WORCESTER, Mass. – When the Franklin players watched Taunton celebrate at Holy Cross University’s Fitton Field in the final game of last season, the Panthers committed to giving themselves another chance at bringing home a state title.
On Tuesday night, at the same location as last year’s final, Franklin made sure its quest for a championship would go right to the end.
Austin Campbell and Dillon Cashin combined for a shutout and Eisig Chin had two hits and scored two runs, as the Panthers avoided the upset against No. 21 Methuen, pulling out a 4-0 win and setting up a rematch with the Tigers in the title game.
“I think we have great leadership,” Franklin coach Zach Brown said about what it has taken for his team to get back to this stage. “We have 15 seniors and all of them are tremendous leaders in their own way and they’re all great kids. These guys have stayed the course, they’ve stayed connected, and I’m really proud of their effort on a day-to-day basis.”
Chin admitted that last year’s defeat has stayed on Franklin’s mind all season. He said, “We were so motivated this year. After last year, obviously we didn’t get the result that we wanted, but that just gave us all a driving factor. We all want to win a state chip before we leave and that’s why we work so hard in practice every day.”
Franklin hasn’t been a prolific offensive team in the playoffs, grinding out at bats and manufacturing runs. The first inning was a good example of that approach.
With two outs, Chin lined a single to right off Methuen starter Daremin Escano Vargas. He advanced to second on a balk and to third when Henry DiGiorgio’s bouncer up the middle went off the pitcher’s glove and dropped into no-man’s land. A wild pitch brought Chin home with the game’s first run.
The Panthers weren’t done. Ben Jarosz drew a walk and Luke Sidwell dropped down a perfect bunt for a base hit that loaded the bases. Tyler Bellan battled his way to a walk and an RBI, as DiGiorgio came in to make it 2-0.
Although that would turn out to be all the scoring that Franklin would need, Methuen had some chances to get on the board. In the second, Campbell hit the first batter and with one out gave up a single to G’Andrey Canario. TJ Mullen hit a line drive that was curling towards the corner but Rex Cinelli laid out to make a diving grab. Campbell closed the inning with a strikeout.
In the third, Campbell had some issues finding the strike zone. After a strikeout, he walked leadoff hitter Ronnal Marizan, but a good move to first caught Marizan trying to steal. With two down, Campbell then walked the next three hitters to load the bases. He escaped on a pop up to short.
Methuen’s wasted opportunity looked even more costly in the bottom half, as Franklin tacked on another run. Sidwell worked a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Bellan walked for the second time and Ethan DePaolo got a free pass to load the bases. Against reliever Owen Sullivan, Cinelli hit a grounder to short, but beat out the double play attempt to drive in the third run.
“Each inning is its own inning and we’re trying constantly trying to put as many base runners in scoring position as possible and give our guys a chance to knock them in,” Brown said about the team’s offensive approach. “Whichever way that ends up happening, that’s how it unfolds. Overall, I thought the guys were relentless. We left some meat on that bone, but we found enough runs to get the ’W’ and move on.”
Campbell had his lone clean inning in the fourth, striking out a pair. Chin led off the bottom half of the inning by lining a double that one-hopped the wall in left. DiGiorgio grounded one to the left side to move Chin to third and Jarosz got the run home with a fly ball out to center.
Marizan continued to be a pest, doubling with one out in the fifth. After a grounder to second, Campbell walked a batter, but then painted the corner to get a strikeout and get through five innings without allowing a run.
Brown said, “Today is an example of how favor Soup (Campbell) has come. A year ago, once he doesn’t really have the command, I don’t know if he is able to get all the way through the fifth. He just found a way. At one point it was his fastball, at another it was his slider. He just kept competing.”
Cashin took over in the sixth and walked the first batter he faced. Canario hit a ball hard into the gap in left, but Cinelli was there with a nice running grab for the first out. After a single put two on base, Cashin started dealing and struck out the next two hitters.
In the top of the seventh, Cashin struck out the leadoff batter and then got a bouncer to third. Jarosz made a nice read to charge the ball and a great throw across his body to get the second out. A fly ball to center would end it. Franklin was back in the state title game, a yearlong effort realized, although there is another step (and a familiar foe) left to tackle.
“I have all the respect in the world for [Taunton coach] Blair [Bourque] and the Taunton baseball program,” Brown said, acknowledging that there are a lot of similarities between the teams. “People say, ‘iron sharpens iron,’ and they’re in our league and we’ve been butting heads for years. They’re kind of a measuring stick program. You want to play the best programs and they’re certainly right up there every year.”
Chin was blunt when asked about if he’s excited about facing Taunton again in the final. He replied, “A thousand percent. I wouldn’t want to play anyone else in the state final.”
Franklin (23-3) will face No. 2 Taunton in the title game at Worcester’s Polar Park at a date and time to be determined.
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