WORCESTER, Mass. – There are few secrets between league rivals. When Franklin and Taunton squared off at Polar Park on Sunday night for the Div. 1 state championship (a rematch of the 2022 title game), it was the third meeting of the year and sixth in the past two seasons. Both teams knew exactly what they were up against in the final.
Going up against Franklin ace Alfred Mucciarone, Taunton’s strategy was to be aggressive, not allowing the Hockomock MVP to get up in counts and to try and get on the board first. The strategy worked perfectly.
Taunton (21-4) took advantage of uncharacteristic defensive lapses from the Panthers, got clutch hitting from the top of the order, and scored six runs in the opening two innings to support a stellar pitching performance from sophomore Jonny Escobalez. It all came together in a 7-2 victory, a second straight D1 crown, and the program’s third title in the past four seasons.
“With Mucciarone, he’s the best pitcher in the state, we knew we were going to be aggressive,” said Taunton coach Blair Bourque. “If he could get ahead, we knew we’d be in trouble, so we were trying to be very aggressive, barrel balls up, get guys on, we were able to capitalize.”
“This is crazy, winning it two years in a row,” said senior Dawson Bryce. “It’s something very few people can do. We played how we always do throughout this season and even in this game, we stuck to what we know. That’s what you have to do in games like this.”
The Tigers wasted no time putting pressure on Franklin (23-4). Braden Sullivan led off the game by ripping a single to left. He was forced out on a grounder by Brayden Cali, but it set the tone. Bryce chased Ryan Gerety deep into center for the second out, but Ryan MacDougall dropped a base hit into shallow left and Cali was flying around the bases to come all the way home.
After Escobalez pitched around a Gerety single in the first, Taunton took control of the game in the second. Mucciarone had back-to-back throwing errors. The first allowed AJ Lewis to get to second base and the second, on a Dwayne Burgos bunt, brought Lewis in to score.
Mucciarone came back with a strikeout, but then walked Andrew Cali. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt moved two runners into scoring position. Sullivan came through again, his second hit in as many at bats would plate a pair. Brayden Cali followed with a single and Bryce shot a double right over the first base bag to bring in two more runs.
“Any time you play a team like Taunton, you can’t make mistakes against them and unfortunately we played our worst inning of the year in the second inning of a state title game,” said Franklin coach Zach Brown. “We made some uncharacteristic plays and that led to a crooked number and we were kind of chasing it the rest of the way.”
The five-spot that Taunton put up in the second gave Escobalez a six-run cushion with which to work, taking some of the edge off for the young pitcher. He allowed a one-out single to Luke Sidwell in the second but made a nice play to knockdown and stick with a Tyler Bellan line drive and got out of the inning.
“He’s been awesome,” Bryce said about Escobalez. “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.”
MacDougall added, “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.”
Franklin got one back in the third. Rex Cinelli reached on an error. Escobalez came back with a strikeout and Sullivan atoned for his miscue with a nice charge of a slow bouncer and throw on the run. He nearly made an even better play to end the inning when he picked a hard hit ball by Eisig Chin up the middle, but the throw wasn’t handled and Cinelli came in to score.
Taunton tried to answer back, as Sullivan got his third hit of the day. With Austin Campbell in to relieve Mucciarone, Bellan made a great play after taking a while to find a pop up behind the plate. Sullivan tagged and went to second, but got caught in a rundown after leaving the bag.
Bryce followed with a double that one-hopped the wall in right and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Campbell got a grounder to Sidwell at second to escape the jam.
“Those guys have been hitting well for the last couple games,” Bourque said about the top of his order. “They perform when the pressure is on and on the biggest stage, so those guys are clutch and that’s why they’re on top right now.”
In the fifth, the Tigers grabbed an insurance run. Burgos started it with a walk and Shawn Cali got a free pass right behind him. Campbell came back with a pair of strikeouts, but Brayden Cali made sure Taunton cashed in, ripping an RBI-double into the gap in left center.
Escobalez was in cruise control. He retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings. Henry DiGiorgio finally gave the Panthers a base runner with a one-out single in the sixth. A wild pitch moved him to second and Sidwell singled to center to drive in a run.
“A seven-inning game goes fast,” said Brown. “You have one bad inning and you’re behind the eight-ball. It’s extremely difficult. These guys have played tremendous baseball all year and more importantly they’re just tremendous young men.”
Things looks so comfortable for Escobalez, who came back out to close the game in the seventh. He struck out the first batter and then got fly balls to right and left, sealing an impressive win on the biggest stage and clinching another title for the Tigers.
Bourque was asked what the common thread has been through the three titles that the Tigers have won. He replied, “A lot of talent. I try to stay out of the way. Those guys are phenomenal players. They are able to do their thing and when the lights are the brightest they perform their best.”
Sullivan added, “We knew this year was going to be harder than last year. We knew we had what it took if we went in and did our job, we’d have a shot. We came out on top today, that’s all I can ask for. I couldn’t ask for anything more junior and senior year, winning the championship, it’s awesome.”
It was an extra special day for Bourque. Hours before leading the baseball team in a state championship, he was in Amherst to watch his daughter Bella, an eighth grader on the Taunton softball team, bring home the D1 title.
“I haven’t really let it sink in yet, but it’s super cool,” he reflected. “I’m going to remember this day for a long time. I told her at the beginning of the year, you just want to make varsity. Whatever happens, make varsity, be on that team because they were very talented, great coaching, they were going to go far. I didn’t know it was going to happen on the same day or on Fathers Day, but here we are and I couldn’t be happier.”