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.
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