04/30/2017

Stoughton Completes Late Comeback In Extra Innings

Stoughton baseball — Stoughton players celebrate as Jack Connelly (right) approaches home plate after hitting a solo home run. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

WRENTHAM, Mass. – With ten seniors on the roster, there aren’t many situations that Stoughton baseball hasn’t experienced over the past few seasons.

That helps explain why there was no panic among the Black Knights heading into their last three outs, trailing KP 1-0.

Stoughton plated the tying run in the top of the seventh and scored the winning-run in the top of the eighth to escape with a 2-1 win over the Warriors at newly dedicated Gary Lombard field on the campus of King Philip Regional High School.

Both Stoughton senior Justin Hutchinson (compete game, six hits, two strikeouts) and King Philip senior Stephen Murray (7.2 innings, six hits, six strikeouts) dominated throughout the contest, turning a matchup between two strong offenses into a pitcher’s duel.

With the Warriors holding a 1-0 lead through six innings, Stoughton senior Luke Johnson reached on an infield error to lead off the seventh. Nick Hardy came through with a sacrifice bunt to move Johnson to second and Pat Hagerty drilled a single down the right field line to bring Johnson home to tie the game.

Hagerty stole second to move into scoring position but Murray picked up a strikeout and induced a fly ball to escape.

Murray singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh but a pinch runner was caught in a run down between first and second after Stoughton catcher Evan Gibb quickly fired to first after a missed bunt attempt. Hutchinson sandwiched a pair of fly balls around a walk to send the game into extra innings.

After a pair of groundouts for the Black Knights, senior Jack Connelly stepped to the plate. The first baseman launched a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right field — estimated at 400 feet by the grounds crew — to put Stoughton ahead 2-1.

“They don’t get any bigger than that,” said Stoughton head coach Mike Armour. “And Pat Hagerty coming through with the single to tie the game in the top of the seventh. He’s been a little snakebitten this year, hitting the ball on the screws a lot. So it’s nice to see him come through. If he doesn’t get that hit, Jack doesn’t have the opportunity to get his hit.”

Hutchinson needed just six pitches to get three straight ground balls in the bottom of the eighth to earn the win.

“Both kids were pitching really well,” Armour. said “Their guy [Murray] kept us in check, hit his spots and established the zone early. And then Hutch does what he always does. It was a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel. KP got their run across the plate…it was one of the craziest runs I’ve seen scored. I was just hoping that wasn’t the difference in the game.”

“We’ve had our tight games before today. These guys are just ball players. I think the experience they have, having a decent little run last year and the senior leadership, there’s 10 of them…they want to get it done every day they step out there.”

Both Stoughton and KP threatened in the third inning but both were denied at home on throws from the left side of the infield. In the top half, Matt Gallagher singled and Ruben Gonzalez had a bunt single to put move Gallagher all the way to third. Gonzalez stole second to put runners in scoring position with one out.

Murray then got a ground ball to shortstop Will Weir, who fired home to Nolan Bradley for the tag. Murray then induced a ground ball to escape without any damage.

In the bottom of the third, Jeremy Rhines led off with a second and moved to second on a sac bunt from Bradley. Rhines took third on a single from Chris Wing but was tagged out at home when a grounder went to Johnson at third and he fired home to Gibb for the tag.

KP broke the scoreless tie an inning later, needing just one hit to bring in a run. Murray connected on a two-out single, moved to second on a passed ball and stole third without a throw. With Murray taking a big lead at third, Stoughton catcher Evan Gibb elected to fire down the third base line to try and pick him off after a pitch from Hutchinson.

However, Gibb’s throw hit Murray in the helmet as he retreated back to third. The ball bounced into foul territory, temporarily freezing the defense. Murray took off for home and beat the throw to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

“That was a great baseball game,” said KP head coach Pat Weir. “There were a couple of mental errors, a couple of mental mistakes. Stoughton is a great hitting team. Stephen pitched his heart out, he deserved a better outcome than we gave him. But Stoughton is going to battle every time you play them. They’re well coached and they hit the ball very well, they’re a darn good baseball team.’

Hutchinson allowed just one hit between the fifth and sixth innings, and the runner was erased immediately. Bradley hit a fly ball down the right field line that just eluded the dive of Stoughton right fielder Ryan Sullivan. But Sullivan was quick to his feet and got the out as Bradley tried to leg out a double.

Murray also allowed just one hit between the fifth and sixth innings, a two-out single from Connelly but quickly got a ground ball to get out of the inning.

Stoughton baseball (7-2 overall, 6-2 league) is back in action on Monday night on the road at Franklin with first pitch scheduled for 7:00. King Philip (5-4, 4-4) will try to snap its current skid when it hosts Sharon on Monday at 3:45.

04/18/2017

King Philip Outduels North In Non-League Clash

By Joe Clark, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter

WRENTHAM, Mass. – King Philip escaped a jam in the top half of the fourth and scored three runs in the bottom half to pick up a 4-1 non-league win over North Attleboro on Tuesday afternoon.

Pitching dominated the game early on as both North’s Nick Sinacola and KP’s Stephen Murray pitched 1-2-3 first innings. Through three innings, the only hit of the game was a second inning single single by North Attleboro catcher Zach DeMattio, who paced North’s offense with a 2-4 day, including an RBI triple.

After DeMattio’s single, Nick Crowley got hit by a pitch which set North up with first and second and nobody out, but Murray got a pop out to third and then a fly out to Patrick Limerick in left field, then doubled off DeMattio at second after he left early. Nick Sinacola set down the first nine KP batters he faced, striking out three.

In the fourth, both teams got their offense working, as North loaded the bases after back to back singles from Nick Crawley and Matt Iaconis and a two out walk by John Brennan, but Murray got out of the bases loaded jam by getting a hit back to the mound for a 1-3 put out.

“That’s what Steve does. He’s been with me for three years now, and when he gets in a jam I don’t get nervous, I get worked up, but not nervous because Steve’s gotten out of situations like that so many times now,” said KP coach Pat Weir about Murray’s ability to get out of jams.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Warriors took advantage of that momentum. Kyle Guenther became KP’s first base runner with a single into center, and Will Weir connected on a one-out single, which set up first and second with only one out. Sinacola got his fourth strikeout of the game for the second out but walked Ben Furfari to load the bases.

Collin Cooke then drew a walk to score Guenther, and Sinacola just barely hit Jack Webster with a pitch which allowed Weir to cross the plate. Chris Wing drew KP’s second bases loaded walk of the inning, which brought home Furfari and gave KP a 3-0 advantage. After Wing’s walk, Peter Cohen came in to relieve Sinacola, and he induced a grounder to Brennan, who stepped on second for the force out to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, North answered back with a two out rally of their own. Nate Pearce hit a two-out double into the gap and DeMattio crushed a ball deep into right for a triple to bring home Pearce and get North on the board and cut the KP lead to 3-1.

In the bottom half of the 5th, Guenthner drew a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Limerick. Will Weir singled home Guenther, and advanced to second on an error on the throw home. Murray was then hit by a pitch, and with Furfari at the plate, Murray and Weir executed a perfect double to steal to set up second and third with only one out.

However Furfari’s ensuing flyout was not deep enough to score Weir, and a ground out to short to end the inning.

After walking Iaconis to start the top of the sixth, Murray was pulled from the game, but he still had a very impressive outing, striking out three in five inning of work while only allowing one run. Jackson Shiebler replaced Murray, and induced a pair of fielder’s choice outs and then got a force out to end the inning.

Cohen set down the Warriors in order in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Shiebler got a fly out to center and a ground out, but after walking Nate Pearce, North had one last chance. After a tough at-bat with DeMattio fouling off a couple of pitches, Shiebler ended the game with a strikeout.

KP (5-1) will get back at it on Thursday at noon when they take on Taunton (4-0) at home.

North Attleboro (3-3 for tournament purposes) will return home to Community Field on Thursday where they’ll do battle with Stoughton (4-2).

05/23/2016

KP ‘Answers the Bell’ Against Franklin, Clinches Title

By Lance Reynolds, HockomockSports.com Contributor

FRANKLIN, Mass. – The top of the sixth inning of Monday’s contest between King Philip and Franklin could very well be what defines the Warriors’ season, and what ignites them into a lengthy tournament run.

Losers of three straight coming into the marquee showdown against the Panthers, circumstances were not looking promising for KP as Franklin tacked on four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead going into the sixth. However, that’s when everything began to go in the Warriors’ favor.

In the top of the sixth, KP ‘answered the bell’ by plating a game winning seven runs en route to clinching at least a share of the Kelley Rex title with a pivotal 9-5 victory over the Panthers, who also had a chance at claiming a split of the title entering Monday.

“That’s something that we haven’t been able to do all year. That’s a great Franklin team – they answered the bell there with the five runs. We haven’t been able to come back deep in games,” KP coach Pat Weir said. “I brought the kids in between that inning, and they understood what was on the line here. Coming off of three losses last week, I asked them to answer the bell, and every single one of those kids stepped up to the plate and answered the bell. There’s no one that stood out from nobody else – that was a complete team effort in that inning.”

Franklin sophomore Jason Ulrickson was nearly unhittable through the first five innings. The left-handed starter’s only blemish coming on a single off the bat of Will Weir in the top of the first. From there on, Ulrickson retired the next 13 KP batters – getting the Warriors to go down in order in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. However, King Philip was finally able to solve Ulrickson’s mastery the third time through the order.

The Warriors promptly put the first two batters on base in the decisive top of the sixth in the form of pinch hitter Ben Furfari, who was hit-by-pitch, and a Ryan Guenette single to right. Two batters later, Jon Rolfe loaded the bases on an infield single. Hitting in the third spot of KP’s lineup, Will Weir drove in Furfari for the first Warriors run on a sacrifice fly to center.

Cleanup hitter Jack DiCenso chipped in with a two run double to right bringing in Guenette and Rolfe to trim the Panthers lead to two at 5-3. Kyle Guenthner then drilled a double into left driving in DiCenso for a one-run ballgame at 5-4. Ryan Coulter followed with a game-tying single to right and quickly scored the go-ahead sixth run on a single that dropped into left field off Patrick Limerick’s bat. The seventh and final run of the inning came on a Guenette single to left scoring Limerick.

“I think it was a matter of us going through a few times and seeing [Ulrickson] for that second and third time,” Weir said of the KP’s offensive attack in the sixth. “He definitely kept us off balance – his breaking stuff kept us off balance – I think we were off on our front foot quite a bit. I think our guys relaxed there late in the game. Second, third time through, some of those guys sat back and kept their hands back, and I think we saw some good results from it.”

The Warriors were not quite done as they tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh. Rolfe and Weir led off with back-to-back singles through the right side. The duo then converted a double steal during a Guenette at-bat with Rolfe successfully coming home for the eighth run. Weir came around on a Guenette single to score the ninth run and put KP on top 9-5.

“We have two games left in the season, and we’re fortunate enough for the first time in seven years to go into tournament play,” Weir said. “There is nothing worse going into tournament play on a losing streak. Nothing better than having an inning like that and being able to roll in to our next two games and enter the tournament hitting like we hit in that sixth inning.”

DiCenso started on the mound for the Warriors and tossed four innings of one run ball before Franklin tagged him for four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The first run came in second on a Corey Langevin single plating Mike Skaza.

Langevin got things going in the fifth by reaching on a leadoff error in the KP infield. Number nine hitter Alex Bissanti put two runners on a hit-by-pitch, and leadoff hitter Nick Santucci bunted his way on to first base to load the bases with no outs. Ryan Hodgkins followed through with a two-run knock on a double to right scoring Langevin and Bissanti for the second and third runs. Skaza brought in Santucci and Hodgkins was able to get around the tag of KP catcher Nolan Bradley for Franklin’s fifth and last run.

DiCenso was pulled after five innings of work allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three. Weir elected to go with Jake Cavanagh for the final two innings. The senior first baseman and pitcher retired all six batters he faced – two of them coming on strikeouts – to pick up the win for the Warriors.

“Jack (DiCenso) is a kid that’s done it all year long. I think this was the first time that he’s given up an earned run in this game here today,” Weir said. “I think he battled hard. Don’t forget that that’s a Franklin team that’s been hitting the cover off the baseball as of late.

“Jack got in a little trouble there in the end, but we then decided to go to Cavanagh. Jake Cavanagh is someone that has come in time and time again in a save situation or starting a baseball game, and being able to finish it. I can’t say enough about that kid as a person and as a player.”

After combining to score just four runs in three games last week, Weir is nothing but thrilled with how his Warriors were able to come back with a nine run explosion on Monday.

“How can you not feel good after that sixth inning?,” Weir chuckled. “I’m extremely proud of these boys.”

King Philip baseball (11-4 in league-play, 14-4 overall) hopes things continue to roll when they travel to North Quincy on Wednesday for a non-league game while Franklin (10-6 in league-play, 12-8) looks to get back in the win column on Wednesday when they take on Hopkinton at Natick High School.

05/18/2016

Taunton Pulls Into Tie For First With Walk-Off Win

Taunton baseball — Taunton players rush Luke Figueira (helmet) after his game winning RBI against KP. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

TAUNTON, Mass. – When Taunton senior Luke Figueira stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with the winning run at second base, it was the first at bat he had against King Philip reliever Jon Rolfe. But Figueira already knew what to expect, thanks to a little scouting he did two innings prior.

Figueira roped the second pitch he saw into right center field, bringing in senior Matt Machado for the winning run, giving the Tigers a 2-1 walk-off win over the Warriors and putting the teams in a tie for first place in the Kelley-Rex with three leagues to go.

Two innings prior with the Tigers trailing by a run, it was Figueira that knotted the game. His one out single, one of three hits in the game, brought in Machado to tie the game in the sixth and chased KP starter Jake Cavanagh. Figueira advanced to second, giving him a great view of Rolfe on the mound.

“When I was at second, I was seeing his curveball and I could see it right out of his hand so I knew that when I got up to hit, that I could see it,” Figueira said. “If I got a fastball, I was going to hit it and if it was a curve I was going to let it go. I got the fastball.”

Taunton scored both of its runs in nearly identical fashion. Machado led off the sixth with a single and stole second. A sacrifice bunt from senior Kevin Griffin moved him to third and Figueira drove him in with a hit through the left side of the infield.

In the eighth, Macahdo once again led off with a single. Griffin laid down a bunt and reached when Machado beat the throw to second. That set the stage for Figueira’s game-winning hit.

Danny Keogh earned the win, tossing a scoreless eighth inning for the Tigers.

“Today was a big one, for a lot of reasons,” Taunton head coach Jeff Sylvia said. “It was good to get the win. I’m proud of the team, they didn’t give up. For a while there, it was bleak there offensively. I thought Luke did a great job, he battled for seven innings. He didn’t have his best stuff and KP had a great approach offensively. When we scored the run, we loosened up a little bit and played better.

“Coach Weir has [KP] playing great baseball, he’s done a great job with that program. We knew going into today this game was big on many fronts. I’m proud of the team, they stepped up and got it done.”

It was a heavyweight battle between the Warriors and the Tigers and both teams’ aces delivered on the mound. Figueira threw seven innings with one earned run allowed and five strikeouts. Cavanagh allowed just the one earned run in 5.1 innings, striking out six and scattering four hits.

“He pitched his heart out,” Weir said of Cavanagh. “I knew what I was going to get out of him, he’s done it all year long. He’s going to give you his best every time and had just the one run allowed today. But today was about execution, period, end of sentence. You’ve got to execute in those situations, it’s a simple game.”

For Figueira, there was more than just the battle of supremacy in the division and the chance for revenge driving him. Figueira’s teammate, classmate and best friend Brendon Mazerolle, the team’s starting shortstop, had his season cut short due to a knee injury over the weekend.

“This was for Maz,” Figueira said. “This gives us a chance [in the division] now. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot on Monday, we didn’t play very well. Coming back today, it was a good bounce back win and it can give us a lot of momentum heading into the final games and hopefully another team can help us out.

“You can never give up when you’re down. They didn’t hit the ball hard, they just found the hole and there’s nothing you can do about that so you just have to keep battling.”

King Philip cashed in for its lone run against Figueira in the top of the fourth inning. Ryan Coulter had a two-out infield single to get things started and stole second base to get into scoring position. Cavanagh blooped a single into right field and Coulter came around to score.

The Warriors threatened in each of the last three innings but good defensive plays from Taunton – something they lacked in the first meeting between the two – kept KP off the board. Stephen Murray reached on a drop third strike and got to third on a pair of wild pitches. With one out, the Warriors attempted a squeeze play but there was no contact at the plate and Taunton catcher fired to sophomore shortstop Jacob Crawford, covering at third, for the out.

Ryan Guenette led off the seventh by getting hit by a pitch and took second on a sac bunt from Stephan MacMeans. Figueira then induced a ground ball to third where freshman Jack Moynihan fired to first for an out and Charles Hearrold III fired back to Crawford at third, catching the runner for a double play. In the final inning, Crawford took a toss from Griffin with his bare hand and completed a 4-6-3 double play.

“Because of an injury, we’re pretty young up the middle but those guys have been working hard in practice,” Sylvia said. “Jake Crawford, he got thrust into that position but when he plays short in practice, he looks like that on the field. And he’s got a sneaky strong arm. That double play he turned when he bare handed it, not many kids do that and that’s impressive.”

Machado finished 2-4 with a pair of runs scored, Griffin had two important bunts late and Figueira went 3-4 with a pair of RBI for Taunton.

“I don’t care how Matty gets on, he’s our fastest guy and the team can relax and we’re more aggressive when he gets on,” Sylvia said. “Getting on in front of Kevin, who does a lot great job with bat control and then Luke is in the right spot at the right time. We had the right scenario [twice], we don’t always get that but it worked out.

“They beat us the first time so today was a big one. It felt like we were focused all game. Even though it didn’t look good offensively early, they never gave up and I can’t be more proud as a coach.”

Taunton improves to 12-3 overall and 10-3 in league play. The Tigers final three league games will be against Sharon, Oliver Ames and Mansfield over the next five days. King Philip drops to 13-3 overall and 10-3 in the league. The Warriors will take on Sharon and Franklin in the coming five days before wrapping up league play against Stoughton next Saturday.

Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.

05/13/2016

Warriors Steal Victory On Rough Day at the Plate

King Philip Baseball — Jake Cavanagh threw 3-1/3 innings of one-hit relief to help KP pull out a win against North Quincy. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

WRENTHAM, Mass. – With King Philip leading by a run and two outs in the fourth inning, Chris Wing, who was making his first start and just second appearance of the season, walked his second North Quincy hitter of the game to load the bases.

The Warriors were struggling at the plate against North Quincy starter Shawn Kelly, so KP coach Pat Weir decided it was time to go to the bullpen. He brought in senior Jake Cavanagh, who promptly induced a comebacker to end the inning and escape the jam.

“I did it in the Mansfield game, similar situation, game was on the line, runners in scoring position,” said Weir about making the pitching change. “He’s absolutely emotionless on the mound. I know he’s going to get it done.”

KP added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the game open and managed to pull out a 5-1 victory over the Red Raiders, despite managing only four hits (three of them infield hits) and hitting two balls out of the infield.

“Absolutely a day to put behind us,” said Weir. “That’s the funny thing about the game of baseball, you’re always going to have one of these days. I’m actually proud of the way they were able to battle through and fight through it and still come away with the victory.

“It was kind of a sub-par performance from a baseball perspective but I’m proud of the way they were able to grind it out.”

What the Warriors lacked in pop at the plate they made up for with aggressiveness on the basepaths. KP finished with eight stolen bases and also advanced on four wild pitches.

Although they also were thrown out trying to take second on a ball four that went to the backstop and trying to come home on contact against a drawn in infield, Weir will play the percentages and stick with the aggression.

“A lot of times we’re going to make those outs at home or at second base but that’s just the way we play,” he explained. “A lot of times you apply the pressure to the defense and a lot of time you have them make mistakes.

“We’re not going to change. It’s aggressive baseball and that’s our style here at King Philip.”

The Warriors took the lead in the bottom of the second. Jack DiCenso led-off the inning with a walk, one of six free passes issued by Kelly, and Jake Lannigan was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position for Ryan Guennette, who line a single to left scoring one.

Guennette stole second and Wing was also hit by a pitch to load the bases. Lead-off hitter Stephan MacMeans grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Lannigan with the second run.

Wing cruised through the first two innings with four groundouts and a strikeout in the first six hitters. In the third he allowed a pair of singles, but a 6-4-3 double play (Will Weir to Guennette to DiCenso) ended the inning.

In the fourth, North Quincy out together a rally. A one-out walk got it started, followed by a double to left that put two in scoring position. Matt McDonald grounded to third and Lannigan tried to get the lead runner at the plate but Nolan Bradley’s tag was not in time and the Raiders were on the board.

Wing struck out the next hitter for the second out, but then walked Tommy Kelly to load the bases and the coach called for Cavanagh.

“With the non-league game and four games this week, I took it as an opportunity to try and get [Chris] some reps,” said Weir. “He did well and in the fourth inning he got himself into a little jam but then you’ve got the senior leadership coming in, Jake Cavanagh.”

The Warriors were still scuffling at the plate, but in the fifth they put the game away. Ryan Coulter started the inning with a swinging bunt that he beat out for an infield hit, one of two for him in the game. Cavanagh drew a walk and both moved up on MacMeans’ two-strike sacrifice bunt.

Kyle Guenthner grounded to third and the throw to the plate was judged to have beaten Coulter, although it did not appear that the catcher had actually made the tag. Kelly threw a wild pitch and that brought Cavanagh home and Guenthner stole third. Will Weir walked and managed to get himself into a rundown that allowed Guenthner to score before diving back into first safely.

Weir then stole second and third. He would score on another wild pitch to make it 5-1. Three runs for the Warriors with only one hit that did not get past the mound.

Pat Weir joked, “We scored four runs that inning and we had an infield dribbler for a base hit?”

Cavanagh shut down North Quincy. He threw 3-1/3 innings of one-hit relief and struck out two in each of the final two innings.

Weir said, “He got stronger as the game went along. You could see it in that last inning he was bringing it pretty hard. He’s a kid I can alway rely on and lean on.”

It was an ugly win, but it counts. Weir said with a laugh, “We’re not going to look back on how it was a win, but I’ll take the ‘W’ anytime I can.”

KP (12-1, 10-1) will be right back on the diamond on Friday with a non-league game at Sharon.

Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.