SHARON, Mass. -- After the first three Oliver Ames batters hit off of Sharon southpaw Jake Fishman on Wednesday afternoon at Eagle Ballpark, it appeared that the visiting Tigers would carry the rivalry game.
However, Fishman soon settled into his usual groove, the Eagles’ offense came alive during a six-run fourth inning, and Sharon emerged victorious, 8-3, handing Oliver Ames their first loss of the season.
“We started pretty slowly, but we picked it up in the fourth,” said Sharon senior captain Nathan Pedersen. “That just got us going, got everyone pumped up. That’s what strove us to move forward.”
Junior Michael Birschbach, who knocked in three Eagle runs, said, “It’s about how you play the whole seven innings, not just that first inning. Great win. Great pitching, all-around great fielding, and we had big hits at important times.”
The game’s outset could not have been better for the Tigers. David MacKinnon launched the first pitch of the game into deep left-center field for a double, and two batters later, Andrew Mancini cranked a two-run bomb, giving Oliver Ames the early 2-0 advantage.
From there, Fishman steadied Sharon’s ship. The senior captain struck out the final two Tiger batters of the first inning and was on his way to another excellent outing.
Eagles Head Coach Joel Peckham said, “Jake really settled down after the first and controlled their offense. He clearly showed his poise and that he is clearly one of the best pitchers in the state.”
“The fact that Jake can pitch competitively even though something like that happened is just incredible,” Pedersen said. “That just pumps up the team, gets everyone to keep going, because even though we weren’t scoring runs at the time, Jake was keeping us in the game with his pitching.”
Oliver Ames starter Eddie Deveau was very strong through the first three innings, maintaining his squad’s lead. But in the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles’ bats got rolling.
Fishman led off with a walk. Pedersen followed by powering an RBI double to right-center-field, putting Sharon on the scoreboard. Birschbach then shot a ball down the left-field line for a run-producing double of his own, tying the score.
“I got a couple of good pitches that I fouled off, a couple of curveballs,” Birschbach said. [Deveau] gave me one inside, and I was able to turn on it - just let it roll. It was good.”
The Sharon designated hitter says that he has been feeling much more comfortable at the plate recently. “Last couple of games, I’d been hitting it really well, but just right at people. I’d like to get some more [extra-base hits],” Birschbach said.
One out later, with Alex Gebba in to pitch for Oliver Ames, Sharon junior second baseman Eric Lesser crushed a full-count pitch to deep left field for another double, plating Birschbach and giving the Eagles the lead.
Birschbach said, “A lot of clutch hits. People getting on and getting hits when they need to.” Pedersen added, “We were just hitting the ball – that’s what wins games. We just got it going.”
Sharon added three more runs in the inning, on senior captain Colin Gray’s hit by pitch (scoring Lesser), senior captain Brad Kaufman’s fielder’s choice (scoring junior Colton Bader), and Fishman’s single (scoring Gray). After four innings, Sharon led, 6-2.
Oliver Ames tallied a run in the sixth, with Mancini doubling and coming around to score, but Sharon put the game out of reach in the bottom half of the frame.
Kaufman led off with a sharp hit, followed by Fishman laying down a picture-perfect bunt single down the third-base line. One out and a double-steal later, Birschbach’s liner up the middle sent home Kaufman and Fishman, stretching Sharon’s advantage to 8-3.
Fishman struck out the side in the top of the seventh. He fanned 11 in the complete-game effort. Pedersen said, “I think Fishman pitched very well overall. [Senior captain] Colin [Gray] caught well.”
Pedersen says that being the first team to defeat Oliver Ames in 2013 is a significant notch on the Eagles’ belt. “The same thing [a Sharon victory] happened last year in extra innings – it feels great to finally get them in regulation. It feels amazing,” he said.
Birschbach says that Sharon has a lot of respect for how the Tigers play as a squad. Peckham added, “I knew they would give us all they had. Both their shortstop, MacKinnon, and the catcher who hit the two-run home run, [Mancini], are outstanding players.”
The Sharon baseball victory was part a tremendous afternoon for Eagle athletics over Oliver Ames; Sharon also defeated their Davenport rivals in boys and girls lacrosse as well as boys and girls tennis on Wednesday.
Sharon baseball (6-3, 5-3 Hockomock) will look for three consecutive Davenport victories when the squad faces Foxboro at Eagle Ballpark on Friday. The Tigers (6-1, 6-1) host Milford on Friday.
Pedersen says that he hopes that the Eagles’ bats will come alive again on Friday. “We just have got to keep hitting – keep eating our Wheaties in the morning,” he said with a chuckle. “Keep getting repetition in practice, just keep going at it.”