mound, going 4.2 innings with five strikeouts allowing three earned runs. The Hornets finish the season 17-6 overall and won the Kelley-Rex division of the Hockomock, their first league title since 2007. Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan. Here are today's games.
Baseball D1 South Finals #1 Mansfield, 3 vs. #10 Norwood, 9 - Final Boys Tennis D2 South Finals #2 Sharon, 4 vs. #1 Duxbury, 1 - Final - Sharon wins the D2 South Sectional title. Girls Tennis D1 South Finals #2 Sharon, 1 vs. #1 Brookline, 4 - Final D2 South Finals #4 Foxboro, 3 vs. #3 Hopkinton, 2 - Final - Foxboro won its second consecutive D2 South Sectional title. By Jarett Leonard, HockomockSports.com Contributor
TAUNTON, Mass. – Four defensive assists, two strikeouts and a two-run double in the first three innings alone previewed what would be a busy night for Taunton junior pitcher and leading hitter Aimee Kistner. Kistner drove in three runs at the plate while pitching six innings of one-hit ball in the circle, as Taunton avenged a 2014 first round loss to Notre Dame Academy with a 9-2 win in the D1 South Semifinal on Thursday night. “She was on tonight,” Taunton head coach Dave Lewry said of Kistner. “She was swinging the bat real well and she squared up a couple of balls tonight.” Kistner’s first double came in the third inning as she laced a line drive to left center field that one-hopped the fence, scoring both Kelly Reading and Jaime Brown. “That was the first time we really squared a ball up,’ Lewry said. “I think that really livened everybody up and they said ‘Let's go swing the bats’ and they did.” In the fifth, another Kistner double scored Reading all the way from first base and gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Taunton tacked on three more runs in the inning as a Meghan Navarro sacrifice bunt scored Kistner’s courtesy runner Liana Duarte from third. Kya Enos then singled in Navarro, and Amber Wainwright doubled home Enos. In the sixth, Brown singled in Hailey Medeiros, who ran for Sarah Bagge after she led off the inning with a base hit. Reading scored the ninth Taunton run on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Wade. Katie Van Zandt drove in the third Taunton run of the game, slicing a single to right field that scored Navarro from second. “They have a good lineup with good hitters,” Notre Dame head coach Jack Finn said. “I have no complaints. I don’t mind losing to a good team. Their pitcher was good and she was on tonight.” Kistner allowed just one hit over the course of six innings of work while striking out four batters. Leadoff hitter Kaleigh MacDonald reached on a two-base error to start the fourth inning, but Kistner got out of the inning unscathed with a groundout, strikeout and fly out. A sacrifice fly by Megan Buckley and a double by Hillary Dole accounted for the only Notre Dame runs of the contest in the sixth. Courtney Fisher pitched the seventh inning for Taunton, allowing a leadoff walk but striking out the next three batters, all swinging, to preserve the win. Lewry credited the production from the bottom of the order as a reason for his team’s success so far in the postseason. Seven different Tigers recorded RBIs in the game, and the two that did not, Reading (3-4) and Bagge (2-3), had multiple hits. “We had a lot of hits from the bottom of the order tonight,” Lewry said. “We went through a stretch this year where we weren’t getting that. We were getting it from the first half of our lineup and not the bottom but the bottom seems to have picked it up lately and hopefully we can keep it going for another game and go from there.” Taunton, now 23-2 on the season, advances to its first D1 South Final since 2008 and will face #2 Silver Lake on Saturday at 11:00 AM in Taunton. By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
TAUNTON, Mass. - It was the least likely hero that stepped up and ended the game. Shannon Grindle had been 0-5 with three strikeouts when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning with the winning run standing on second base. It had been unlikely for the Lakers to even be in this position. Silver Lake had trailed 5-0 with just nine outs remaining in the game and gave up an insurance run in the top of the seventh that left them needing two runs to send it to extras. Grindle dug in and most were expecting KP starter Kali Magane to finish off the inning and send the game to the 12th, but the Lakers junior captain got hold of an outside corner pitch and crushed it to right center. KP centerfielder Christa Wagner went racing after it and leaped into the fence in an effort to get to it but it cleared the fence and the fans and ended the game. Silver Lake walked off with an 8-6, 11-inning victory over the Warriors and advanced to the sectional final to “host” Taunton at the Jack Tripp Field on Saturday. “We tried and gave it 100 percent,” said KP coach Norm Beauchemin. “If you told me that we were going to score six runs then just give us the ‘W,’ but unfortunately it didn’t happen today.” The Warriors put the pressure on the Lakers right from the start with leadoff hitter Christa Wagner starting the game with a single off the glove of the third baseman. Maddie O’Gryzek bunted and reached on an error. On a double steal, the ball was thrown into left and Wagner came around to score. Magane followed with a grounder to third but O’Gryzek was chopped down at the plate. It would be the first of two baserunners that KP had thrown out at home. The game was broken open in the top of the third. Again it was Wagner that started the inning off and she reached on an error. O’Gryzek followed with a bunt single with Wagner flying to third and scoring when the ball was thrown away by the catcher. Magane doubled to center to bring in O’Gryzek and would come in to score on a wild pitch. Two batters later, with the bases empty, designated player Caeli Bench ripped a homer to left and it was 5-0 KP. The Warriors looked to have the game firmly in control with Magane battling in the circle. She managed to escape jams in the first and the fourth innings and had eight strikeouts when she toed the rubber for the fifth. That is where things started to spiral. A single, a pop up and a double left two runners in scoring position with one out. Magane walked her counterpart Madi Barone to load the bases and then immediately walked Hannah Johnson to bring in a run. After a strikeout, Magane walked in a second run and then Jen Riordan lined a single that brought in two and cut the lead to just one. “You keep the other team hanging around and it’s coming to come back to bite you sooner or later,” said Beauchemin. In the sixth, KP got a one-out single from Jennifer Hutnyan, who was pinch run for by freshman Sydney Phillips, and then a double to left by her sister, senior captain Casey, but rather than holding the runner at third and keeping two in scoring position with one out, Beauchemin waved Phillips around. The Lakers made a perfect relay and the pinch runner stood no chance at the plate. “They made some nice defensive plays and threw a couple of our kids out at the plate,” explained Beauchemin. “We’re going to challenge and those were strong throws right to the catcher.” With Poirier warming up in the bullpen, Magane tossed a perfect sixth on three grounders. In the top of the seventh, Wagner tripled to the fence in center and scored on a single by O’Gryzek. Beauchemin decided to let Magane try to close out the game. Barone and Johnson each singled to start the inning, but Grindle lined a hard shot to short that Ashley Hession was able to knock down and have the presence of mind to get the lead runner. At that point, Beauchemin brought in Poirier, but the senior captain was clearly not right and walked the only two batters she faced, one of which brought in a run, before KP went right back to Magane. “If [Kali] had struggled in the sixth then Renee was coming in, but she had such a good sixth inning that I felt she at least deserved to come out in the seventh,” said Beuchemin. He added, “Renee had walked only one girl all year, so I had a lot of confidence in her. Unfortunately, she just didn’t have it. She was aiming the ball not even throwing.” Magane’s first pitch on her return was in the dirt and that brought in the tying run and sent it to extras. The Warriors put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the eighth and could not score a run. They would not get another base runner in the game. Meanwhile, the Warriors were flashing the leather, especially Hession, who was putting on a show at short. After a lead-off double in the ninth, Grindle hit a hard shot to Hession who turned and tagged a surprised base runner before firing to first for the double play. In the 10th, she dove towards the circle to snag a soft liner. Brianna Sebio ended the inning with an equally good sliding catch in right to end the inning. “Everybody talks about how bad we are defensively; obviously they don’t go to a lot of our games,” said Beauchemin, who added about Hession, “Spectacular player and she’s a dirt bag too -- loves to get dirty.” In the 11th, Barone singled to center with one out and advanced to second on a ground out. Grindle came up with the winning run at second and with one swing turned a game to forget into one she will always remember. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
TAUNTON, Mass. - The crews were hard at work in the background. Jack Tripp Field was getting a makeover with the playoffs little more than 24 hours away. As a backhoe carried dirt from a mound off the side of the field to fix sinkholes, the Hockomock League MVP took a seat at the picnic table. Taunton senior Kelly Reading had a remarkable regular season. She hit .439 at the top of the Tigers lineup and drove in nine runs while also playing all-star caliber rightfield as Taunton rolled to a 20-2 record and second place in the always competitive Kelley-Rex Division. “I thought it was going to be close,” said Taunton coach Dave Lewry of the MVP vote. “You look at what Kelly has done and I think that she’s contributed as much to our team as those girls did to theirs.” Reading admitted that she was surprised when she found out that she had won the award. She had been a Hockomock League All Star last season, but there were other names (even on her own team) that were more recognizable. “I wasn’t expecting it…I didn’t even know that he had nominated me for it,” she said. “So, it was kind of like wait, really? It was kind of a shock, but it was a really cool experience.” Reading added, “It means a lot. It’s an honor…every coach in the league is really, really nice and it’s a great feeling.” Trophies are nice. They recognize worthy achievements on the field and the contributions of players to their teams, but far more important to Reading’s story was the smile that stretched across her face as she spoke. Kelly Reading is happy. “I feel like things have to get worse to get better,” she explained with wisdom that few teenagers possess, “and my life is an example of that because things got really bad but things just keep getting better for me and I’m really happy with where I’m at.” Family life leads to difficult transition Reading began her high school career in Franklin. She was a member of the Panthers varsity team as a freshman although it would take a few weeks to become a starter. Reading laughed and said that it took Franklin coach Kate Fallon “open[ing] my eyes a little bit” and making her realize there were still aspects of her game that needed work before she could take over in center. She was a starter her entire sophomore season and already had gotten college looks and committed to Div. III Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On the field, everything was going well and she was a popular student that participated in numerous activities at the high school. It seemed like a typically perfect high school life, except for one detail. “She’s a good kid and when she played for me unfortunately there were obstacles,” said Fallon. “It was clear that there was something wrong. When I had her she was sad and not a confident kid and now she is.” Reading was adopted as a young child by a family that could not have kids. It was not a welcoming environment. It was a home filled with anger and abuse. Her father screamed at her and she felt pressured to do well in school and on the softball field just to avoid the torrents of abuse that would be directed towards her. Her older sister had moved to a group home for young adults with special needs several years before Reading was at Franklin High and that left her alone to deal with the situation at home. “Freshman and sophomore year was really bad with depression and anxiety and stuff like that,” said Reading, “and coming into my junior year my grades started slipping because I was focused more on myself than my grades because I couldn’t handle it.” As she sat at the field explaining her past, Reading waved off any suggestion that she can avoid speaking about anything that makes her uncomfortable. She insisted, “I’m an open book.” She reflected, “It was like everything was falling apart and it was really difficult for me to focus on my grades and my friends because I had so much going on internally and with my parents.” In October of her junior year, Reading was removed from her home and placed into the foster system. She went to live with a friend for a little while, but needed a stable home. Meanwhile, in a last act of petty rage, her father destroyed all that she owned. The Franklin community rallied behind her and provided her with so many clothes that she marveled, “I know have an over-surplus.” Two months after being placed in the foster system, Reading was moved to Taunton to live with the Brown family. Taunton High Provides a Clean Slate Switching schools and homes is never easy, but particularly in the middle of the junior year of high school. This is the time when colleges are really examining your grades, while social groups are well established and kids have found their niche. Reading’s move to Taunton posed a series of problems at first, including a feeling of isolation from the student body, a drop in her GPA due to several credits not transferring over from Franklin High, a new school to navigate, and a new family dynamic that was far more welcoming but posed several logistical problems as well. “Coming into a family with one bathroom and three kids is a crazy experience,” she joked. Even softball was a concern, as she had been a starter for Franklin but was now coming into a successful team with experienced players that had set roles. How would she fit in? As soon as she told her former coach that she was moving, Fallon got on the phone to speak with Lewry and explain the situation. The Taunton coach reached out and explained that Reading was part of his plans for the spring. “Kate reached out to me because I didn’t know the kid was coming,” said Lewry, “and she reached out to me and gave me some of the background and told me what a great kid she was and of course she was really jealous that she was coming here.” Softball turned out to be a refuge for Reading. It was the place that she could get away from the struggles in school and just play the game that she loved. Unlike her home in Franklin, there was nothing but support from home in Taunton and she started to play for herself rather than to avoid the screams of her father. Reading said, “I knew some of the girls from travel and they kind of took me in and made me part of their family. Softball honestly is what grounded me…coming into March with the softball team it was a space to get away from school and get away from family issues.” “It’s easier for me to do well for myself than for someone else and I think that gives me more motivation and drive to do well because I’m doing it for me not my dad. I think it helps me relax and focus on my game and not just my life.” The team also welcomed Reading with open arms. She credited Meghan Navarro, a junior captain this season, with bringing her out of her shell and telling her that she can talk about anything. She found friends on the field, which made things easier in school as well. Reading was so well accepted that only six months after coming to Taunton High, she was a unanimous choice as captain for this season. The smile is the important part. Reading has now found peace and a home that is stable and welcoming and with it has come happiness. The past is both far away and also right at the surface. She has not seen her parents since a court date in January and has no contact with them, but those experiences provide the impetus for improvement. Having seen the worst, Reading can now accept the good things in life. “She has a maturity that you very seldom see in high school kids,” said Lewry. “It may be a result of all that she’s been through, I don’t know, but she’s just a very mature kid, has a really good outlook on things and was accepted as a leader pretty much from the start by these kids.” Fallon has remained close with Reading and honored her with a special senior night when Taunton visited Franklin this spring. She added, “I’m glad that she spoke up when she did. She’s generally happy and she’s living the life that every teenager should live. She can let the small crap go and focus on softball, love softball, love life.” “If she had stayed at Franklin I don’t think she would’ve become the person that she is; she needed a fresh start.” Becoming a Role Model There is no desire for sympathy when Reading tells her story. She called herself “blessed” for having dealt with what she has and being able to adapt to her changing circumstances. She was recently selected to represent Massachusetts in the prestigious Distinguished Young Women Scholarship program and will spend several weeks in Alabama working on getting scholarships for school. “Everyone looks at you and says 'Wow you’ve been through a lot,' but I wouldn’t have chosen to live my life any other way. What I’ve gone through has made me who I am. It’s made me stronger and if I can get through that then you guys can get through a practice,” said Reading. “I think a lot of motivation for doing well at practice and doing well in school is to prove to my dad that I’m better than what he made me into. I don’t want to be like him…and people see that and they look up to you and it’s kind of like look what you’ve gone through and what you can be.” None of this would have been possible without the move to Taunton and the support of the Brown family, including eighth grader Jaime Brown who is Taunton’s starting third baseman and Reading’s new sister. “They’ve given me an actual family and they’ve given me a bed to go home to at night and I can relax and love them rather than being uptight and stressed out all the time.” Rather than worrying about what she might find when she gets home, Reading was focused on the playoff game with Weymouth that would take place the next night and the tough scrimmage with Case from the day before. She felt that the Tigers had gotten a wake-up call and would be ready to answer the bell on Friday. She stood up, smiled, and joined her team for practice happy with where she is and where she is headed. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
MEDFIELD, Mass. - Foxboro players never stopped running even as the clock was winding down late in the second half. Trailing Medfield throughout, Foxboro kept sending players to double team and kept the top seed working hard to run out the clock. It was a mentality that Foxboro coach Brittany Sherry credited for getting the Warriors to the Div. 2 East semifinal in the first place, which is the furthest that the Foxboro program has ever gone. “They never gave up, they never put their heads down, they kept meeting as a group after the other team scored or after we scored,” she explained. “They never lost the fight. I’m super proud of what they accomplished and they had a great season.” Medfield pulled away early and never took the foot off the gas in the second half to come away with the 13-6 victory that sends it back to the sectional final. The home team dominated the draw controls winning 8-10 in the first half and 9-11 in the second. After Medfield jumped into a 1-0 lead inside the first minute, Foxboro responded with a goal by freshman Jaclyn Brion, one of six freshmen that Sherry called up to the squad this season. Medfield’s pressure paid off and it scored the next five goals of the half. Foxboro goalie Melissa Lynch did her best to keep the Warriors in the game. The junior made six of her eight saves in the first half and stymied several free position chances for Medfield. “If we were to go over to the sideline she would probably think she had a horrible game, but she keeps us in it every game,” said Sherry. “She’s a great goalie and I’m really fortunate to have her back again next year.” Foxboro had a chance to get back into the game late in the first half. With 7:14 remaining, senior Morgan Ames scored from a free position to make it 6-2, but two minutes later Medfield goalie Elise Johnson read her shot and blocked it. Medfield’s Lauren Tschirch (four goals) would add one before the break. Tschirch was dominant on the draws and also scored the first two goals of the second half to continue building separation. Medfield would build its lead to as many as eight goals twice in the second half and without winning draws it was very difficult for Foxboro to come back. Sherry said, “The girl out there is really good on the draw and if you win the draw then you win the game. If they get too big of a lead, lacrosse is game without a shot clock so they can hold it as long as they really want.” Sophomore Lauren Flahive scored to make it 10-3 and senior Siobhain Nolan added a free position goal to cut the lead to six, but Medfield answered back with two of its own. Nolan got her second and then Marybeth Sweeney scooped up a lost ball and scored to make it 12-6 with 6:54 to go, but Medfield won back possession and ran out the clock. After the game, Sherry reflected on a season that started with lots of question marks. She said, “Our first scrimmage against Dover-Sherborn I had the captains come over and ask are we going to stink this year? It’s just kind of a group of misfits.” She added, “Everyone just kind of took on their job and their role and they did really well and for a group of misfits we made it this far and it’s the furthest that the program’s ever gone.” Sherry is in her fourth year as Foxboro coach, so this year’s group of four seniors has a unique connection with their coach because of the shared achievements in their careers. Sherry said, “All these accomplishments…we’ve all experienced it together with these four seniors. To do it with them it was awesome; I am really going to miss this group.” Expectations remain high for a program that continues to reach new heights each season. After making it to the semifinals this spring, Sherry has a clear goal in mind for next year. “Every year we kept going further, further, further, so I think that means next year we’re going to the finals.” Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
FRANKLIN, Mass. - The run is over for the Franklin boys’ lacrosse team. It has been a historic season with the Panthers going further than any team in the program’s history, but on Tuesday night Catholic Memorial shut down the Franklin offense and battled back in the fourth quarter to end the Panthers season in the semifinal, 7-6. “We tried to force some issues and made some mistakes but credit to CM because they forced us into some of those bad decisions,” said Franklin coach Lou Verrochi. “Everything is a little bit tighter at this level and this stage of the season.” CM jumped out to a 1-0 lead with 2:19 left in the first quarter, but Franklin responded, as they had in the previous round, with two quick goals in the second. Freshman Eric Civetti tied the game just 23 seconds into the quarter off an assist from Kyle Lundgren and then Civetti picked up an assist on a goal by Austin Kent. Civetti then provided a pair of highlight reel plays. First, he extended the lead to 3-1 with a goal as he was falling down into the middle of the CM defense. After CM scored to cut the lead to one, Civetti provided the pass of the season with a behind the back look from the corner of the cage across the crease to a wide open Justin Miller. The lead would not last to halftime. The Knights scored twice in the final minute of the second quarter, including a goal by Tyler Bogart with just six seconds on the clock. Bogart, a UMass-commit and CM’s top attacker, was limited to just two goals in the game in a one-on-one battle with senior Alec Borkowski that the Franklin defender won most of the night. “Alec is unbelievable,” said Verrocxhi. “That’s one of the best attack men in the state and he just shut him down. One of the goals wasn’t even Alec’s fault, I think Sean Lockhart had switched off on him.” Cosolito, who scored a hat trick for CM including the winner in the fourth quarter, said, “Their defense was great. No. 3 on their team (Alec Borkowski), I’ve never seen a kid take the ball away from people so many times.” The CM defense was equally stout and Vail only managed one shot off the crossbar in the third quarter. After six goals against Xaverian in the quarters, the Hockomock MVP was held scoreless by Kam Gingras. Verrochi explained, “We just didn’t generate any offense and hats off to them because I think they played us really tough defensively. They didn’t let Jack get unwound and I thought No. 10 (Kam Gingras) played an excellent game against him.” Kent gave Franklin the lead in the third quarter, but the Panthers missed out on several opportunities with a man-up to try and extend the lead. Franklin was 0-4 on man-ups in the second half. In the fourth, CM had a chance to tie very early on when D.J. Shea (nine saves) had his clearance intercepted but the Knights missed a wide open net. After two chances with a man-up, Franklin surrendered the lead on two goal in little more than a minute. The Panthers finally got something on offense shortly after giving up the lead when Lundgren stepped into space and unleashed a rip that bounced in to make it 6-6. With 2:45 left in the game, Cosolito made it a hat trick when he spun past his man at the post and scored from close-range. He said, “We all knew it was going to be a scrappy goal that’s what it ended up being at the end.” CM coach Kevin Lynch added, “We got some good scouts on them and the scout was that they take the ball away a lot and make it difficult to run our offense and do what we want to do. We really had to work hard for everything that we got tonight. They were all scrappy, ugly goals, but we’ll take them.” There was obvious disappointment on the Franklin bench after the game, but the Panthers had made history just getting to this round and taking CM to the wire was a sign of just where the program now stands. “I hope the underclassmen understand what they have to do in the offseason to prepare for next year and we can have another run like this,” said Verrochi. “It’s disappointing and we would have loved to go to the final but…It was an excellent year.” The packed house at Pisini Field included a number of youth players and Verrochi is hopeful that watching the Panthers at this stage of the tournament will encourage more talent to come through the program. He said, “The youth coaches, everybody in the town, are behind us. I think the younger kids watching the game get turned on by it and it generates some interest from those kids.” Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. Here are today's games.
Softball D1 South Semifinals #4 Taunton, 9 vs. #9 Notre Dame Academy, 2 - Final #9 King Philip, 6 vs. #2 Silver Lake, 8 - Final (11 innings) By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
FRANKLIN, Mass. - It is not often that a playoff game comes down to the officials pulling an actual rule book out of a bag under the scorer’s table. Not many tournament fates are decided on the minutiae of the codes of the game but with six seconds remaining in Tuesday’s Div. 1 East semifinal that is exactly what sent the game to overtime. Franklin had taken a 7-6 lead on a free position goal by sophomore Caroline Lounsbury with just 29 second left to play and was in position to return to the sectional final, but with only six seconds on the clock Lincoln-Sudbury’s Brianna Stokes answered with a free position goal of her own. That is when the controversy began. The Panthers immediately called for a stick check on Stokes, who reached up and adjusted the strings on her stick. That is an automatic no goal, if it happened after the refs had asked to check the stick, and the refs initially waved off the goal and Franklin appeared to have won. After huddling on the field for a few minutes and speaking with both coaches, the officials marched to the scorer’s table and pored over the MIAA rule book. After a few minutes of deliberation, the officials said that the adjustment of the strings was before being asked and that the goal stood sending the teams to two 3-minute overtime periods. “It came down to wording basically,” said Franklin coach Kristin Igoe. “They said that she adjusted her strings before the ref asked for her stick. So, it came down to wording. Originally the ref said no goal, but then they went to the rule book and checked on that word…it’s tough.” Franklin took the lead in the first overtime period on a free position goal by sophomore Kendall Reardon, but again L-S found the answering goal this time with 16 seconds remaining in the period. In the second overtime, Franklin won the draw and L-S received a yellow card. With the player advantage, Franklin decided to hold the ball and try for the last shot and the win. Igoe explained, “We definitely wanted to take the last shot at that point because we had the ball and they had the yellow card, so it’s easy to run out the two minutes. We really just wanted that last shot but it didn’t work out.” As the clock wound down, the ball was forced into the middle and L-S intercepted and started up field. Junior Katherine Malone, who also scored a hat trick in regulation, found Stokes with just five seconds left to give the Warriors a 9-8 victory that sends them into the final. “I think everyone is a little disappointed,” said Igoe, “and I think that shows where are program is and we expect to win that game, but it’s sports sometimes the outcome you want doesn’t happen.” Franklin started the game very well, jumping out to a 5-2 lead and winning six of the first seven draw controls. Emily Jeffries, the Hockomock MVP, opened the scoring from a free position and then found Reardon to make it 2-0. After a pair of L-S goals tied the game, Emily Spath played a part in three straight goals to give the Panthers back the lead. She assisted on goals by Kenzie Pleshaw and Julia Jette and then cut into the middle and finished one herself. Igoe said, “I think our girls just came out really hard. The draw was going to the girls in the circle and they just worked really hard and wanted it more in the beginning. That was just hustle.” A Pleshaw goal just before halftime gave the Panthers a 6-4 lead at the break. In the second half, both teams had long spells of possession with little to show for it. Finally, with 13:16 left, L-S got a goal from Malone to cut the lead to one and two minutes later freshman Izzy Ross beat her defender to tie the game at 6-6. L-S had a long offensive possession late in the second half, but junior goalie Dani Lonati came through with four of her nine saves to help keep the Panthers level. With the clock winding down, Franklin got the ball back and thought that maybe they had won the game on Lounsbury’s free position until controversy ensued. “Dani Lonati had like four saves in a row and they would just keep getting the ball back and she came up with big saves,” said Igoe. “At the end we didn’t run what we wanted to run, but just kind of forced it in. It could have gone either way.” The program continues to develop into perennially one of the best in the state and Igoe will be looking forward to a strong group of returning players to try and take the Panthers back to a sectional championship. “Our seniors have done so much and we’re really thankful for all that they’ve done for us, but I think this team is hungry,” said Igoe. “I told them after the game that everyone needs to go home and work on their stick work because we just had too many turnovers and we could have won if we took better care of the ball.” Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. Here are today's games.
Baseball D1 South Semifinal #4 Franklin, 3 vs. #1 Mansfield, 10 - Final - Mansfield senior Branden Nevius hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to spark the Hornets' offense. Tanner Haggis went 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, Eddy Krikorian was 2-2 with an RBI, Matt Carafa went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Charlie DeMassi had two hits and a run scored. Sophomore Nolan Dousa got the win on the mound for Mansfield. Franklin's Nick Burgos went 3-4 with two RBI, Tyler Gomes had a solo home run and Kyle Skidmore and Ben Chaffee each had a hit and a run scored. Girls Lacrosse D2 East Semifinal #4 Foxboro, 6 @ #1 Medfield, 13 - Final Boys Tennis D2 South Semifinal #6 Foxboro, 0 @ #2 Sharon, 5 - Final Girls Tennis D1 South Semifinal #3 North Attleboro, 2 @ #2 Sharon, 3 - Final D2 South Semifinal #4 Foxboro, 3 @ #1 Scituate, 2 - Final Here are today's games.
Boys Lacrosse D1 South Semifinal #4 Franklin, 6 vs. #8 Catholic Memorial, 7 - Final Girls Lacrosse D1 East Semifinal #3 Franklin, 8 vs. #7 Lincoln-Sudbury, 9 - Final (2OT) By Jarett Leonard, HockomockSports.com Contributor
TAUNTON, Mass. – A half-inning after surrendering a two run lead, Walpole rebounded with a two runs in the top of the seventh inning to capture a 4-2 win and eliminate Taunton from the postseason. “It was a great game,” Taunton head coach Jeff Sylvia said. “In the tournament, you can’t make mistakes and we made a couple mistakes and they took advantage of each one. We preached that all week, and credit goes to Walpole, they did a great job.” Andrew Moore delivered what turned out to be the game-winning hit in the top of the seventh inning, a triple to right center field that scored Drew Naismith from first base. Jack Levanchy drove in Moore from third with a single up the middle. “We left a curveball up,” Sylvia said. “[Moore] did his job. A lot of the balls that they struck well were belt high or higher. Against good teams, you can’t make mistakes, and they took advantage of every mistake we made.” Kevin Quinn opened the scoring for Walpole in the fourth inning, a two-run home run that rode the wind over the left center field fence. “The wind helped, but that ball was gone off the bat,” Sylvia said. “[Quinn] definitely put a charge into that. All those big hits, the kids got good wood on them. I thought the kids squared those up pretty well.” Taunton then came back with a two run sixth inning to tie the score at the time. With two outs in the inning, Dylan Poillucci and Sam Moor put together a pair of doubles for the first run. Jared Jorge then beat out an infield single with a slide into first base to put runners on the corners, and Moor scored the second Tiger run on a throwing error. “Coming back, the resiliency down 2-0 in the sixth when the kid was dealing and we got two up there with two outs, that was huge for us,” Sylvia said. “I’m proud of them.” That was all the Taunton offense could muster off of Walpole starter James Newman, though. He pitched six and a third innings, allowing just one earned run on seven hits while striking out five. Newman worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the second inning when the Rebel defense doubled up a runner on a fly out. In the fourth inning, Taunton had runners on first and second and one out before Walpole turned another inning-ending double play. “Their pitcher pitched great, they got some really big hits and we never really made the adjustment until that sixth inning,” Sylvia said. “They were fundamentally sound and took advantage of the situation. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We played well and we just ran into a tough team.” Tigers’ starter Luke Figueira also pitched well, tossing all seven innings while scattering five hits and striking out eight. Taunton had not played since May 29 while Walpole defeated Barnstable 2-0 in the Preliminary Round on June 4. Still, Sylvia did not attribute the loss to the extended break. “No excuses,” Sylvia said. “We prepared every day. We went through everything we needed to do, but we ran into a buzz saw. Defensively, I thought we played very well. I thought Luke pitched very well. We’ve had an excellent season.” Taunton finishes the season 14-8 overall while Walpole advances to the D1 South Semifinal and will face #10 Norwood. By Lance Reynolds, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Mansfield High baseball team certainly proved why they were merited with the number one seed in the D1 South quarterfinal on Monday afternoon against eighth-seeded Wellesley. Hosting their first playoff game in the past six years, the Hornets seniors responded each time to numerous Raider comeback efforts in an 8-5 victory – advancing Mansfield to the semifinals to face off against Hockomock rival Franklin. “That’s a group of senior leaders right there that doesn’t let anyone fall behind,” Mansfield head coach Joe Breen said. “When we struggle, those nine guys come in and pick us up whether it’s on the bench or on the field or at the plate. Those guys are our leaders and let us do our thing.” After Wellesley rallied to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the fifth, the Hornets answered right back with the game’s differentiating three runs in the bottom half. Leading off the bottom of the fifth, senior Jared Collins drew a walk and then senior Eddie Krikorian came on to pinch run for Collins. A single to right off junior Tyrone Pascual’s bat advanced Krikorian to third and senior Matt Carafa followed with a fielder’s choice, plating Krikorian which turned out to be the game winning run. Senior Branden Nevius added Mansfield’s insurance runs as the second baseman doubled off the left field wall to drive in Carafa and then got around the tag at the plate on a single from Mike Boen singled to make it 8-5. “We knew that Wellesley was a great team coming in and we watched them play against Catholic Memorial on Thursday on our off day. It just speaks volumes of our team – every time that Wellesley gave us a fight, we came back and responded,” Breen said. “It was certainly the difference in today’s game, how we responded to the adversity and the pressure that Wellesley gave us.” After allowing Wellesley to strike for four runs to tie the score in the top of the fifth, Breen knew that his ace Evan Kershaw wanted to redeem himself by the throwing the final two innings to finish a complete game. Kershaw did just that as the senior threw scoreless sixth and seventh innings to let the Hornets advance. Kershaw allowed all five runs while giving up nine hits and striking out four Raider batters. “We have a pretty darn good closer but I knew with the look on Kershaw’s face after the fifth inning that he wanted the ball again and wanted to close out the game,” Breen said. “He certainly earned the right to do so. He’s our guy, he’s been doing it all season and he’s a senior. Again, every start that he has had this year we have had the chance to win and that was again obviously true today.” Wellesley attacked Kershaw for four runs on five hits in the top of the fifth to come back and even the score. Jack Tishman started things for the Raiders with a leadoff single then pinch hitter Ghiho Ghim drilled a double to right center putting runners at second and third. Jack Dolan drove in the second and third runs on a double to left. Peter Stabnick singled to center plating Dolan and the Wellesley was all of a sudden down just one run. One batter later, the Raiders saw themselves tie the score when Brad Marchetti delivered the fifth run on Wellesley’s third double of the inning. Kershaw settled down shortly and recorded three outs consecutively to get out of the inning. The Hornets showed no signs of rust after not playing in the past ten days as they scored four of their eight runs in the first three innings and banged out 11 hits. Boen led Mansfield’s offense with three hits while scoring twice while Haggis went 2-3 with two runs scored, Will Kelleher had two hits and an RBI and run, and Mike Arnold also had two hits while driving in two. “It certainly makes you a little nervous never knowing what you will get out there,” Breen said of not playing in ten days. “We knew we were going to be fresh and we had a great day of practice yesterday, I was confident that these guys would be fired up and ready to rock.” In the bottom of the first, cleanup hitter Mike Arnold drove in Boen and Haggis for the first two runs on a deep double to the left center gap. After Wellesley struck through with their first run in the top of the third, Mansfield answered right back with another two runs in the bottom frame. Haggis led off with a walk and Kelleher followed drilled a lining triple to the centerfield corner creating a two run lead at 3-1. After Arnold was hit by a pitch, Pascual was induced into a 4-6 fielders’ choice bringing in Kelleher for the fourth run. The Hornets created their four run cushion in the following inning when their offense generated three hits. Nevius led off with an infield single but got picked off for the first out. After Charlie DeMassi popped out, Boen reached on an infield single to short then stole second. Haggis then singled to shallow right bringing in Boen who slid just under the tag at the plate for the fifth run and a 5-1 lead going into the top of the fifth. “Like I said, we have a great group of seniors and they were psyched to get a home game here for one more time,” Breen said. “We played a lot of games away the last half of the season so it was certainly great to get them back out there and for them to get the win.” Mansfield (16-5) will take on Franklin this week in the D1 South Semifinals on Wednesday at Adams Field in Quincy at 4:00. By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
BRAINTREE, Mass. - In a tie game and with two outs in the fourth inning, Mansfield senior Branden Nevius picked a perfect time for his first career home run. Nevius smoked a 3-2 fastball over the wall in left field for a three-run home run to put the Hornets up 4-1, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 10-3 win over Franklin in the D1 South Sectional Semifinals. Trailing by a run entering the fourth inning, Jared Collins got things going with a two-out ground rule double. Tyrone Pascual was hit by a pitch in the next at bat and senior Matt Carafe followed with a single up the middle just out of the reach of both middle infielders to tie the game at one. With runners on the corners, Nevius was thinking just one thing. “I just tried to hit the ball hard somewhere,” Nevius said. “I just tried to stay calm out there. Our team set us up with some great momentum and I just went with it. Every at bat I go up with the same approach. I just try to hit a line drive to the gap and I just got a good piece of that one.” The home run proved to be the difference but Mansfield’s offense continued to produce from that point. The Hornets had 13 hits on the day with 11 of them coming in the fourth inning or later. “Yeah we certainly had a good day at the plate,” Mansfield first year head coach Joe Breen said. “Our fellas have been doing that for a good amount of the second half of the season. We’ve had some times where we struggled early and then we kind of get that second or third time around against the pitcher and we get it going.” It was the second straight game Nevius had gotten a good piece of the ball, having hit one off the fence in Mansfield’s playoff opening win over Wellesley on Monday. “He hit a ball off the fence last game and I’m not sure where that came from,” Breen said. “He’s hitting the ball well. He struggled at the end of the season so we had to drop him from the two to the eight spot and I think he got a little angry at me and he’s been hitting the ball pretty well the last couple of games so I’ll take it.” Mansfield sophomore Nolan Dousa picked up his second win of the season against the Panthers. In his third game starting against Franklin, Dousa tossed 5.1 innings, scattering six hits with one strikeout and didn’t issue a walk. “He got the ball game two of the season against Franklin and they roughed him up,” Breen said. “Then he came back later in the season with a chance to get back at them and we beat them 9-0. He’s only a sophomore but he pitches like a senior captain. He gave up that home run early in the game and most sophomores are going to crumble at that point but he saw it as a challenge and went back out there and battled for his team.” Franklin took the lead in the second inning when sophomore DH Tyler Gomes hit a solo shot over the left center field fence, but the Panthers couldn’t find a way back after Nevius’ home run. In the top of the fifth, senior third baseman Ben Chaffee connected for a one out single and advanced to third after a base hit from junior Alex Bissanti. Catcher Nick Burgos then got the third hit of the inning, knocking in Chaffee to cut it to 4-2. But Mansfield had a quick response in the bottom half of the inning. A lead off single from Tanner Haggis forced Franklin to replace starting pitcher Anthony Chaiton with Kyle Skidmore. After Skidmore got the first out, Mansfield senior Mike Arnold laced a double into center to plate Haggis. Arnold was called out on appeal for missing first and Skidmore induced a ground out to get out of the inning. With Mansfield up 5-2, the Hornets put the game away with a big sixth inning, sending nine batters to the plate. Nevius drew a one out walk and moved to second on an infield single from Charlie DeMassi, who had a superb day in centerfield. A single from Michael Boen loaded the bases for Haggis, who hit one back up the middle. A throwing error trying to get Nevius at home brought home two runs. Will Kelleher and Arnold then each drove in a run in back to back at bats before a double from Eddy Krikorian capped Mansfield’s scoring “In terms of the game, that’s baseball,” Franklin head coach Zach Brown said. “Unfortunately in those critical moments that can swing the game on way or another, they were able to make some plays and make some pitches. Defensively they were really strong today.” Franklin put together a short rally in the top of the seventh as Burgos got his second RBI of the day by knocking in Skidmore, who led off with a single, but Mansfield’s Boen picked up the save by getting a called strike three to end the game. After splitting the season series with a win each, Mansfield finishes with the edge with the win. “Franklin’s just a darn good team,” Breen said. “You know what you’re going to get from them. They don’t beat themselves and as you can see from that last inning, nothing is going to be easy with them. They certainly didn’t roll over and that’s a credit to Coach Brown and his seniors.” Franklin will graduate 10 seniors, eight of which either started or made an appearance in the game against the Hornets. “I can’t say enough about our seniors,” Brown said. “We have 10 of them and they’ve each contributed to a special year for us in a lot of different ways. It will be a group that I will remember for a very long time and only fondly. Mansfield’s a great team, they won our league for a reason. They are really well coached and we wish them the best.” Franklin finishes 16-8, snapping a nine game win streak. Mansfield advances to the D1 South Sectional Finals to take on #10 Norwood at Friday at 7:00 at Adams Field in Quincy. Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan. Here are today's games.
Baseball D1 South #1 Mansfield, 8 vs. #9 Wellesley, 5 - Final #3 Taunton, 2 vs. #6 Walpole, 4 - Final - Sam Moor had a pair of doubles for the Tigers and knocked in a run and Dylan Poillucci also had a double. Luke Figueira struck out eight in a complete game effort, scattering five hits. #4 Franklin, 7 vs #5 Brookline, 6 - Final - Reliever Kyle Wardrop got the win for the Panthers, throwing 2.2 innings of hitless baseball and striking out four. Junior Nick Santucci went 2-4 with two RBI, a double and a run scored, Anthony Chaiton went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Zane Byrne had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI, Ben Chaffee and Andrew Parent (3-3) each scored two runs and Nick Burgos had an RBI and a run scored. D2 South #7 Oliver Ames, 5 @ #2 Middleboro, 6 - Final (8 innings) - Josh Minuskin's two-run home run put Oliver Ames 4-1 in the top of the fourth but second-seeded Middleboro rallied back for the win in the 8th inning. In the top of the seventh, Nolan Edwards' two-out base hit scored Alex Geba to tie the game but the Sachems walked off with the win in the bottom of the 8th. Boys Tennis D1 South #12 Mansfield, 1 vs. #13 Framingham, 4 - Final D2 South #2 Sharon, 5 vs. #7 Dighton-Rehoboth, 0 - Final #6 Foxboro, 3 vs. #14 Walpole, 2 - Final Girls Tennis D1 South #3 North Attleboro, 5 vs. #11 Natick, 0 - Final #7 Franklin, 1 @ #2 Sharon, 4 - Final D2 South #4 Foxboro, 3 vs. #5 Hingham, 2 - Final Click HERE for photo gallery from the game.
By Josh Perry, Managing Editor FRANKLIN, Mass. - With Xaverian storming back in the third quarter of Saturday’s Div. 1 South quarterfinal at Pisini Field and suddenly in control of momentum, Franklin coach Lou Verrochi gathered his team and tried to settle it down. He looked at his players and asked them who would step up and score the next goal to stem the tide and get the Panther the win. There was no surprise that it would be senior Jack Vail. Three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Hockomock League MVP scored a highlight-reel goal that put the Panthers back up three and ended the Xaverian comeback. With the ball on the left of the goal and with towering defender Joe Gaziano on his back, Vail made a hard fake to the top of the defense that put the pole back on his heels and allowed space for a spin move into the middle. “It was huge; we needed that one,” said senior Alec Borkowski. “Coach called a timeout and said this is it, this is what we’ve been working for, no team has ever gone past the second round, and this is it for us.” Vail added another goal on a man-up rocket into the corner off an assist by Austin Kent with 7:02 remaining in the game, his sixth goal on the night and fifth in the second half, which put the Panthers up four and essentially sealed the deal on a 10-7 victory that sends Franklin (17-3) to its first ever sectional semifinal. “He’s a stud,” said Verrochi. “If he doesn’t make All-American it’s a travesty. He’s been that way for a couple years now and he was just huge. That was their best defender and he just took him to school I thought.” When asked what was working so well for the offense on Saturday, Vail explained, “We knew where to attack the poles and we knew they like to slide quick on the ball so we knew those feeds would be open, but also we knew that if we beat our guy and no one came to finish it around the corner.” Xaverian took a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the start of the game was dominated by the defensive efforts from both teams. Franklin made a point of face-guarding senior middie Will McCarthy with Joe Bourque to not allow him to touch the ball and put Borkowski on sophomore Jared Grier, who had a big game in the first round against Wellesley. “We shut him off,” said Verrochi about McCarthy. “Joey Bourque is a warrior; there’s no quit in this kid at all. Practice sessions, games, you name it, and that kid is going to be there.” Mike Sullivan, Matt Pleshaw, and Sean Lockhart kept an eye on Sean Sperzel behind the cage and were in constant support if someone got beat. When asked if this was the best the defense had played this year, Borkowski responded, “This is the pinnacle.” He added, “Earlier this year, we were playing a little more 1-on-1 and just individual defense, not very good slides. Now we’re taking are 1-on-1 skills into our team defense and it’s meshing together well.” Franklin scored two goal in 13 seconds to get back into the game. The first was started by the defense with Lockhart creating a turnover, chasing down the loose ball and then feeding Justin Miller alone next to goal. Off a win at the “X,” Kent ripped one past Xaverian’s star goalie Michael Toomey to make it 2-2. After Xaverian got back in front, Franklin took control with six straight goals either side of halftime. Vail created the first with a pass across the crease to freshman Eric Civetti to tie the game and then in transition Civetti fed Vail for his first and Franklin’s first lead. Senior midfielder Kyle Lundgren created the fifth with a one-handed, leaping interception of a clearance. The ball was played to Kent who picked out Jared Trainor alone in the middle to make it 5-3 at the break. Little more than a minute into the third and Sullivan showed the positive side to his emotional game when he went flying towards the far sideline and dove to knock a ball forward and keep it from going out of play. It found Vail with tons of space and he raced forward to score. “That was absolutely huge and that’s then type of hustle that wins games,” said Verrochi. “When he’s on his game, I think he’s the best pole in the state. He’s really dynamic.” Vail was in a groove and again found time and space in transition to rifle in a shot to the corner that made it 7-3 and he added another with a dodge from behind the cage to his left hand. Just when it seemed as though the game was won, Xaverian showed resiliency to get back into it. Peter Thorbahn scored with a dodge to the left alley and shortly after McCarthy got free in transition for the first time in the game. Thorbahn then scored his fourth of the game after beating a double team to cut the lead to 8-6. There were flashbacks to the Panthers meeting with BC High where Franklin fell apart in the second half, but they made sure that it would not happen again. “We mentioned it at halftime that we couldn’t afford to let up,” said Verrochi, “and we came out and responded and went up by five I think then they called a timeout and broke us down a little bit and the kids just rallied back.” This time, the Panthers turned to Vail and the MVP put together the plays to wrap up what Verrochi called the “biggest win that the program has ever had.” Vail said, “They were definitely making a comeback in that third quarter and once we decided to put in more goals we started to come back and that was definitely a big momentum shift for us.” Despite a late goal by Sperzel, the Panthers hung on and advanced past the second round for the first time. When asked about his comment about being the program’s biggest win, Verrochi answered, “It definitely is. We’ve never gone this far in the tournament, so to reach this point is just huge.” Franklin (17-3) will host No. 8 seed Catholic Memorial on Tuesday. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. Below are the Hockomock results from the MIAA All State Track and Field meet held at Fitchburg State University on Saturday.
By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
NORTH EASTON, Mass. - In his last two starts, Oliver Ames lefty Brendan Welch allowed just two earned runs in 15 innings of work with 24 strikeouts. He was even better on Saturday, pacing the Tigers in a 12-0 rout over 10th-seeded Hingham in the opening game for both teams in the D2 South Sectional. Welch allowed just three hits in another complete game effort, striking out seven without issuing a walk and never allowed a Hingham base-runner to advance past second base. “We just tried to get Brendan to minimize his pitches and he had seven strikeouts and they only had three hits,” Oliver Ames head coach Leo Duggan said. “I thought he did a great job, he was very dominating out there. Then we finally out together some hits.” As Duggan mentioned, the Tigers got hits — and they got plenty of them. OA had 14 hits collectively with their three, four, five and six hitters combining for 11 of them. The Tigers scored two runs in the second inning, four runs in the third, and then two more in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. In the first round of the playoffs, games are often much closer as nerves can get the best of players. Duggan credited Oliver Ames’ final regular season game against Stoughton - a game in which the Black Knights needed to win to get into the playoffs - as a good preparation game for Saturday’s game against Hingham. OA rallied to tie the game in the seventh and then rallied again in the eighth to get he win over Stoughton. “Usually the first tournament game is a nail biter but we had that with Stoughton,” Duggan said. “I think that prepared the kids and I thought they were relaxed and that was probably one of our better hitting performances. And I think we made one mistake defensively but other than that we played pretty well.” After both teams went quietly in the first, Oliver Ames’ lower half of the batting order got things going in the second. Josh Minuskin reached on a fielder’s choice and a two-out single from John McMillan put runners on first and second with two outs. Larry Kelley, hitting in the nine spot, roped one into left to bring Minuskin home. A base-hit from Mike Ferrara, his 38th hit of the season, brought McMillan home from second to make it 2-0. “The big thing in the tournament, when you have a good run, is the people in the bottom of the order help too,” Duggan said. Welch struck out two in the top of the third setting up the Tigers for their biggest inning of the day at the plate. Ryan Adams led off with a single, Chris Romero was hit by a pitch and a deep single to left from Welch loaded the bases. Senior Alex Geba then ripped a shot into deep left center - arguably a home run at another park - that continued to roll to clear the bases for a three run triple. In the next at bat, Nolan Edwards singled Geba home to make it 6-0. Hingham got its third and final hit of the game in the top of the fourth but Welch was quick to get out of it just one pitch later. In the bottom half, Romero reached on a one-out bunt single and was driven in on a bomb by Welch, who ripped a shot straight away to center that caromed off the tree that is in center at Frothingham, bringing Romero home with a triple. Two batters later, Edwards got his second RBI with a single to bring Welch in to make it 8-0. In the fifth, Ferrara led off with a walk, stole second, took third on a ground out from Adams and scored on a single from Romero. Romero took second on Welch’s third hit of the game - and second that hit the tree in center - and then scored on a base hit from Geba to make it 10-0. OA tacked on two more in the sixth. With two outs, pinch hitter freshman Matt Muir was hit by a pitch and advanced to second when Romero picked up his third hit of the season - and fifth time he reached base. Welch hit the tree in center for the third time to plate Muir and Romero to make it 12-0. Welch finished 4/5 with two singles, a double, a triple, three RBI and two runs scored. “That’s why he’s the MVP of the Hockomock,” Duggan said. Oliver Ames advances to the quarterfinals of the D2 South Sectional and will travel to #2 Middlebrow on Monday at 4. Middleboro beat Milford 2-1 in the first round. By Jarett Leonard, HockomockSports.com Contributor
TAUNTON, Mass. – Taunton freshman Kya Enos returned from injury to drive in three runs in an 8-0 win over Weymouth on Friday night. A day later, Enos doubled and later scored the eventual winning run in a 4-3 quarterfinal win over Whitman-Hanson. “That’s the second game in a row that she’s gotten a big hit for us,” Taunton head coach Dave Lewry said. “Unfortunately I got the runner thrown out at the plate. But she turned out to be the winning run.” A potential go-ahead run was gunned down at the plate on the double by Enos in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Amber Wainwright drove in the eventual game-winner with a sacrifice fly to right field, two pitches after an unsuccessful squeeze bunt attempt. The RBI was Wainwright’s eighth in the past six games. “Great piece of hitting by Amber Wainwright,” Lewry said. “She missed the suicide, had two strikes on her and hit a deep fly ball to right field to easily score the run. That’s a great piece of hitting there. That’s why she’s in the lineup. She has a way of coming through and driving in runs. She’s a nice seven-hitter, a good hitter to have hiding in that seven-hole Whitman-Hanson jumped out to a quick lead in the first inning as Emily Cook led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Keighla McAloney. Taunton came right back in the bottom half to tie the score as Jaime Brown singled to left, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a base hit by Aimee Kistner. The Panthers took the lead right back in the top of the second when Kristin Arthur led off with a walk and was knocked in by Ally Webster. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the third, Brown started the offense again for the Tigers with another opposite field single. Kistner was then hit with a pitch and both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Wade. Meghan Navarro then drove in two runs with a base hit up the middle. Kistner, the Taunton starter, settled in during the middle innings, retiring nine of 10 batters and starting an inning-ending double play in the fifth. She went the distance to earn the win, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out four. “She was up with all of her pitches in the first couple of innings, but she worked at getting the ball down and was finally able to do it,” Lewry said. “Her pitches, they started working the last four innings or so. Not as sharp as last night, but back to back nights are tough. She’s a gamer, she hung in there and did what she had to do.” Whitman-Hanson once again rebounded in the top of the sixth inning as Arthur singled home Maxine Vincent, who led off the inning with a double to left field, for the tying run. Wainwright's sac fly put Taunton back up in the bottom half. Taunton advances to the D1 South semifinals and will play the winner of #1 Hopkinton and #9 Notre Dame Academy on Thursday at 7:00 at Jack Tripp Field. Notre Dame defeated Taunton 6-2 in the first round in 2014. |
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