Tag: Jack Cali

Escobalez’s Addition Elevates Taunton To Another Title

Johnny Escobalez
Taunton sophomore Johnny Escobalez celebrates after the Tigers recorded the final out to win the Division 1 State Championship. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 WORCESTER, Mass. — A year ago, Johnny Escobalez sat in the stands with his father at LeLacheur Park in Lowell and watched as Taunton claimed a thrilling win over Hockomock rival Franklin.

Just three months ago, Escobalez started the season and spent the first couple of weeks on the Tigers’ junior varsity team.

And now, the sophomore is the winning pitcher of the Division 1 state championship game.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Escobalez tossed a complete game under the bright lights at Polar Park, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and four strikeouts, facing 28 batters without issuing a walk. His seventh win of the season handed Taunton a 7-2 verdict over Franklin for the second straight year in the championship game.

“My dad believed in me,” Escobalez said. “He told me [last year] that could be me, that I could be in the dugout next year, and I thought that would be sick. I never would have thought I’d be pitching in this game.

“I’m so glad that coach believed in me. I started the beginning of the season on JV so I wouldn’t have thought this would happen. I’m just glad to get this opportunity.”

Taunton’s pitching staff faced numerous hurdles throughout the season. Senior Shawn Cali was coming off a tremendous junior campaign but injuries kept him off the mound, and junior Jack Cali, who led the team in innings pitched this year, was limited to just four appearances in May. Ryan MacDougall, who led the Tigers in innings last year, returned to his natural position at catcher this year and only appeared on the mound three times.

That meant opportunity and Taunton head coach Blair Bourque dipped into his sub-varsity pool and moved Escobalez up. The rest is history.

“I remember in the weight room talking to him a couple of times and just being like you know we’re going to need you at some point this season, just make sure you’re ready, and opportunity presented itself, Shawn going down, and he capitalized,” Bourque said. “He’s been phenomenal all season. He’s been able to get ahead, he’s crafty, and he’s a competitor above all. He just loves to compete. I know in our intrasquads I don’t let him hit all the time and he’s bummed because he just wants to play. That’s what you need.

“Enough can’t be said about the performance, being a Eso, and being on this stage. It’s incredible. I’m so happy for him. He’s a hard worker. The future is very bright, but this is a very special day for him and I’m glad the guys were able to get ahead early and he was able to pitch with a lead.”

Escobalez went 7-0 this season in eight starts, holding opponents to a measly 0.143 batting average. He tossed a no-hitter back on May 10th against North Attleboro — in just his fourth career appearance — but that will likely move down the list of accomplishments after beating top-ranked Franklin in the final.

“He’s been incredible this year, no words can explain what he’s done for us,” said senior Braden Sullivan (three hits, two RBI), who moved from third base to shortstop this season. “We lost Shawn [Cali] as a pitcher, we lost Jack [Cali] for a little so he got the call up and definitely helped us. He’s been phenomenal, his stuff has been good. We knew coming in, his stuff would be tough to hit and he did his job today.”

Escobalez pitched from ahead the entire game; a two-out RBI from MacDougall scored Brayden Cali (leadoff single) in the top of the first, presenting the sophomore lefty with a 1-0 lead before he threw a pitch.

The lead grew quickly as the Tigers plated five more runs in the second inning so Escobalez had a 6-0 lead the second time he toed the rubber on the mound.

Franklin’s offense has worn pitchers down all season but the Panthers were never able to overwhelm the sophomore. He worked around a leadoff single from Ryan Gerety in the first and induced a couple of grounders in the second to strand Luke Sidwell at second after his one-out single.

“He’s been awesome,” said Taunton senior Dawson Bryce (two doubles, two RBI), who was also a pitching option for the Tigers at the start of the season but only pitched once more after tossing a scoreless inning at Franklin on May 12th. “As soon as he came up to varsity, he’s been lights out. He’s been a great addition to the team and he’s going to be really dominant again next year.”

A couple of errors allowed Franklin’s first run to score; a throwing error allowed Rex Cinelli to reach, and then another infield error allowed him to score when Eisig Chin made it to first. Escobalez hit the next batter to put two on but a fly ball to Andrew Cali in right quickly ended that threat.

“Nobody knew what his name was before today,” MacDougall said. “He’s a sophomore. Against BC High, he pitched his worst game of the year. He was physically nervous on the mound. Today, you couldn’t keep him sitting down. He was amped all game, pitched amazing, the game of his life, and I don’t think you could throw a better game as a sophomore.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

He retired the side in order in the fourth on eight pitches and put the Panthers down in order again in the fifth on nine pitches. Franklin tagged him for a run in the sixth after Henry DiGiorgio had a one-out single and Sidwell delivered with a two-out RBI but that would be all the damage for the night.

There was little drama in the final inning as Escobalez got his fourth strikeout of the night for the first out, a fly ball to Cali in right for the second, and a pop-up to left fielder Dwayne Burgo to end it.

“There’s no feeling like this,” Escobalez said with a big smile. “This is awesome.”

MacDougall Leads Taunton Rally, Tigers Back in Final

Taunton Baseball
Ryan MacDougall drove in four runs, helping Taunton rally from an early 3-0 deficit to beat St. John’s Shrewsbury and advance to the D1 state title game. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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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. 

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

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.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 06/08/23

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Division 1
#18 Springfield Central, 0 @ #2 Taunton, 8 – Final – Taunton scored in four separate innings and Jack Cali had a dominant performance on the mound as the Tigers rolled past Springfield Central. Cali scattered three hits and two walks, striking out five in a complete game shutout on the mound. Offensively, Dwayne Burgo set the tone with a three-run triple in the first inning; Taunton added a single run in the third inning on an RBI single from Ryan MacDougall to score Dawson Bryce (triple) and one more run in the fifth when Burgo scored on a passed ball. The Tigers put the game away with a three-run sixth inning including a two-run double from MacDougall and an RBI single from Sean Murphy. #2 Taunton will host #7 BC High on Saturday at 1:00.

Division 3
#22 Archbishop Williams, 0 @ #6 Foxboro, 4 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. – Foxboro only had two twos in a pivotal fourth inning but managed to manufacture three runs, and Nolan Gordon tossed six scoreless innings to help the Warriors blank visiting Archbishop Williams. Ryan O’Leary had a leadoff single and Mike Marcucella had a two-out single to put runners on the corners; an intentional walk to Mat Sullivan loaded the bases. A passed ball allowed O’Leary to score while Gordon drew a walk to load the bases again. Tyler Prescott was hit by a pitch to bring a run in, and another wild pitch brought one more run home as Foxboro staked a 3-0 lead. A sacrifice from Louis Carangelo in the bottom of the fifth produced another run for Foxboro. Gordon allowed just two hits and issued four walks, striking out four in six shutout innings. Sean O’Leary struck out the side in the top of the seventh to slam the door shut. #6 Foxboro will travel to #3 Bishop Stang on Saturday at 11:00AM.

Boys Lacrosse
Division 1
#13 Needham, 6 @ #4 Franklin, 18 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. – Franklin dominated the two middle quarters of the game, outscoring the visiting Rockets 12-2 in that 24-minute span to pull away for a convincing win in a Round of 16 matchup with Needham. Franklin put up five goals in the first for a 5-2 lead but pitched a shutout in the second for an 11-2 halftime lead, and added six more goals in the third to carry a 17-4 lead into the fourth. Senior Jayden Consigli scored six goals and had one assist while Luke Davis scored a hat trick along with four helpers. Tyler Sachetti also had a hat trick in the win and Drew Hansen chipped in with a pair of goals. Ben Harvey, Braeden Leonard, and Drew McCarthy all played well defensively in the win.

Division 2
#16 Sharon, 4 @ #1 Reading, 12 – Final

Girls Lacrosse
Division 3
#13 Bromfield, 7 @ #4 Foxboro, 18 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 05/25/23

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Franklin, 9 vs. Hopkinton, 10 – Final (8 inn.)

Foxboro, 3 @ Ashland, 0 – Final – Foxboro ended the regular season on a high note, earning a 3-0 shutout on the road over Ashland. Sophomore Ryan O’Leary and senior Sean O’Leary combined for the shutout on the mound while Tyler Prescott, Ryan LeClair, and Ben Angelini each drove in a run in the Warriors’ win. Ryan O’Leary got the start and went four innings, scattering three hits and two walks along with three strikeouts while Sean O’Leary struck out two and gave up three hits in three scoreless innings. LeClair drove in freshman Aidan Stow to give Foxboro a 1-0 lead in the third, and that lead stayed until the sixth when Angelini delivered a two-out base hit to plate LeClair. Foxboro added a key insurance run in the seventh on a two-out base hit from Tyler Prescott to score courtesy runner Pradyu Gubbala (who was running after Mat Sullivan had a single).

Taunton, 5 @ Durfee, 1 – Final – Taunton earned its fifth straight game to take down Durfee in the regular season finale. Jack Cali had a strong start for the Tigers, allowing just one run on four hits and a pair of walks, striking out three in 5.2 innings of work while Brady Morin earned the save with 1.1 shutout innings in relief. Sean Murphy, Brayden Cali (two runs), and Shawn Cali (two RBI, triple) each had two hits to pace the Taunton offense.

Softball
Attleboro, 8 vs. Natick, 9 – Final (8 inn.)

Stoughton, 12 vs. Norwood, 1 – Final

Foxboro, 1 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – North Attleboro rallied for three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to erase a one-run deficit and land a league win over Foxboro. The Warriors took the lead in the fourth inning when sophomore Natalia Leach led off with a single and came home to score on a two-out single from sophomore Ava Hill. North Attleboro’s Emma Hanwell plated the tying run with a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth while Ari McDavitt scored the go-ahead run on a squeeze from Lucy Palmer. Kelly Colleran tacked on a key insurance run with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Colleran earned the win in the circle, striking out 16.

Mansfield, 5 @ Franklin, 10 – Final – Playing in its third game in four games, Franklin plated the first eight runs of the game and never looked back to land a win over Mansfield. After a scoreless first inning, the Panthers scored in five straight innings, including a big four-run fifth inning. Senior Katy Liberman led the charge offensively with a team0high three hits while Kiera Kotwicki, Avery Chalk, Carly Pellegri, and Hailey Fales each had two hits. Freshman Sophia Sacramone earned the win, scattering six hits for five runs (two earned) on two walks and 11 strikeouts. Callie Lake had another strong game for the Hornets, going 3-for-4, with Liv Madeira, Molly Kucharski, Dani Jameson, and Amanda Schwarz each had one hit.

Boys Lacrosse
Attleboro @ North Attleboro, 5:15

Foxboro, 4 @ Sandwich, 9 – Final – Foxboro’s regular season came to a close with a 9-4 setback on the road in Sandwich. Conor Noone netted a hat trick, Tony Sulham scored once, and Adam Addeche made 10 saves in net for the Warriors.

Taunton, 18 @ New Bedford, 0 – Final – Taunton ended its first season back at the varsity level with an exclamation point with a dominant performance at in the Whaling City. Freshman Oren Cullins capped off an impressive rookie campaign in the cage with a 10-save shutout. Thomas Murphy had a team-high five points with four goals and one assist, Tommy Selfridge added three goals and one helper, and Connor McGrath scored once with two helpers. Dylan McCaughey and Colt Kennedy each netted a pair of goals and Israel Cruz had one goal and one assist.

Girls Lacrosse
North Attleboro, 8 @ Attleboro, 20 – Final – Attleboro staked a four-goal lead by halftime and then pulled away for the convincing win with a strong second half. Junior Molly Moore potted a team-high six goals while freshman Amelia Collins had five goals and two assists and freshman Makenah Stokes scored four goals and had two helpers. Bella Cavallini added a hat trick with two assists and Stella Krawiec and Addison Papagolos each scored once. Peyton McAuliffe made 10 saves in the win. North got two goals apiece from Ellie Regan, Caroline Folan, Avery Hous, and Lily Ramm.

Mansfield, 17 @ Oliver Ames, 12 – Final – The Hornets held a one-goal at lead but outscored the host Tigers 7-3 in the second half to get the non-league win. Brooke Butler paced the offense with six goals and one assist, Ava Adams added five goals and five draw controls, and both Lola Varricchione (three assists) and Tessa Johnson scored a pair for Mansfield. Rose Maher and Keira Fitzpatrick chipped in with a goal apiece while Caitlyn Zajac made 10 saves in the win.

Taunton, 5 vs. New Bedford, 15 – Final – Mel Jesus turned away 10 shots but the Tigers fell at home against visiting New Bedford. Cali Melo scored twice for the hosts while Maddi Szala, Caroline Vallarelli, and Raquel Azevedo each scored once.

Milford, 9 @ Bellingham, 3 – Final

Boys Tennis
Oliver Ames, 2 @ Milton, 3 – Final

Taunton vs. New Bedford, 3:45

North Attleboro, 2 @ Dartmouth, 3 – Final – North won both doubles matches with Carson Dameron and Brody Gaulin prevailing at first doubles, and the team of Caleb Cheney and Jeremy Carter taking a 6-1, 7-5 win at second doubles for the Rocketeers.

Girls Tennis
Taunton, 5 @ New Bedford, 0 – Final – Taunton capped the regular season with a clean sweep at New Bedford, taking all five matches in straight sets. Brooke Bell (6-0, 6-0), Ava Alves (6-1, 6-0), and Morgan Smith (6-1, 6-2) swept singles actions for the Tigers. In doubles play, Courtney Martin and Janelle Garcia dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 first doubles win, and the team of Caroline Pietnik and Sam Parrett rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 verdict at second doubles.

Boys Volleyball
Milford, 2 vs. Needham, 3 – Final
Taunton, 3 @ Barnstable, 0 – Final

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 05/18/23

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Canton, 0 @ Foxboro, 8 – Final – Sophomore Ryan O’Leary went the distance, striking out 10 and scattering six hits, to pick up his first career win and keep the Warriors even with Mansfield in the win column atop the Davenport division. The game was scoreless to the bottom of the third when Foxboro exploded for seven runs. The Warriors tacked on one more in the sixth. Ryan Leclair sparked the offense with two hits, two runs scored, two RBI, and two stolen bases. Ben Angelini also drove in a pair of runs and scored once. Sean O’Leary had a double and scored and Mike Marcucella added a hit. For Canton, Matt Hart was 2-for-2, while Owen Lane, Matt Chafin, and Hayden Rose added hits.

Franklin, 4 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final (10 Inn.) – Ben Jarosz had a leadoff single in the top of the 10th inning and eventually came around to score as the Panthers fended off an upset bid from the host Bombardiers. Pinch runner Evan Cournoyer advanced to second after an infield error and went to third on a sacrifice from Ethan DePaolo. Cournoyer beat the throw home on a grounder from Rex Cinelli for the go-ahead run. Attleboro put the tying run on twice in the bottom half, but the first was picked off and the second was stranded at first. Jake Shaughnessy (2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K), Dillon Cashin (2.2 IP, W, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K), and Alfred Mucciarone (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB) all pitched well in relief for the Panthers. Sean O’Hara (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K) and Danny Johnson (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) both pitched well for Attleboro. Luke Sidwell had two hits and Tyler Bellan had two RBI for Franklin while Ryan Landry went 3-for-5 and Cooper Johnson went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run for the Bombardiers.

King Philip, 3 @ North Attleboro, 1 – Final – Sophomore Cameron Hasenfus tossed a gem for King Philip, hurling a one-hitter complete game to lift the Warriors over North Attleboro. Hasenfus allowed a leadoff walk and a one-out single both in the seventh inning while striking out five in the win. KP held a 1-0 lead through the first six innings after an RBI single from Brendan Sencaj in the third inning, but pushed across two key insurance runs in the seventh. Tommy Martorano (single) scored on a squeeze bunt from Hasenfus, and Rudy Gately (single) scored on a sac fly from Max Robison. Dillon Harding was also strong on the mound, allowing three runs on eight hits and no walks, striking out two in a complete game for the Rocketeers.

Mansfield, 16 @ Stoughton, 4 – Final – Stoughton staked a 4-1 lead through five innings but Mansfield’s offense exploded for 15 runs in the final two innings to earn a big win. Jeriel Cuello drove in Sean Farley with a single and then scored on a passed ball, and pinch runner Joey McEachern (in for Hunter Malkin, who doubled) came home to score as well to hand Stoughton a 3-1 lead. The Black Knights extended the lead to 4-1 on an RBI from Dom Belle in the fifth inning. The Hornets offense was buzzing in the final two innings, scoring six in the sixth inning and nine more in the seventh. Drew Urban went 2-for-2 with a double, four RBI, and two runs scored, Anthony Saraiva also had two hits, including a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, Jake Maydak went 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run, and Sam Martin was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Malkin pitched well for Stoughton, allowing six runs (none earned) on five hits and two walks, striking out seven in 5.1 innings.

Milford, 2 @ Taunton, 9 – Final – Milford put host Taunton on upset alert when it took the lead in the top of the fourth but the Tigers scored eight unanswered runs in the next three innings to get the win. Back-to-back two-out RBIs from Sean McGee and Joe Butler gave Milford a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. Taunton bounced back with two runs in the bottom half on a two-run single from Caden Lindskog and never looked back from there. Sean Murphy had an RBI triple, AJ Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Lindskog singled in another run as Taunton extended its lead to 6-2. Brayden Cali and Ryan MacDougall each tacked on an RBI in the sixth while Jared Spencer scored on a wild pitch. Jack Cali was strong in his return to the mound, allowing one run on three hits, one walk, and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings while Brady Morin (2.1 IP) earned the win in relief, striking out two with one run allowed on four hits and no walks. Charles Rabel and David DaSilva combined for a shutout inning in relief.

Sharon, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 17 – Final (5 Inn.) – Oliver Ames pushed across seven runs in the first inning and never looked back in its second straight big win. Jack Perron had a team-high three hits along with a pair of RBI and three runs scored while Ryan Lemay (RBI, run), Patrick Finnerty (RBI, run), Drew Hall (RBI, run), and Andrew Zagami (RBI, three runs) each had two hits for the Tigers. Finnerty earned the win on the mound, scattering four hits in four innings, walking a pair with two strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. Ian Kelly tossed a scoreless inning in relief with three strikeouts and two walks. Palash Raina had a pair of hits (single, triple), an RBI, and a run for Sharon.








Softball
Attleboro, 13 @ Franklin, 8 – Final

Foxboro, 14 @ Canton, 2 – Final

North Attleboro, 0 @ King Philip, 12 – Final (5 Inn.) –

Stoughton, 1 @ Mansfield, 3 – Final – Mansfield scored a pair in the fourth and one more in the fifth while Dani Jameson was strong in the circle to score a win over Stoughton. Consecutive singles from Molly Kucharski, Jill Koppy, Avery Lake (RBI) and Jameson (RBI) resulted in a 2-0 lead for the Hornets, who added another run in the fifth after a fielder’s choice from Liv Madeira. Jameson allowed four hits and struck out seven in the win.

Taunton, 9 @ Milford, 2 – Final – Milford kept pace with the visiting Tigers through five innings, trailing just 4-2, but Taunton plated five runs in the final two innings to pull away for the win. Bella Bourque had another outstanding day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a double and two triples, driving in three runs and scoring once. Kaysie DeMoura also had three hits, two RBI, and a run for the Tigers. Hayley Krockta launched a two-run homer in the seventh to help Taunton put the game away. Cae Pellegrini had a solo home run for Milford in the third to cut the deficit to 2-1 while Camille Bonina had a two-out single in the fifth to make it 4-2.

Oliver Ames, 10 @ Sharon, 3 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. – Oliver Ames clubbed out six doubles and scored nine runs in the first three innings to take a win over Sharon. Katie Melendy (two RBI) and Crystyliah Covel (RBI, three runs) each had two doubles while Devon Morris (3-for-5, three RBI, two runs) and Paige Taylor (RBI, run) each had one. Sophomore Emily Martin went 2-for-4 with two runs for the Tigers. Ally Foulsham had five strikeouts and Manasa Josyula struck out six for the Eagles. Natalie David, Kendra Kodira, and Manasa each had an RBI for Sharon.

Boys Lacrosse
Attleboro @ Taunton, 3:45

Oliver Ames, 6 vs. Boston Latin, 8 – Final – Ben Reardon scored four goals while Ryan Jaco and Alex McAndrew each found the back of the net once for the Tigers. Noah Isleib was strong in the cage, making 14 saves for OA.

Sharon, 7 @ Holliston, 6 – Final




Girls Lacrosse
Taunton, 5 @ Attleboro, 17 – Final – Eight different Bombardiers found the back of the net in a well-balanced attack and a win over visiting Taunton. Junior Molly Moore (three assists) and freshman Amelia Collins (one assist) led the charge with four goals apiece, senior Jordan Mooney, junior Addison Papagolos, and freshman Makenah Stokes each added a pair of goals, and sophomore Ryann Mooney, sophomore Isabella Cavallini, and freshman Abigail Titmas each chipped in with one. Cali Melo had four goals and one assist for Taunton while Raquel Azevedo added one goal. Mel Jesus made 19 saves in net for the Tigers.

Foxboro, 13 vs. Holliston, 7 – Final – Foxboro notched another impressive non-league win, this time rolling past visiting Holliston. Paige Curran picked up right where she left off from yesterday, potting four goals and three assists to lead the offensive charge while Val Beigel netted a hat trick. Cate Noone (two assists) and Mary Collins (two goals, one assist) both added a pair of goals, and Mya Waryas (three assists) and Grace Riley each chipped in with one goal apiece. Audrey Campbell turned away eight shots in net for the Warriors.

Oliver Ames, 14 @ Ursuline Academy, 17 – Final

Stoughton @ Hull – Postponed to TBD.

Boys Tennis
Attleboro, 4 @ Franklin, 1 – Final – The Bombardiers landed a sweep in singles action and added one more in doubles to take down host Franklin. Kyle Neuendorf prevailed from a tough battle at first singles with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win, Tyler Rocchio took a win in straight sets at second singles (6-3, 6-3), and Shashank Shridhar emerged from third singles with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win. Attleboro’s first doubles team of Luke Hinton and Brody Rosen took a 6-3, 6-0 win. Franklin’s second doubles team of Andrew Amante and Aaron Ramaswamy picked up a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory.

Foxboro, 3 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Foxboro’s first doubles team of Evan Paluzzi and Ryan Fossella emerged from a hard-fought match with a three-set victory to clinch the win for the Warriors. After splitting the first two sets, Paluzzi and Fossella clamped down a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win. Foxboro also got wins at second doubles and third singles (Luca Meyer, 6-1, 6-1). Canton’s Max Kupferman earned a 6-1, 6-3 win while Bharata Ramanathan came out on top in a well-played second singles match (7-5, 6-3).

North Attleboro, 2 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – King Philip’s second doubles team of Leo Manning and Logan Riley rallied from a one-set deficit to take a win, clinching a 3-2 victory for the Warriors. Manning and Riley overcame a loss in the first set for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win, Arjun Kollu added a 6-1, 6-0 victory at second singles, and freshman Luke Bailer landed a 6-4, 6-3 third singles win. North’s Brody Carter picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win at first singles while the team of Brody Gaulin and Carson Dameron prevailed from first doubles with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 victory.

Stoughton, 1 @ Mansfield, 4 – Final – Mansfield bounced back from a tough loss to Sharon by earning the season sweep of Stoughton. The Hornets swept the three singles matches, loing only two games in the process. Iniyan Karruppusami won his match at first singles 6-0, 6-0 and Nikhil Nain and Jesse Colchamiro each won 6-0, 6-1. The doubles team of Justin Lim and Liam Lasbury-Casey won their match 6-1, 6-2. Stoughton got its lone point in doubles, as the team of Hadid Khond and Anthony Maylock won 6-3, 6-4.

Taunton, 2 @ Milford, 3 – Final – Behind two singles wins and one more at doubles, Milford notched a 3-2 win over Taunton a match played in pro sets. Senior Tyler Andreotti (10-5) and sophomore Corey Rattray (10-4) had wins at first and third singles, respectively, for the Hawks while the team of sophomores Todd Ostertog and Luke Fabry (10-6) added a second doubles win. Taunton’s Martin Frankinet landed a 10-3 second singles win while Derek Desseault and Collin Lofgren rolled to a 10-0 win at first doubles.

Oliver Ames, 0 @ Sharon, 5 – Final – Sharon took all five matches in straight sets to fend off visiting Oliver Ames. Jacob Slavsky lost just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 first singles win, Matthew Lally added a 6-1, 6-3 second singles win, and Alex Budovalcev completed the singles sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at third singles. Sava Kassev and Joey Zwicker were victorious at first doubles (6-1, 6-1) while the Eagles’ second doubles team of Henry Chen and Andrew Xin landed a 6-3, 6-4 win.




Girls Tennis
Franklin, 3 @ Attleboro, 2 – Final – The Panthers picked up wins at second singles, third singles, and first doubles to edge host Attleboro. Junior Chloe Essam had a strong showing at second singles (6-0, 6-2) while junior Brooke Taylor only dropped one game at third singles (6-1, 6-0). Sophomores Brooke Daniels and Sydney Tolonen continued their impressive campaign at first doubles with a comeback win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Attleboro junior Maddie Fuscaldo recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win at first singles and the second doubles tandem of Julia Leonardo and Bree Paulette notched a 6-4, 7-6 (9) victory.

Canton, 1 @ Foxboro, 4 – Final – Foxboro found wins at first and second singles as well as both doubles matches to take down visiting Canton. Hailey Kornbluth (6-3, 6-0) and Makayla Peck (6-1, 6-1) won at singles for the Warriors, Analisa Tia and Audrey Paulino (6-2, 6-0) notched a first doubles win, and Emily Stow and Katelynn Dineen (6-1, 6-4) prevailed at second doubles for Foxboro. Canton’s Katherine Powers rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 win at third singles.

King Philip, 2 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – A singles sweep, highlighted by a comeback at second singles, lifted North Attleboro to a 3-2 win over visiting King Philip. Sophomore Megan Atwood bounced back from dropping the first set to secure a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win at second doubles in a three-hour long match to clinch the win. Junior Lauren Hunt (6-4, 6-1) and senior Grace Noreck (6-0, 6-1) won at first and third singles, respectively, for North. KP won both doubles matches with Priya Riar and Carlie Burns taking a 6-4, 6-3 decision at first doubles, and Lauren Casper and Jaelyn Dang securing a second doubles win.

Mansfield, 3 @ Stoughton, 2 – Final – Mansfield earned its second win of the season and spit the series with Stoughton. Caroline Guravage got an important point for the Hornets at third singles, winning 6-2, 6-1. Mansfield sealed the win by sweeping doubles. Jillian Hanley and Savannah Carey won 6-1, 6-3 and Rachel Goldman and Anushka Srivastava won 6-4, 6-0. Stoughton won at first and second singles. Ally Lada took her match 6-1, 6-1 and Nadia Prokopiuk won 6-3, 6-3.

Milford, 0 @ Taunton, 5 – Final – Taunton earned a clean sweep, taking all five matches in pro sets due to time constraints. Brooke Bell (8-5), Ava Alves (8-3), and Morgan Smith (8-3) all won in singles action, while the team of Janelle Garcia and Courtney Martin (8-3), and the duo of Caroline Pietnik and Sam Parrett (9-8 (8-6)) swept doubles play.

Sharon, 4 @ Oliver Ames, 1 – Final – Behind a pair of wins from both singles and doubles action, Sharon returned from Easton with a 4-1 win over Oliver Ames. Navya Shukla (6-1, 6-1) and Ale Aguilar (6-1, 6-0) had impressive wins at second and third singles, respectively for the Eagles. The team of Jenny Sand and Olivia Landstein earned a straight set win (6-1, 6-2) at first doubles, while the team of Grace Zhang and Zeina Cheima prevailed in a super tiebreaker (4-6, 6-2, 10-8) at second doubles. OA’s Hannah Farber played well in a 7-5, 6-3 win at first singles.

Boys Volleyball
Taunton, 0 @ Milford, 3 – Final

Monday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 05/15/23

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
North Attleboro, 1 @ Dartmouth, 6 – Final – Senior Peter Santoro pitched well in relief for the Rocketeers, tossing three scoreless innings with three hits and no walks, striking out five. Jordan Paradis (RBI) and Gio Martello each had a double and Chris Hanewich scored for North.

Taunton, 10 @ Plymouth North, 3 – Final – Taunton bounced back from a loss on Friday with a big win on the road at Plymouth North. The Tigers plated three runs in the top of the first and never trailed the rest of the way, adding two runs in the third, single runs in the fourth and seventh, and three more in the sixth inning. Braden Sullivan (two runs), Dawson Bryce (two doubles, two RBI, three runs), and Sean Murphy (RBI) each had two hits for Taunton while Ryan MacDougall (double, two RBI), Brayden Cali (two runs), Andrew Cali, and AJ Lewis (run) each had a hit. Brady Morin earned the win in relief, tossing 2.1 shutout innings with three strikeouts while Jack Cali had two scoreless innings in relief with a pair of strikeouts.

Sharon, 6 @ Stoughton, 2 – Final – Sharon overcame an early two-run deficit by chipping away in the middle innings and pulling away for good with a three-run seventh inning. The host Black Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Jeriel Cuello singled and then scored on a ball put in play by Hunter Malkin in the first inning, and courtesy runner Joey McEachern scored in the second (after a single from James Spector. Sharon responded with a run in the third (Liam Conway triple, wild pitch), one in the fourth (Seth Bonner RBI double), and one more in the fifth (Soham Kulkarni two-out RBI single) to take a 3-2 lead. In the top of the seventh, Cole Arundale tripled and came home on a single from Jake Loomis, who came home on a sac fly from Bonner. Conway’s second triple of the game added another insurance run to stretch the lead to 6-3. Luke Meixel earned the win for the Eagles, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk, striking out eight in a complete game.




Softball
Attleboro, 23 @ Holliston, 7 – Final

Canton, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 7 – Final – Oliver Ames earned its third straight win, building a big lead early to take down visiting Canton. The Tigers scored the first run in the second, stretched the lead with a four-run third, and scored once more in each the fourth and sixth innings. Maddie Homer (run), Erin Martin (RBI), and Paige Taylor (run) each had two hits for the hosts, Devon Morris drove in two runs and scored two runs, and Crystyliah Covel had one RBI. Katie Melendy earned the win for OA, allowing two runs (both unearned) on five hits and one walk, striking out seven in seven innings.

King Philip, 12 @ Bishop Feehan, 0 – Final (5 inn.) – King Philip collected its second straight win over a top ranked team, this time putting up 12 runs against a top-10 Shamrock squad from Feehan. KP took the lead on Ava Kelley’s RBI single in the first inning, scored three more times in the second, and plated four runs in both the third and fifth innings. Kelley (two runs, RBI), Charlotte Raymond (RBI), Liv Petrillo (two runs), Maddie Paschke (three RBI), and Taylor Regan (RBI, two runs) each had a pair of hits for the Warriors while Libby Walsh had a two-run home run in the fifth. McCoy Walsh tossed a five-inning shutout, allowing three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Mansfield, 1 vs. Norton, 13 – Final

North Attleboro, 3 vs. Dartmouth, 0 – Final – Last week, Kelly Colleran had a perfect game over five innings, today she threw one over seven innings. Colleran finished with 16 strike outs, two put outs, and an assist. She also blasted a second inning homer that turned out to be the game-winning run. With two outs, Maryellen Charette would double the lead, driving in Molly Willey. In the fifth, Willey drove in the third run with a fielder’s choice. Emma Hanwell had three hits for the Rocketeers, while Colleran and Arianna McDavitt each had a pair of hits.

Stoughton, 2 @ Norwood, 8 – Final




Boys Lacrosse
Milford, 5 @ Attleboro, 13 – Final

Canton, 12 @ North Attleboro, 10 – Final – Canton erased a three-goal deficit and outscored the host Rocketeers 9-4 in the second to get the win. North staked a 6-3 edge at the break but Canton owned the third and fourth quarters to get the win. Jeff Chaput led the charge with four goals, Michael Thomas and Ethan Keleher each had a hat trick, and AJ Thomas potted a pair for the Bulldogs.

Sharon, 11 @ Foxboro, 4 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. – Sharon used a dominant second quarter to create separation on its way to a key win over division rival Foxboro. The Eagles and Warriors traded goals in the first quarter but the second belonged to Sharon, who outscored the hosts 6-0 in the frame. Foxboro scored the first two goals of the second half but Sharon answered with four straight between the third and fourth quarters to pull away for good. Jordan Burt, Sam Rothbaum, Jordan Weisman, Ryan Brown, and Dylan Cummings each scored twice for the visitors and Edward Bondar found the back of the net once. Matt Powers played well in net for the Eagles. Foxboro’s Conor Noone scored twice while Jon Sacchetti and Tony Sulham each added one.

Franklin, 20 @ Oliver Ames, 1 – Final – Drew Hansen, Eddie O’Brien, and Luke Davis each scored a hat trick to lead Franklin to a win on the road over Oliver Ames. Hansen also had two assists, Davis had one helper, and both Tyler Sacchetti and Jayden Consigli had three points (two goals, one assist). Shaun Teehan scored for OA while Noah Isleib made 17 saves in the cage.

Mansfield, 19 @ Taunton, 0 – Final – Mansfield shut out the Tigers and clinched at least a share of the program’s first Davenport title and first league title since 2012. Tommy Smith led the way offensively, scoring four times and dishing out a pair of assists. Tommy Vallett added a hat trick, Cody Gordon and Andrew Burnham each had a pair of goals and a pair of assists, Drew Sacco scored twice, and Andrew DeGirolamo had a goal and a helper. Liam Barry, Will Riley (assist) Billy Doherty, Taher Mustafa, and Cooper Austin each found the back of the net once. Ryan DeGirolamo made six saves in the Mansfield goal.

Girls Lacrosse
Attleboro, 12 @ Milford, 11 – Final (2OT) – Attleboro rallied for a pair of late goals, including the game-tying goal with under a minute left in regulation, before pulling out the win in the second overtime. Bella Cavalini’s ninth goal of the game from a free position was the game-winner in double overtime while Peyton McAuliffe (16 saves) had a huge stop in the final seconds of the first overtime to keep the Bombardiers in it. Amelia Collins added two goals and two assists and Ryan Mooney added one goal. Leandra Lennon (six ground balls) and Ella Stromfors (five ground balls) played well defensively for the Bombardiers. Emily Croteau lead Milford with six goals and one assists, Alexa Landry and Kaitlin Landy each found the back of the net twice, and TJ Downing scored once. Caitlyn Bangert made 10 saves for the Scarlet Hawks.

North Attleboro, 5 @ Canton, 11 – Final

Foxboro, 17 @ Sharon, 1 – Final – Mya Waryas (two assists), Cate Noone (four assists), and Paige Curran (four assists) each had a hat trick for Foxboro in a win on the road. Mia DiNunzio (one goal), Kaelin Connors (goal, two assists), and Kathryn Ferguson (assist) all chipped in offensively in the win.

Oliver Ames, 4 @ Franklin, 22 – Final – The Panthers had 12 players find the back of the net and senior Lindsay Atkinson recorded her 100th career point in a win over Oliver Ames. Ella Mahoney and Maise Streeseman both played well in net.

Stoughton, 2 @ King Philip, 18 – Final – King Philip built a big lead early and never looked back in their first ever matchup with Stoughton. Haley Bright and Rose Campbell each had their first varsity goals in the win while Sammy Cloutier (two assists), Makenzie McDevitt, Nikki McDonald, and Ilah Weiblen each scored twice. Sarah Brown chipped in with three points, scoring once with two helpers. Morgan Groppi scored a pair of goals for the Black Knights.

Taunton, 3 @ Mansfield, 15 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. On senior night, goalie Caitlyn Zajac made 11 saves, including the 400th of her career, and scored her first varsity goal to help the Hornets pick up the win. Ava Adams scored five goals and dished out an assist, while pulling down seven draw controls. Brooke Butler scored five times and had three assists to lead the attack. Stella Moore had a pair of goals and Lola Varricchione and Carys Colby each scored once. Rose Maher had three helpers and Bella Sacchetti had one. Maddi Szala had two goals and an assist for the Tigers, Raquel Azevedo notched one assist, and Mel Jesus made 11 saves.







Boys Tennis
Canton, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 3 – Final

Milford, 0 @ Medway, 5 – Final

North Attleboro @ Dartmouth – Postponed

Sharon, 3 vs. Martha’s Vineyard, 2 – Final – Sharon extracted revenge against Martha’s Vineyard, treating the visitors to a 3-2 win in a rematch from earlier this season. Senior Matthew Lally earned a 6-3, 6-1 win at second singles and junior Alex Budovalcev sank his opponent with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 comeback win at third singles. The team of Kevin Li and Hyojae Park helped the Eagles clinch the win with a 6-3, 6-0 victory at second doubles.

Mansfield, 4 @ Franklin, 1 – Final – Mansfield took three wins from singles and one more from doubles to return home from Franklin with a 4-1 verdict over the Panthers. Sophomore Neema Khosravani notched a 6-2, 6-2 win at first singles, junior Nikhil Nain added a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at second singles, and junior Iniyan Karruppusami dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 win at third singles. The team of junior Jacob Weiner and sophomore Josh Weiner emerged from first doubles with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) comeback win. Franklin’s Andrew Amante and Aaron Ramaswamy recorded a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win at second doubles.

Taunton, 4 @ Durfee, 1 – Final – Martin Frankimet overcame a one-set deficit to take a win at second singles, highlighting the Tigers’ victory over Durfee. Frankimet earned a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win, Michael Kimmer added a 6-2, 6-2 win at first singles, and Heitor Sens completed the singles sweep with a 6-0, 6-1 win at third singles. Taunton’s first doubles team of Kenny Dias and Rowan Kimmer emerged with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win for the Tigers.

Girls Tennis
Oliver Ames, 5 @ Canton, 0 – Final – Oliver Ames returned from a trip to Canton with a clean sweep, 5-0, over the Bulldogs. Hannah Farber had an impressive win in a top battle, taking a 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles, Olivia Querzoli prevailed in a super tiebreaker (6-3, 4-6, 10-3), and Stella Zachos secured a 6-2, 6-2 win at third singles. OA’s first doubles team of Emily Beaulieu and Ava Barth prevailed in a tight battle 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-4, and the Tigers’ second doubles tandem of Marina Mierzwinski and Ella Mierzwinski earned a 6-1, 7-5 win.

King Philip, 0 vs. Bishop Feehan, 5 – Final

North Attleboro, 4 vs. Dartmouth, 1 – Final – A trio of dominant singles wins highlighted North Attleboro’s 4-1 win over visiting Dartmouth. Lauren Hunt rolled 6-0, 6-0 at first singles, Megan Atwood notched a 6-2, 6-3 win at second singles, and Grace Noreck recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory at third singles. North’s second doubles team of Jayla Stone and Grace Manning prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Sharon, 4 @ Martha’s Vineyard, 1 – Final – Sharon took wins in both doubles matches and added two more wins in singles action to earn a season sweep of Martha’s Vineyard. Nayya Shukla (6-0, 6-2) and Ale Aguilar (6-2, 6-0) both dropped only two games total at second and third singles victories. The team of Abby Vilk and Jenny Sand impressed in a 6-0, 6-3 first doubles win, and Ellie Zhao and Olivia Landstein rolled at second doubles to the tune of 6-0, 6-0.

Franklin, 5 @ Mansfield, 0 – Final – The Panthers won all five matches in straight sets to stay tied with North Attleboro at the top of the Kelley-Rex. Izzy Trull (6-1, 6-1), Brooke Taylor (6-1, 6-0), and Chloe Essam (7-5, 6-2) won their singles matches for Franklin. The doubles teams of Brooke Daniels and Sydney Tolonen (6-4, 6-1) and Allison Bagley and Ava Davies (6-1, 6-1) made it a clean sweep for the visitors.

Taunton, 4 vs. Durfee, 1 – Final – Taunton swept doubles action and won a pair of singles matches in straight sets to topple the visiting Hilltoppers. Juniors Janelle Garcia and Courtney Martin teamed up for a 6-4, 6-0 first doubles win while the junior tandem of Caroline Pietnik and Sam Parrett notched a 6-0, 6-3 victory at second doubles. Junior Ava Alves prevailed 6-4, 6-1 at second singles for the Tigers while classmate Morgan Smith recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win at third singles.

Boys Volleyball
King Philip vs. Millis, 4:45
Milford vs. Newton South, 6:15

Taunton, 3 vs. Barnstable, 1 – Final – After dropping the first set, Taunton rallied to win three in a row, including a marathon fourth set to clinch the victory (22-25, 25-16, 25-18, 34-32). Bradley Hyland continues to anchor the defense for the Tigers, recording 21 digs and three aces in the win. Daniel Freitas was putting the ball up perfectly, finishing with an impressive 60 assists in win; Freitas set up Matt Freitas (27 kills), Alvin Morisseau (12 kills, three blocks), Josh Duncan (nine kills, one block), Owen Kelley (eight kills, 10 digs), and Anotnios Dimakis (five kills, three blocks).

Franklin Clinches Kelley-Rex With Win Over Taunton

Alfred Mucciarone Franklin baseball
Franklin senior Alfred Mucciarone celebrates after recording his 10th strikeout to seal the win over Taunton. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 FRANKLIN, Mass. — The Hockomock League runs through Franklin — again.

The Panthers clinched their fourth straight Kelley-Rex crown with a 7-4 verdict over rival Taunton, sweeping the season series against the Tigers and staying undefeated at 15-0.

The bottom of Franklin’s lineup spearheaded a six-run second inning and senior right-hander Alfred Mucciarone struck out 10 — his fifth double-digit strikeout performance in six starts — in a complete game effort.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“It’s a balancing act,” said Franklin head coach Zach Brown of dealing with all of the storylines surrounding the matchup with the Tigers, including a second rematch of last year’s Division 1 state championship. “Sometimes when you have all this motivation it can work against you in baseball. We have to trust our leadership and when you have these veterans, who are saying all the right things, it makes it easier.”

After leaving the bases loaded in the first, Franklin’s big offensive inning came an inning later. Senior and seven hitter Ethan DePaolo found a hole in the left side for a leadoff single and senior Luke Sidwell battled back after falling behind 0-2 to leg out an infield single. Senior Ryan Carlucci, inserted into the lineup at first base due to an injury, smoked the second pitch he saw to the base of the center field fence to plate the first run of the game.

“It just lengthens us,” Brown said of the production from the bottom of the lineup. “We were playing today without Benny Jarosz, and Ryan Carlucci comes up and has that big double, and he was really good the other day against King Philip too. The bottom part of our lineup has been really productive and they’re relentless with their at-bats. They go down two strikes and they battle away, extending at-bats, seeing more pitches. Sometimes they will go down but what they’ve done is made it easier for the next guys coming up. It’s a team approach to offense and those guys have really developed their own identity. We can do a lot of different things with them and they now know what we’re looking for from them and how they can be effective out there.

“The bottom part of our order is relentless and they got us going there. That gave our more veteran guys an opportunity with runners in scoring position. They’ve worked really hard, great attention to detail, and to see it pay off in games is rewarding.”

That set the stage for the heart of the lineup as leadoff hitter Ryan Gerety (Northeastern) ripped an opposite field double to bring in two. After a single from Jase Lyons, senior Eisig Chin (Stonehill) had a line drive to right — Franklin’s sixth straight hit — for another run. A balk brought a run home and junior Henry Digiorgio (Northeastern) had an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 6-0.

Franklin had only allowed a total of eight runs in its first 14 games so the big second inning certainly put the Panthers in prime position.

But Taunton answered quickly and kept it close the rest of the way. Junior Andrew Cali and senior braden Sullivan had back-to-back one-out singles before Mucciarone got the second out with a strikeout. Senior Dawson Bryce, who will be joining a slew of former Panthers next year at Merrimack, delivered the big hit as he smacked a three-run homer over the left field fence to make it 6-3.

The bottom half of Franklin’s lineup delivered again as Sidwell, the eight hitter, turned a routine base hit into a double with his speed in the bottom of the third. A groundout from Carlucci moved the runner to third and Sidwell came flying home on a wild pitch to give the Panthers another insurance run.

“All year, we’ve been able to limit damage but we knew coming in we wouldn’t be able to afford too many mistakes,” said Taunton head coach Blair Bourque.
“They made us pay the price and we have to do a better job of limiting it. Dawson’s swing got us back in it and we got a little momentum there but Mucciarone is the best pitcher in the state for a reason. We knew it’d be a dogfight and we’d have to be at our best but we weren’t good enough.”

Mucciarone didn’t have much trouble the rest of the way, retiring the side in order in the fourth (two strikeouts), working around a two-out walk to Ryan MacDougall in the sixth, and sat the Tigers down in order in the seventh, punctuated with his 10th strikeout.

Taunton was able to pull one back in the fifth when Cali reached on an error, stole second, took third on a throwing error, and came home to score on Sullivan’s groundout.

“He’s just a special competitor,” Brown said of Mucciarone, who improved to 6-0 on the year with 62 strikeouts. “He’s everything you’d want in an ace: he’s got great stuff, he has tremendous ability, but more importantly are all his intangibles. He’s a tremendous competitor, a great leader for our younger pitchers, and he does so much on a daily basis in our dugout. We’re thankful we have him, he can make you look like a good coach.”

As the Tigers battle some injuries to their rotation, they did get some positive innings from both MacDougall, who was making just his second appearance on the mound, and Bryce, who made his fourth relief appearance of the year.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

MacDougall allowed one hit and two walks, striking out two in two scoreless innings while Bryce had two strikeouts while pitching a shutout sixth inning.

“With Jack [Cali] and Shawn [Cali] injured, we’ve kind of had to rely on some other guys,” Bourque said. “We weren’t anticipating having to use Ryan too much on the mound but we’ve had to start to have him throw some bullpens. Dawson’s been able to come in all year, and we’re being cautious with his arm, and his stuff is electric but we can’t use him much more.”

Franklin baseball (13-0 Hockomock, 15-0 overall) is back home on Tuesday evening to take on the Rocketeers of North Attleboro at 7:00. Taunton (9-4, 11-4) has a non-league matchup at Plymouth North on Monday.

Wednesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 04/05/23

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Attleboro, 1 @ Milford, 4 – Final – Milford junior Damien Carter dazzled on the mound in his first start of the season, leading the Hawks to a win on the road at Attleboro. Carter allowed just one run on one hit and six walks, striking out 11 in five innings of work. Mason Baldic came in for a two-inning save, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out four — three in the seventh inning. Offensively, Milford took an early lead on a two-out bases loaded walk from Louis Consigli. In the top of the second, Carter helped his own cause as he reached on an error that allowed Brady Butler (single) to score, and the Hawks pushed the lead to 3-0 on a sac fly from Evan Cornelius that scored Joe Butler (walk). Consigli’s patience paid off again as he drew yet another two-out bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth to push the lead to 4-0. Attleboro got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Jackson Huntington scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Cooper Johnson.

Sharon, 6 @ Canton, 10 – Final – Canton jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the fifth, but Sharon, which was the home team in this game, rallied with a five run bottom of the fifth to get back within one. After each team scored once in the sixth, Canton put the game away with a three-run seventh to pull out a second straight win. Matt Hart went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs scored to lead the Canton offense. Matt Lesser (3-for-5) also had three hits for the Bulldogs, scoring once and driving in one. Owen Lane went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot, scoring twice, and driving in a run. Matt Chafin was 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI, while Jack Digirolamo was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Freshman Chris Pirrera went 4-1/3 innings giving up five runs to earn the win. James Young (one run allowed) and Kyle Redquest each went 1-1/3 innings in relief. Sharon’s offense was led by Cole Arundale, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBI. Drew Yaffe (1-for-4) also drove in two, while Palash Raina and Liam Conway each drove in runs.

Mansfield, 3 @ Foxboro, 9 – Final – Buoyed by a big third inning and a strong pitching performance from senior Mat Sullivan, Foxboro earned a key early win over division rival Mansfield. The Hornets had a strong start to the third as Will Lund drove in two runs on a single and Matt DeShiro plated another with a single to right for a 3-0 lead but the Warriors answered with five runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good. Foxboro started the inning with three straight singles from Louis Carangelo, Ben Angelini, and Ryan O’Leary, the latter scoring the former to get the hosts on the board. After a one-out walk to Alex Stern, freshman Aidan Stow ripped a two-run double to left to tie the game. Tyler Prescott drew another walk to load the bases and Ryan LeClair delivered a two-run single to put Foxboro head. Foxboro tacked on another run in the fourth (Carangelo RBI single) and three more in the sixth, including a two-out, two-run single from sophomore Mike Marcucella. Sullivan earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out a pair in five innings. Tommy Watts tossed two scoreless innings in relief.

Franklin, 11 @ King Philip, 0 – Final (6 Inn.) – Franklin’s offense plated double-digit runs for the second straight game to start the season, this time on the road over rival King Philip. The Panthers scored one run in the first and another run in the third, then pulling away for good with four runs in the fourth and five more in the sixth inning. Junior Austin Campbell was dominant on the mound for the visitors, allowing just two hits (both singles) and one walk, striking out six in five shutout innings. Dillon Cashin came in and threw a shutout inning in relief with one strikeout. Ryan Gerety went 2-for-4, including his first career home run, and Eisig Chin (RBI), Ben Jarosz (run), and Luke Sidwell (RBI, two runs) each added two hits in the win.

North Attleboro, 1 @ Taunton, 2 – Final – Taunton’s Jack Cali impressed in his first start of the season and the Tigers used two runs in the third inning to land a close win over visiting North Attleboro. The Rocketeers got off to a strong start when Derek Maceda led off with a double and came around to score on a one-out single from Dillon Harding, but Cali and Dawson Bryce combined to silence North the rest of the way. Cali allowed just one more hit in six innings of work and one walk, striking out four to earn the win. Bryce pitched a scoreless seventh inning with one strikeout for the save. In the bottom of the third, Andrew Cali had a one-out single, stole second, advanced to third on an error, and scored on an infield single from Brayden Cali. AJ Lewis moved Brayden Cali to second with a single, and both runners advanced on a double steal. Brayden Cali then scampered home on a throwing error to make it 2-1. Jordan Paradis was strong on the mound for North with just two runs (one earned) allowed on four hits and no walks, striking out nine in six innings of action.

Stoughton, 6 @ Oliver Ames, 15 – Final – Oliver Ames got off to a great start with six runs in the first inning and then pulled away for good after a Stoughton comeback bid, plating six more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Matt Lawson went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored to pace the Tigers’ 11-hit game. Patrick Finnerty added two hits, two RBI, and a run scored while senior Ryan Lemay drove in a team-high three runs and had a double.








Softball
Attleboro, 21 @ Milford, 3 – Final (5 Inn.) – Attleboro’s lineup continues to rake. The Bombardiers had 17 hits as a team, including 14 from the first six batters in the order, to open the season with a third straight win. The visitors wasted no time on Wednesday, scoring four in the first, nine in the second, and four each in the fourth and fifth innings. Lily Routhier went 3-for-5 with a homer, three runs scored, and four RBI and Lauren Eby went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI to lead Attleboro’s attack. The Bombardiers also got two hits apiece from Sarah Maher (2-for-4, four runs, and two RBI), Rylie Camacho (2-for-2, five runs, one RBI, three walks), Emily Eby (2-for-4, three runs, and three RBI), and Jenna Callahan (2-for-5, three RBI). Callahan also picked up the win in the circle. Grace Bonina went 2-for-2 with a run scored and Olivia Baglione was 1-for-3 with an RBI for Milford.

Sharon, 1 @ Canton, 18 – Final (5 Inn.) – Canton’s offense exploded and the Bulldogs earned their first win of the season. Olivia Mackwell had three hits and four RBI, while Jess Wright and Kailyn Durham each had a pair of hits for the Bulldogs. Shaelyn Murphy picked up the win for Canton.

Foxboro, 10 @ Mansfield, 6 – Final – Foxboro scored eight straight runs to take an 8-1 lead and then scored a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to hold off a Mansfield comeback, pulling out a big division win. Freshman Mia Flannagan had a big game for the Warriors, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a solo homer. Ava Hill also went 3-for-3 and scored once, while freshman Meghan Kelly went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Autumn Stowell was 0-for-4 but drove in a pair of runs for the Warriors. Mansfield scored first with a single run in the first and then battled back, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut Foxboro’s lead to 8-5. The Hornets added a sixth run in the seventh. Callie Lake had a pair of hits, pair of runs, and a pair of walks from the leadoff spot, reaching base all four times. Julia Marnikovic was 1-for-4 with two runs, four RBI, and a homer.

King Philip, 16 @ Franklin, 4 – Final (6 Inn.) – KP pounded out 12 hits, four home runs, and scored 16 runs to earn a big division road win. The Warriors scored five in the first, five more in the third, three in the fourth, and sealed the win with a pair of runs in the sixth. Franklin scored twice in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Freshman Ali Gill (1-for-3, two runs scored), junior Maddie Paschke (2-for-4, run scored), and senior Charlotte Raymond (2-for-2, three runs scored) each hit homers and drove in three runs for KP. Libby Walsh went 1-for-3 with a homer and a pair of runs scored and Taylor Regan (1-for-3) also drove in two. Jordan Bennett gave up an earned run over 4-1/3 innings to earn the win. Carly Johnson-Pellegri was the star for Franklin’s offense, going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI.

Taunton, 2 @ North Attleboro, 1 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this game. Taunton was able to manufacture just enough runs to score a close win on the road, emerging victorious from a pitcher’s duel between junior lefty Sam Lincoln and North Attleboro senior righty Kelly Colleran. The Tigers pushed a single run across in the second and third innings while North had a single run come home in the fourth inning. Lincoln was the winning pitching, allowing one unearned run on one hit and two walks, striking out 16. Colleran tied the program record for strikeouts in a seven inning game, fanning 19 batters while allowing three hits and two walks. In the top of the second, Brooke Aldrich hit a dribbler that stayed on the third baseline and fair for an infield single. Aldrich stole second, moved to third on a dropped third strike, and came home for a run on a wild pitch. In the top of the third, Ava Venturelli had a one-out single and moved to second on a throwing error. A sac bunt from Kaysie DeMoura moved Venturelli to third, and that allowed her to score on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead. Colleran led off the bottom of the fourth by reaching on an infield error and raced to third on an infield single from Maryann Charette. An RBI ground out from Molly Willey cut the deficit down to one but Lincoln was able to strand runners at second and third to escape the inning.

Oliver Ames, 4 @ Stoughton, 6 – Final – Stoughton rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to secure a bounce-back win against a fellow Davenport title contender. Camryn Whitman and Angelina Berry each went 2-for-3 for the Black Knights, with Whitman driving in a pair and Berry plating one. Alyssa Edwards also went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Kerry Driscoll went the distance, overcoming a four-run third inning and striking out seven to pick up the win. Maddie Homer was 2-for-4 for OA, while Devon Morris was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Katie Melendy was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Melendy would pick up the loss in the circle, despite allowing only one earned run and striking out six.




Boys Lacrosse
Taunton, 8 vs. Norton, 7 – Final (2OT) – Taunton broke into the win column in its second game of the season as senior Connor McGrath potted the game-winning goal in overtime to hand the Tigers a thrilling double overtime win over Norton. Senior Israel Cruz paced the offense with four goals and an assist, Tommy Selfridge added three goals, and Colton Scheralis had one assist. Freshman Brody Coute had a strong showing in net with 10 saves.

Girls Lacrosse
Sharon, 14 @ Norwood, 20 – Final

Boys Tennis
Attleboro. 4 @ Milford, 1 – Final – Attleboro’s Kyle Neuendorf rallied from a one-set deficit to take the win at first singles, highlighting the Bombardiers 4-1 victory on the road at Milford. Neuendorf dropped a tight first set but lost just five games between the final two sets for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win at first singles. Tyler Rocchio added a 6-3, 6-2 win at second singles, the team of Luke Hinton and Brady Rosen secured a 6-1, 6-2 win at first doubles, and Noem Cook and Clayton Tyler dropped just two games in a win at second doubles (6-2, 6-0). Milford sophomore Corey Rattray earned his first win of the young season with a 6-4, 6-1 win at third singles.

Sharon, 4 @ Canton, 1 – Final – Sharon swept both doubles matches and won two more in singles action, all in straight sets, to earn a 4-1 decision on the road in Canton. Junior Matthew Lally earned a 6-1, 6-2 win at second singles and classmate Alex Budovalcev dropped just two games in a 6-0, 6-2 victory at third singles. The senior of sophomore Sava Kassev and senior Kevin Li rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 first doubles win and sophomore Joel Zwicker and senior Savir Basil earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory at second doubles. Canton junior Max Kupferman earned a hard-fought 6-4, 6-1 win at first singles.

Foxboro, 2 @ Mansfield, 3 – Final – Mansfield junior Iniyan Karruppusami prevailed in a second-set tie break to secure a win at second singles and the Hornets edged out visiting Foxboro. Karruppusami was one of two singles players to win for the hosts, taking a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win at second singles while sophomore Neema Khosravani grabbed a 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles. Mansfield’s second doubles team of Jesse Colchamiro and Dhruv Jain helped clinch the win with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Foxboro sophomore Luca Meyer earned his second win of the week with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 decision at third singles and the Warriors’ first doubles team of Hajji Glover and Evan Paluzzi battled to a 6-4, 6-3 win.

King Philip, 1 @ Franklin, 4 – Final – Franklin swept a pair of competitive doubles matches and added two more straight-set wins in singles action to knock off visiting King Philip. The team of junior Ahan Shetty and senior Eric Tomaino prevailed in a third set super tiebreak 6-2, 5-7, 10-6 at first doubles while Franklin’s second doubles pairing of sophomore Aaron Ramaswamy and junior Andrew Amante grabbed a 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 win at second doubles. Junior Jay Gorgas added a 6-1, 6-2 first singles win and senior Tyler Fitzpatrick was victorious with a 6-2, 6-1 win at second singles. KP sophomore Arjun Kollu rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles.

Taunton, 0 @ North Attleboro, 5 – Final – After dropping the first set, North Attleboro senior Brody Carter rallied to win two straight to complete the comeback, capping a 5-0 sweep for the Rocketeers. Carter emerged with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win at first singles, sophomore Darren Liang earned a 6-3, 6-0 win at second singles, and junior Caleb Cheney secured a 6-2, 6-1 win at third singles. North swept both doubles matches with junior Quinn DiFiore and senior Collin Lufgren taking a 6-1, 6-3 win and junior Arjav Raghuvanshi and freshman Rowan Kimmer winning 6-2, 6-2 at second doubles.

Oliver Ames, 5 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final




Girls Tennis
Milford, 1 @ Attleboro, 4 – Final – With a pair of wins in both singles and doubles play, Attleboro moved to 2-0 on the season by knocking off visiting Milford. Junior Maddie Fuscaldo had an impressive showing with a 6-0, 6-0 win at first singles while junior Presley Biller earned a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-2 win at second singles for the Bombardiers. Senior Zoe Stanley teamed up with junior Kyra Johnson and the duo earned a 6-3, 6-3 win at first doubles while the sophomore pairing of Julia Leonardo and Katie Lortos dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 win at second doubles. Milford sophomore Mallory Brickley secured a 6-3, 6-3 win at third singles.

Canton, 0 @ Sharon, 5 – Final – After dropping a tight second set in a tiebreaker, Sharon’s Sophia Oh emerged with a win in a third set super tiebreak to complete the Eagles’ 5-0 sweep against visiting Canton. Judy Song (first singles) and Ale Aguilar (second singles) each won by a 6-2, 6-1 score while Oh emerged with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 10-8 win. In doubles play, Ellie Zhao and Abby Vilk grabbed a 6-0, 6-3 win at first doubles and the pairing of Jenny Sand and Olivia Landstein didn’t drop a game in a 6-0, 6-0 win at second doubles.

Mansfield, 1 @ Foxboro, 4 – Final – Foxboro won a pair of singles matches and both doubles matches to pull out the league win. For the second time this week Haley Kornbluth took the win at first singles without dropping a game and Makayla Peck added a 6-3, 6-2 win at second singles. The doubles teams of Analise Jia and Audrey Paolino (6-2, 6-3) and Emily Stow and Katelynn Dineen (6-3, 6-2) also won in straight sets to keep Foxboro unbeaten through three matches. Mansfield’s Kristin Coombes earned the team’s lone point with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at third singles.

Franklin, 3 @ King Philip, 2 – Final – Franklin earned one win in singles action and swept both doubles matches, overcoming a one-set deficit in all three matches to edge out KP on the road. Junior Chloe Essam rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at second singles, the sophomore team of Brooke Daniels and Sydney Tolonen erased a three-game deficit in the third set to prevail with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win at first doubles, and seniors Shriya Rajesh and Allison Bagley landed a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback win at second doubles. KP senior Ahunna James rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at first singles and senior Caroline Freese landed a 6-2, 6-2 win at third singles for the Warriors.

North Attleboro, 3 @ Taunton, 2 – Final – Anchored by a sweep in singles play, North Attleboro picked up a close win on the road at Taunton. Junior Lauren Hunt continued her strong start to the season, dropping just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 win at first singles, sophomore Megan Atwood grabbed a 6-3, 6-1 win at second single, and senior Grace Noreck was impressive in a 6-1, 6-0 third singles victory. Taunton’s Morgan Smith and Janelle Garcia took a 6-3, 6-1 first doubles win and the team of Courtney Martin and Caroline Pietnik earned a victory at second doubles (6-1, 6-2) for the Tigers.

Stoughton, 0 @ Oliver Ames, 5 – Final – Oliver Ames swept all three singles matches and both doubles to grab a win over Stoughton at home. Hannah Farber picked up another win to start the year, earning a hard-fought 6-3, 6-3 win at first singles, Olivia Querzoli took the win at second singles after an incredible back and forth battle (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 10-2), and Ava Barth picked up a 6-1, 6-4 win at third singles. The team of Marina Mierzwinski and Ella Mierzwinski grabbed their frist win of the year with a 6-0, 6-3 first doubles win, and the team of Emily Beaulieu and Abby Borden completed the sweep with a three-set victory (5-7, 6-1, 6-3).

Boys Outdoor Track
North Attleboro @ Milford, 3:45

Girls Outdoor Track
North Attleboro, 70 @ Milford, 66 – Final

Boys Volleyball
Taunton, 3 @ King Philip, 1 – Final – King Philip kept the match going with a tight win in the third set, but Taunton completed the win by taking the fourth for a 3-1 (25-9, 25-17, 23-25, 25-16) decision. Matt Freitas paced the Tiger attack with 14 kills, adding five aces, a pair of blocks, and eight digs in a solid all-around performance. Owen Kelley added four kills, two aces, and eight digs while Josh Duncan pitched in with five kills and an ace. Ty Ekstrom (14 assists) and Daniel Freitas (16 assists, four digs) set the offense in motion while Bradley Hylander (five digs) played well defensively in the back row.