Category: Baseball
MacDougall Leads Taunton Rally, Tigers Back in Final
WORCESTER, Mass. – Just five batters into Tuesday afternoon’s Div. 1 semifinal against No. 6 St. John’s Shrewsbury at Holy Cross University’s Fitton Field, Taunton found itself trailing 3-0. A lot of teams would fold in those circumstances, but the Tigers have been in similar situations before (including the previous round against BC High) and weren’t about to panic.
Three innings later, Ryan MacDougall brought Taunton level with a single. With two outs in the fourth, the hero of last year’s state title game came up with the biggest hit of the season. MacDougall drilled a 3-2 pitch into the gap in right center, emptying the bases and putting Taunton in front to stay.
The Tigers scored eight straight runs, got a two-run homer from Dawson Bryce to tack on in the sixth, and got 3-2/3 solid innings of relief from Brady Morin to pull out a 10-5 win that sends the defending champs back to the title game for the third time in four seasons.
“Really resilient,” Taunton coach Blair Bourque said about his team. “We have a lot of veteran guys and they know it’s a long game. We know we’ll have other opportunities. I can’t say enough about the camaraderie, the effort that they give. We’re never out of it, and they just keep plugging away and we were able to battle back.”
MacDougall added, “It’s never good when the leadoff guy hits a bomb but we just had to battle back. Our pitching staff did an amazing job, only giving up five [runs] after they had three in the first, so it was a great job by them.”
St. John’s couldn’t ask for a better start to the semifinal. James Benestad drilled a lead-off homer to left off Taunton starter Jack Cali. A walk and a single followed before Noah Basgaard made it 2-0 with a grounder to short. Brady Collins lined a double into the gap in right and added a third run.
Cali got a couple grounders to get out of the inning and then threw a perfect second, as he settled into his start.
Taunton’s bats did their best to respond for their pitcher. Sean Murphy started the second with a single. After a strikeout, AJ Lewis ripped a double down the line in left. Murphy hustled his way around the bases and just beat the tag at the plate. Lewis advanced to third and scored on a Basgaard wild pitch.
The Pioneers nearly answered right back in the third. A walk, a single, and an error loaded the bases with no outs. Cali refocused, getting a grounder to shortstop Braden Sullivan to cut down the first runner, fielded a bouncer back to the mound for the second out, and Shawn Cali made a diving grab in center to get Taunton out of the jam unscathed.
In the bottom half of the inning, Brayden Cali started things with a double to left. With one out, MacDougall went back through the box, lining a single to center and Cali’s head-first slide beat the throw to tie the game.
St. John’s continued to create scoring chances. With one out in the fourth, a single and double put two in scoring position. Brady Morin took over on the mound and got a pop up to second and a bouncer to Sullivan at short to escape another tough situation.
“We had some tough spots,” Bourque admitted. “Jack was able to get out of a jam. He didn’t have his best stuff but sometimes you don’t have your best stuff and you still have to perform so I’m proud of him. Brady did a phenomenal job, he was able to come in and throw strikes. They just kept grinding, they’re gritty, and I really like this group.”
Taunton broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. Shawn Cali was hit by a pitch for the second time and then stole second. Teddy Cove came in to relieve Basgaard and the lefty struck out a pair. Brayden Cali and Bryce drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. MacDougall worked a full count before crushing a pitch to the wall in right center.
All three runners came in to score and courtesy runner Jared Spencer scampered home on a wild pitch to put the Tigers up 7-3.
“Phenomenal,” Bourque said of MacDougall. “He’s a clutch player. He’s been hard on himself all year. He’s had some really good games, some tough games but this showed his tenacity and his willingness to battle through adversity. [Baseball] is a game of failure but this shows his character and who he is as a person, he’s a great kid and I’m really proud of him.”
MacDougall, who hit the game-winning homer in last year’s final at Fitton Field, joked. “It must be the beautiful highway in the back. I just see the ball well at this field. My approach with two strikes kind of changes, which I think helps me. I just saw the ball well today and got that big triple to get those three RBI.”
Morin threw a perfect fifth. Taunton went back to work at the plate and added another run. Lewis drew a one-out walk and went all the way to third on an errant pickoff attempt. Shawn Cali hit a fly ball down the right field line. Lewis raced home and the umpire said he beat the tag, despite the protests from the visiting bench, to make it 8-3.
Pearson Dodds hit a one-out double in the sixth, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a ground out to cut the lead to four. The hopes of a comeback were short-lived. Brayden Cali had a one-out single and Bryce followed by sending a pitch towards the highway well past the fence in left.
Although Collins hit another double to score Jimmy Mitchell in the seventh, Morin got a fly ball out to center to finish off the win and book another spot in the D1 final.
“I think we match the competition well,” MacDougall said about Taunton’s ability to find different ways to win games. “That’s a very good team over there with a good pitcher. We managed to get runners on and get hits in big moments. Dawson had that big home run and we were able to get the job done. Win anyway possible.”
Asked about his team getting the chance to defend its title, Bourque said, “I think they just enjoy playing the game. They love coming out to practice and they work extremely hard. I don’t know that anybody plays this game to win state championships. We play for our teammates, we play for ourselves, family, community…I’m just extremely proud of what they’ve accomplished so far.”
f=”http://dev.hockomocksports.com/schedules/baseball/taunton/2023-2/”>Taunton (20-4) will face No. 1 Franklin this weekend at Polar Park in Worcester at a date and time to be determined.
Baseball Photos: Foxboro vs. Archbishop Williams
Baseball Photos: King Philip vs. North Attleboro
King Philip Squeezes Out Extra Innings Win Over North
WRENTHAM, Mass. – When the game started, there was some concern about smoke and rain, but three hours and 11 innings later, light was starting to become an issue at Lombard Field. Wednesday afternoon’s Div. 2 Sweet Sixteen matchup between league rivals North Attleboro and King Philip turned into a marathon.
In the bottom of the 11th, KP was at the plate with its fifth chance to walk off with the win. For the third time in those five innings, KP had the bases loaded and the winning run just 90 feet away. KP coach Jeff Plympton, Jr. decided it was the perfect opportunity to try something different.
With one out, Rudy Gately surprised the North defense by squaring around and pushing a bunt towards the second baseman. The safety squeeze made it just past the mound, North had no play at the plate, and the Warriors celebrated a 4-3 victory and a return to the D2 quarterfinal.
Plympton, Jr. said, “I thought we had a few too many mental errors to win that game and, you know, our pitching kept us in it and gave us that opportunity to finish it off. Rudy is an excellent bunter and I knew that he’d get it down and that he’d get it down far enough that he’d get in.”
Asked what he was looking for in that at-bat, Gately replied, “Just bunting there, a little safety squeeze, just get it in play so we can score. That’s all I needed to do. Struggling at the plate, I think half my hits are bunts right now, so stick with it.”
North Attleboro (8-14) came into the playoffs as the No. 19 seed and went on the road to upset No. 14 Duxbury in the first round. Head coach Mike Hart was proud of the way his team battled one of the favorites for the state title and a team had already beaten the Rocketeers twice this season.
“The last two weeks of practice have been phenomenal,” Hart explained. “KP’s a great team, we knew they were going to fight, and we were ready for it. This caliber of kids is fantastic. Seeing it all come together over the last two games, over the last two weeks of practice, it’s been a fun time.”
Way back in the top of the first, it was North that jumped in front. With two outs, Derek Maceda drew a walk. He stole second and then stole third as well, with the throw getting away into left field to allow him to come home and make it 1-0.
The lead was short-lived. In the bottom half, Matthew Kelley beat out a two-out, infield single to short. Drew Herlin singled to center and the ball was misplayed, allowing Kelley to come all the way around from first and tie things up. Jordan Paradis would make a nice grab on a long fly by Aiden Astorino to end the inning.
In the third, Paradis led off with a single and, with one out, Maceda lined a single to center. He would steal second to put two in scoring position. Cam Hasenfus threw a nasty fastball on the corner to strike out fellow sophomore Gio Martello and then got a high chopper to Brendan Sencaj at third to escape the jam.
KP grabbed the lead in the bottom of the inning. Sencaj drew a one-out walk and Kelley crushed a ball that one-hopped the right field fence for a run-scoring triple. Herlin came through with his second hit of the day to bring in Kelley. Dillon Harding gave up a double to Tommy Martorano but Martello made an excellent play on a ball that tipped off Harding’s glove and then the pitcher got a comebacker to end the threat.
It stayed 3-1 until the fifth inning. Paradis led off with a walk and stole second. Hasenfus got a strikeout for the first out, but Maceda smashed a ball over the fence in right for a game-tying homer that sent the North bench (and Hart in the third-base coach’s box) leaping towards the plate in jubilation.
After Martello singled and stole second, sophomore Nate Pennini came in for KP and got a grounder to second and a strikeout to keep the game tied.
The home team’s first chance to win it came in the seventh. Sencaj singled and Kelley followed with a grounder, but North couldn’t get the force at second. After a grounder moved the runners up, Martorano was intentionally walked to load the bases. Martello had another nice play, cutting down the potential winning run at the plate and a bouncer to short ended the inning.
KP had another golden opportunity to win it in the eighth. With two outs, Max Robison hustled to beat out an infield hit. Sencaj lined a double just inside the line in right, putting two in scoring position. Again North intentionally loaded the bases, this time giving Kelley the free pass, and Maceda came in to relieve Harding (7-2/3 innings, two earned runs).
Maceda got Herlin to fly out to left and the game continued on.
“Dillon and Derek have been our horses on the mound,” said Hart. “It was getting close, Dillon’s pitch count was getting up, but there was nobody we were going to put there in that spot. He puts the team on his back, he’s so mentally tough, the situation is never too big for him.”
Both teams had base runners in the ninth, but Leo Dowling threw out Chris Hanewich trying to steal second and Maceda got a strikeout after Gately’s infield single.
North’s best chance to go in front came in the 10th. Pennini walked Harding and Maceda to start the inning, but Sencaj handled a tough grounder and got the lead runner at third for the first out. Pennini (5-2/3 innings, no runs, seven strikeouts) then bore down, striking out the next two hitters to get out of the inning without any damage.
Maceda allowed a leadoff walk in the bottom half, but Nate Kelly threw out Tommy McLeish stealing second. It was the second runner Kelly threw out in extra innings. Martorano came in to pitch the top of the 11th and set North down in order, with a little help from Dowling who made a couple of excellent plays on popped up bunts around the plate.
“Two sophomores, Hasenfus and Pennini, got us the majority of the innings and having Martorano back being able to come in and chuck, he throws hard and got us that last inning that we needed,” said Plympton, Jr.
As the light was starting to dim and there was concern creeping in about how much more baseball could be played on Wednesday, Kelley sparked the Warriors with another infield single. Hanewich made a great running grab on a Herlin ball in the gap, hanging onto it despite a nasty collision with Paradis. Martorano added another infield hit and Astorino was intentionally walked to load the bases.
That brought up Gately with the chance to be a hero. It wasn’t a blast to the gap that would decide the game, but a well-executed bunt, put in just the right spot.
“It’s always hard playing a rivalry team three times in a year,” Gately said. “No matter what the records are, it can always go both ways.” He continued, “It was definitely a long game. We haven’t played a game that long all year. It’s difficult to stay in it, especially all the ups and downs, but we stayed focused in at the end to get the win.”
“We’ve been in tight games, but there’s nothing like this throughout the season,” Plympton, Jr. said. “It’s good to show to the team that we can win these type of games and it’s only going to get harder down the stretch trying to make a good run.”
King Philip (15-7) will host No. 6 Westwood on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 with a spot in the D2 Final Four on the line.
Baseball Photos: King Philip vs. Agawam
King Philip Rolls Past Agawam Into Round of 16
WRENTHAM, Mass. — Having not played an actual game in two weeks, it was fair to wonder if the King Philip baseball team would show any signs of rust in its playoff opener against Agawam.
The third-seeded Warriors quickly erased that notion with some early offense and cruised to a comfortable 12-1 win over the 35th-seeded Brownies in a Division 2 Round of 32 clash at Lombard Field.
KP pushed across three runs in the first inning, created a big lead with five more runs in the second, and reached double digits with a pair in the third.
Meanwhile, senior ace Rudy Gately worked around some early threats from Agawam, stranding runners at second and third in the first inning with one out, and then again in the second inning after allowing back-to-back hits to lead off. Gately earned the win, striking out six with four hits and one walk allowed in three innings.
“Having two weeks, we really tried to stay fresh at practice,” said King Philip head coach Jeff Plympton. “We brought some past guys in and had our own guys throw live, so I was happy with how the bats responded today. I think that was one of the better hitting performances we’ve had this year. It was good to get all those guys, all those arms in, and get them an inning.”
KP’s big lead allowed Plympton to get Gately out with under 65 pitches thrown. It also set the stage for four KP relievers to get an inning in relief: sophomore Nate Pennini struck out one and had one walk, junior Tommy McLeish was charged with an unearned run and had one strikeout, junior TJ Ahern only needed six pitches to get through a quick sixth inning, and junior Ian Knott struck out one in a scoreless seventh inning. Freshman Leo Dowling caught all seven innings for KP.
“We have depth, and we were throwing them in practice but it’s better to get them in live game situations,” Plympton said. “To be able to get Rudy out of this one, you know if we go on a run here, having him at 60 pitches in the first game is fantastic.”
Junior Max Robison set the table with a leadoff walk and senior Matt Kelley dropped a one-out single into shallow center to put a second runner on. Senior Tommy Martorano sliced an opposite field double that just fell fair for a two-run double to get the Warriors on the board. Sophomore Aiden Astorino followed with a dribbler that got by the pitcher, and Martorano scampered all the way home to make it 3-0.
A leadoff double from McLeish started things for KP in the second inning, and sophomore Cameron Hasenfus (walk) and Robison (singled) both reached to load the bases.
Senior Brendan Sencaj had a bloop single drop into shallow left to bring McLeish in but Hasenfus was tagged out at third after having to wait halfway. Kelley lined an RBI double for another run and sophomore Drew Herlin smashed a monster double to right to score two more. After advancing on a passed ball, Herlin scored on Martorano’s sac fly to center to make it 8-0 after just two innings.
“We have a good lineup, and some games it would flash and some games it wouldn’t but today, it all clicked together and it’s infectious,” Plympton said. “I think that playoff run last year really helps, and the familiarity of being in this situation. They are a confident bunch. We had a really good practice yesterday, probably the best of the season, which is good because of the long break since our last game.”
Gately worked around a one-out double in the third, getting his sixth strikeout to end the inning. KP kept the momentum going in the bottom half when Hasenfus brought Gately (walk) home with a sac fly, and Robison’s RBI ground out plated McLeish (single) to make it 10-0.
Pennini recorded an RBI with an infield single that scored Martorano in the fourth inning, and Ahern reached on an error that allowed Herlin (walk) to come home to make it 12-1.
King Philip baseball (14-7) will meet a familiar foe in the Round of 16 as the Warriors will host Hockomock rival North Attleboro (8-13) on Wednesday at 3:45. The 19th-seeded Rocketeers upset #14 Duxbury, 2-1, on Monday.
Baseball Photos: Attleboro vs. Doherty
Pagano Shines and Attleboro Wins Tournament Opener
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – For the second time in two innings, Attleboro saw a one-run slip away. In the top of the fifth of Thursday afternoon’s Div. 1 preliminary round game at Drummond St. Field, Doherty responded to the Bombardiers going in front by scoring immediately. With two outs and the go-ahead run just 90 feet away, Attleboro’s Jonny Pagano struck out Ryan Flanagan for the second time to escape the jam.
It proved to be a momentum-shifting moment. With the game still tied, Attleboro came up in the bottom half of the inning and scored three times to take control of the game. The Bombardiers would add another in the sixth to pull out a 6-2 victory. Pagano spun a gem, going 6-1/3 innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven.
“He pitched great, the kids fought, we got some bunts down, we did the little things that we needed to do, and just had a great game all around,” said Attleboro coach Steve Dunlea. “Jonny got us out of a couple of situations where we had the lead and then they fought back and there were guys in scoring position and he really just got tough and was able to get us out of those innings.”
Pagano came out firing for the hosts, striking out the first two batters he faced. Although he hit Cameron Early to put a runner on, Pagano induced a pop up to Cooper Johnson at short to end the first. Brody McKenna went on a long run to grab a pop up in foul territory and Andrew Gorman snared a hard-hit liner at first to make quick work of the second as well.
In the bottom of the second, the Bombardiers struck first. Johnson hit a high fly to right that wasn’t handled, turning into a three-base error and the leadoff runner at third. After a scary moment, when catcher Aiden Hochwarter was hit in the face by a pitch (Owen Parker came in as a courtesy runner but Hochwarter remained in the game), Danny Johnson hustled to beat out a double play and allow the run to score.
Jack Hale stole momentum back with a lead-off, ground-rule double to left to start the third. A sac bunt moved Hale to third and he scored on a pitch that got away and went to the backstop. With a runner in scoring position, Pagano got a fly ball to right and a grounder to third, with Gorman making sure of the final out with a nice pick at first.
After Pagano breezed through the top of the fourth with a pair of strikeouts, Attleboro regained the lead. Matt Harvie smacked one past the bag at third and, with aggressive base-running, turned it into a double. He continued his aggression by taking third on a fly ball to left-center. With two outs Hochwarter was hit by a pitch again. Parker and Harvie executed a double steal and the Bombardiers went in front 2-1.
With one out in the fifth, Hale was nearly caught stealing at second but the ball came loose before the tag. Nigel Cross followed with Doherty’s second hit, lacing a single to center that brought in the run. Boris Valdez reached on a fielder’s choice, when Cross was caught in a rundown between second and third, and stole two bases to get to third, but Pagano came up with a big pitch to end the threat.
Gorman gave Attleboro a lift at the plate, lining a single to left to start the bottom half of the inning. With the pinch runner on second, Jacob Bettencourt pushed a bunt down the first base line and was able to get to the uncovered bag to put two runners on. McKenna put the hosts back in front with a sac fly to center.
Attleboro continued to come through with two outs. First Harvie and then Cooper Johnson followed with singles to bring in two more runs and make it 5-2.
Dunlea joked, We tend to wait around a little bit and then we score later in the game. It keeps the fans interested.” He praised his team’s ability to produce with two outs (four of the six runs), “There were a lot of times early in the season where we were leaving a lot of guys on base, so to even with two outs get those guys across the plate is huge.”
Pagano made sure not to give any life back to Doherty with a clean top of the sixth, including his sixth strikeout. Hochwarter, who not only got hit by a pitch twice but was also stung by a foul ball, opened the bottom half by beating out a grounder deep in the hole at short and advancing to second on a wild pitch.
“He’s the iron man,” Dunlea said when asked about Hochwarter. “There’s only two innings he hasn’t caught this season and he’s got a bloody lip and bruises all over his leg, sweating up a storm, but he loves it. He was born to be a catcher.”
Danny Johnson got on behind Hochwarter and both moved up on a sac bunt by Gorman. With two outs, freshman Ryan Landry went to the opposite field, serving a single out to shallow left to bring in an insurance run for the Bombardiers.
Pagano came back out for the seventh and promptly got his seventh strikeout of the day before Dunlea turned to his bullpen.
“He was mad at me when I took him out at the end but it’s 100 [degrees] on the turf,” Dunlea said about Pagano. “He’s come around as a big game pitcher for us. The moment doesn’t seem to faze him, he’s just staying calm and doing what he needs to do. I’m really impressed with his learning how to pitch.”
Jackson Huntington had to pitch around a couple of defensive miscues that put two on for the visitors, but he got off the mound well on a slow roller up the line to finish off Doherty and send Attleboro to the Round of 32.
“This team really fought this season,” Dunlea said when asked about what it meant for the Bombardiers to have an opportunity to play in the state tournament, after narrowly missing out last spring. “The kids halfway through the season realized, ‘Hey, we’re a good team,’ and that’s huge. Once you have the confidence, then you can go from there.”
Attleboro (10-11) will face No. 4 Central Catholic in the next round. The game will be Sunday afternoon at Northern Essex Community College.
Hockomock Baseball Playoff Seeds & Matchups
Below are the seeds and matchups for Hockomock teams in the MIAA playoffs. Seeds, times, and dates are subject to change and we will update this post with any changes.
Division 1
#1 Franklin (19-3) will host the winner of #32 Lexington (13-9)/#33 Hingham (10-10) on Monday, 6/5 at 7:00.
#2 Taunton (16-4) will host the winner of #31 Durfee (9-11)/#34 Lynn Classical (17-3) on Monday, 6/5 at 4:00.
#11 Milford (12-8) will host #22 Beverly (15-5) on Monday, 6/5 at 6:30.
#29 Attleboro (9-11) will host #36 Doherty (9-9) on Thursday, 6/1 at 4:45.
Division 2
#3 King Philip (13-7) will host the winner of #30 Canton (8-12)/#35 Agawam (11-9) on Monday, 6/5 at 3:45.
#15 Mansfield (14-8) will host #18 Westboro (9-11) on Monday, 6/5 at 4:45.
#19 North Attleboro (7-13) will travel to #14 Duxbury (15-7) on Monday, 6/5 at 4:00.
#30 Canton (8-12) will host #35 Agawam (11-9) on Thursday, 6/1 at 1:00.
Division 3
#6 Foxboro (13-7) will host the winner of #27 Arlington Catholic (10-10)/#38 Watertown (10-10) at a date and time to be determined.