06/02/2017

Macek, Milford Outlast Stoughton In Extra Innings

Milford baseball — Milford’s Aidan Wilde (1) and Alex Macek celebrate after recording the final out. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

STOUGHTON, Mass. – The last time Milford senior Alex Macek toed the rubber on Anthony Noviello Field on the campus of Stoughton High School, things didn’t exactly go as planned as the Black Knights exploded for 15 runs.

This time around, things couldn’t have gone much better.

Macek pitched 8.2 innings, allowing just two innings in the first inning, and struck out seven, leading the Scarlet Hawks to a 3-2 win over Stoughton in nine innings.

With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth, Macek hit a grounder to the left side of the infield and the throw to first was short, allowing sophomore Alex Coady to cross for the go-ahead run.

Stoughton’s Ryan Sullivan drew a two-out walk and Jack Connelly singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Milford’s Aidan Wilde relieved Macek on the mound and got the final out, a grounder to third.

“We made plays, we had very good pitching so it gave us an opportunity,” said Milford head coach Paul Pellegrini. “We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities early but we stuck with it and that showed there. That was a complete team effort. I know Macek didn’t want me to take him out there, but his pitch count was up there.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Stoughton had a bright start as Ruben Gonzalez reached on an error to lead off and Sullivan sliced a an RBI triple down the right field line after a lengthy at-bat. Connelly took first after being hit but Macek induced a double play, allowing just the one run to score and recorded the third out to escape with just a 2-0 deficit.

Macek then tossed seven and two thirds scoreless, working around a one-out double in the second, a bases loaded situation one one out in the third inning, runners first and second with no outs in the fifth inning, runners on second and third with one out in the sixth and a lead off single in the seventh.

“He just kept them off balance,” Pellegrini said of Macek. “He threw a lot of strikes, he didn’t have too many walks. I know he hit the two guys but we ended up getting out of that inning. He really battled, it didn’t look like his velocity was all there but he was effective with his off speed stuff.”

“I had pitched well against them last year before the 15-0 game earlier this year, so I was confident and I knew it wouldn’t happen again, I wouldn’t let it happen,” Macek said. “The first pitch curve was working well for me and I was getting inside and jamming them.

“We’ve all been playing together since we were nine so we’re all in this together. We didn’t want today to be the last game. I just wanted to put the ball in play and see what happens.”

“No excuses from us, we don’t make excuses,” said Stoughton head coach Mike Armour. “We have to score more than two runs. We have to hit the ball more…there were a lot of runners stranded, for both teams. It seemed like we had guys on base every inning, as did they, and no one was getting it done. We had our chances, we just couldn’t get another run across the fish. Regardless of how it happened, they scored one more run than we did.”

Milford cut into the lead in the third inning, loading the bases for the first of three times in the contest. Tony Mobilia was hit by a pitch and Ryan Goncalves followed with a one-out single. Anthony Arcudi laced a single to load the bases and Wilde drew a walk to cut the deficit in half.

Stoughton starter Justin Hutchinson (6IP, 1R, 6H, 7K) bounced back and recorded two straight strikeouts to avoid any further damage.

“I miss him already,” Armour said of Hutchinson, who led the Hockomock in wins and was second in strikeouts. “To think that we’re done, it’s tough. He was very dedicated to the program and he just loves the game of baseball. I have full confidence he will excel at the next level. There won’t be another Hutch.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Milford would send three more batters up to the plate with the bases loaded. The Hawks filled the bags with one out in the fourth but Connelly made a nice grab over the dugout fence in foul territory and Hutchinson got another strikeout. Milford loaded them once again with two outs in the sixth, but Stoughton’s Pat Hagerty made a charging catch in center for the third out.

It looked as though the Black Knights pushed across their third run of the game when sophomore Evan Gibb dove head first into first and appeared to beat the throw, allowing Sullivan to score, but the infield ump called the play out at first.

Wilde started the Hawks off on the right foot in the seventh inning, reaching first after being hit and taking second on a wild pitch. Coady then delivered a line drive base hit to bring Wilde around for the tying run with one out.

“He’s really our vocal leader believe it or not as a sophomore,” Pellegrini said of Coady. “He’s a good kid, he just gets it. His on-base percentage was around .550 this year and he batted around .400…he sees the ball very well. He’d been struggling a little bit at the plate so it was nice him come through at that point.”

Milford baseball (12-9) advances to the D2 South Quarterfinals and will play at fifth-seeded Greater New Bedford (15-6) on Monday at 4:00. Stoughton finishes the season 15-6.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

05/16/2016

Milford Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive With Win at Canton

CANTON, Mass. – The tournament has started early for Milford. The Hawks entered Monday afternoon’s game with Davenport rival Canton sitting on 10 losses and needing six wins in a row to try and qualify for the postseason.

Milford got a little help from the Bulldogs to keep its playoff hopes alive, as seven Canton errors led to 10 unearned runs for the Hawks in a 14-6 victory. The Hawks lost a 5-0 lead and fell behind 6-5 in the fourth, but used a seven-run sixth inning (fueled in part by three errors) to break the game open.

“I think the important thing was we put the bat on the ball and put the ball in play and we took advantage of some miscues,” said Milford coach Paul Pellegrini. “If this was the fifth game of the year this might not have happened but the kids are starting to get it a little bit more as the year goes on.”

The visitors jumped out to a lead in the top of the first against Canton starter Sean Doyle. Alex Coady drew a one-out walk and scored on Aidan Wilde’s double to left center. Wilde was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Blake Hill singled to continue the inning and after a walk, a fly ball to left off the bat of Anthony Arcudi was dropped allowing the Hawks to take a 2-0 lead and setting the tone for a tough day in the field for the Bulldogs.

In the second, Milford added two more runs. Brian Ireland started the inning with a homer to right and a two-out walk to Coady would lead to another. Wilde was up next and was hit by a pitch and Hill drew a walk to load the bases. Zack Tamagni drew the inning’s third walk to earn an RBI.

Coady would make it 5-0 in the third with a two-out fielder’s choice that scored Ireland, but Canton rallied in the bottom half of the inning. Joe Peccia drilled a two-run homer to right to get the Bulldogs on the board.

In the fourth inning, Canton took its first lead. Kevin Monagle led off with a walk and Doyle followed with a single to right. After a wild pitch, Daniel Harnett hit into a fielder’s choice that scored one run, but Doyle got caught in a run down for the first out.

Matt Cassamento and Mike McMahon both singled to load the bases and a wild pitch brought in the second run of the inning. Peccia added his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at 5-5 and when Griffin Jerrier’s grounder was not fielded cleanly, Canton took the lead.

Another error led to another unearned run for Milford in the fifth and tied the game again.

“Of the 14 runs they scored, I think four or five were earned runs,” said Canton coach J.P. Scott. “We seemed to struggle to make the defensive plays. I think we’re a team that has to make all the defensive plays, we can’t make mistakes, to win in this league.”

Canton had a chance to regain the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Hill walked Jim Jenkins and Monagle with no outs. Milford turned to junior Nate Irwin, who induced a 6-3 double play from Doyle and a pop up into shallow left for Wilde to track down and end the threat. Irwin would allow only one hit and two base runners in three scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win.

“Nothing bothers him, just came out and he did his job,” said Pellegrini. “He doesn’t get upset, doesn’t bother him; he just comes out and does his job.”

The game was won in the sixth. Milford scored seven runs on three hits off Peccia, who took the mound in the fourth inning in relief of Doyle. Canton also made three errors in the inning, extending the at-bat for Milford and leading to 11 hitters coming to the plate in the frame.

With one out, back-to-back errors and a hit batter loaded the bases. Irwin hit a grounder towards third, but the attempt to get the lead runner was bobbled allowing everyone to reach safely. Chris Speroni’s grounder also got away from a fielder to bring in a second run. Coady singled to left and it was 9-6 for the Hawks with the bases still loaded.

Peccia struck out Wilde to get the second out, but he could not limit the damage, as Hill drilled a line drive double to right center that if not for the fence could still be traveling. The hit cleared the bases and Hill came home one batter later on a single by Tamagni.

“He’s been really killing the ball this year,” said Pellegrini of Hill. “I haven’t seen someone who hits the ball as hard as him in a long time.

“He hit a ball against Franklin that I still haven’t seen a ball hit that far at Fino. It hit the branches halfway up the tree at the ‘432’ sign and came down and hit the fence. It was a triple.”

Alex Macek doubled to start the seventh and would eventually score on a wild pitch to wrap ip the scoring for the Hawks (5-10, 5-9), who will need to win all five of their remaining games to earn a spot in the tournament.

“We’ve got some work ahead,” said Pellegrini. “We’re not giving up and we’ve got some tough games coming up, but if we hit the ball like that we’ll be okay.”

The loss could prove pivotal for the Bulldogs as well. Canton (6-9, 5-9) now needs to win four of its last five games to return to the postseason. Scott said, “It’s a question of desire and how much fight do we have.”

He continued, “I think we have the talent, just have to make sure everyone shows up ready to play… We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

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

05/07/2016

Panthers Pounce Early, Hold Off Late Milford Push

Franklin baseball — Franklin senior shortstop Nick Santucci, who had three RBI, throws a runner out at first. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

MILFORD, Mass. – After being shutout in its previous two games, Franklin wasted little time in finding offense on Saturday, plating seven runs in the first inning on the way to a 9-6 win over Milford.

The Panthers were shutout twice in a three day span but it took just two at bats for Franklin to score a run in the top of the first inning against the Scarlet Hawks. In total, the Panthers batted around in the first, sending 12 to the plate and using six hits to score seven runs.

“I do believe we have a good offensive baseball team and it was only a matter of time,” Franklin coach Zach Brown said. “The guys have been really diligent and working hard in the cages. I told them after the last game that being shutout two times in a row is kind of an anomaly for this group and that we were playing really clean baseball and getting good pitching. I felt if that continued, the wins would follow.”

Franklin senior Nick Santucci battled his way to a lead off walk and junior Jake Lyons belted an RBI triple on the third pitch he saw to go up 1-0. Ryan Hodgkins followed with a walk to put runners on the corners and catcher Tyler Gomes followed it up with a two run single. After a single from Josh Macchi and a walk to Brad Jarosz loaded the bases, Milford got their second out on a force at home. Alex Bissanti scored Macchi with a single and kept the bases loaded for Santucci, who ripped a two run single. Lyons picked up his second RBI of the inning in his second appearance at the plate with a single to score Bissanti.

“We just needed to have that one run and everybody kind of loosened up and started to hit,” Brown said.

The Panthers extended their lead two innings later in the top of the third inning. A lead off double from Mike Skaza put Franklin in good position. Bissanti’s sac bunt pushed Skaza to third and Santucci notched his third RBI of the game with his second hit of the game to make it 8-0.

Milford was able to chip into the deficit in the bottom of the inning though. After two near perfect innings from Franklin’s Skaza on the mound, a one out walk to Brian Ireland preceded Milford’s first hit, a single from lead off man Chris Speroni. Freshman Alex Coady batted his way to a walk to load the bases for sophomore Aidan Wilde. Wilde ripped the third pitch he saw into deep left center, clearing the bases to make it 8-3.

It didn’t take long for Franklin to respond, adding another run in the top of the fourth inning. Gomes led off with his second hit of the game – a double – and moved to third on a sac bunt from Joe Corsi to batters later. Jarosz grounded into a 6-3 out but it was enough to score Gomes from third to make it 9-3.

The Scarlet Hawks kept themselves in reach by adding two more runs in the fifth inning. Speroni’s fly ball down the left field line fell in and a walk to Coady put two on with no outs. Wilde knocked in his fourth run of the game with a hard his ball to score Speroni. Blake Hill then blasted a shot to right field, hitting a tree just inside the fence at Fino Field for an RBI triple.

Those two runs proved to be very helpful as the Scarlet Hawks put themselves in a position to complete the comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Speroni was the catalyst again, leading off with a single down the right field line and once again, Coady followed up with a walk. Wilde drew a walk on a full count to load the bases, bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs. Santucci, who took over for senior Ryan Morse on the mound after Morse was perfect in relief in the sixth inning, was able to get out of the jam.

First, Santucci induced a tough pop up in foul territory from Hill that was caught nicely by Macchi. A ground ball to second from Anthony Arcudi drove in one run but got the second out. Santucci then induced a line drive right at Macchi down the line for the third out and the save.

“The pop fly in foul grounds was the toughest of the plays and he did a great job,” Brown said. “[Josh] was actually under the weather today and were going back and forth on if he was going to play or not. But he was really he wanted to be out there and it worked out for us that he was.”

Skaza earned the win, scattering six hits with three strikeouts. Morse threw a scoreless sixth inning, needing just 11 pitches and Santucci got the save after allowing one run in the seventh.

“You can’t give up seven runs in the first inning, that’s for sure,” Milford head coach Paul Pellegrini said. “I give [Franklin] credit, they hit the pitches they should have. When you get behind batters, you tend to build confidence as a hitter and they did. Aidan [Wilde] left the ball up some and they took advantage of it. And we also had a couple of chances I thought to get out earlier in the inning and we just didn’t make the plays. It’s baseball and it happens.”

Milford turned to lefty Tylor Renaud after the first inning and the junior was very solid in relief, going six innings with just two runs surrendered. Renaud struck out six batters, issued three walks and allowed just three hits.

“Tylor loves the game, I wish I had 20 more of him on the team,” Pellegrini said. “For his size, he brings a lot to the table. He did a good job, he kept them off balance and did what I expect of him.”

For Franklin, Santucci led the Panthers with three RBI while Lyons and Gomes each knocked in a pair.

“Those guys have been pretty consistent throughout the course of the year,” Brown said. “Unfortunately we hadn’t been hitting a lot with runners in scoring position but it was good to see us get the line moving today and hopefully we can build off of it.”

Franklin baseball moves to 6-7 overall on the season and 5-5 in Hockomock play. The Panthers will try to make it two in a row when they host Attleboro on Monday. Milford drops to 3-9 overall, 3-8 in the league and will travel to Sharon on Monday.

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

04/29/2016

Stoughton Rallies For Walk-off Win Against Milford

Stoughton junior Justin Hutchinson struck out a career-high 11 batters on Friday afternoon. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

STOUGHTON, Mass. – The Black Knights’ baseball team hasn’t faced a deficit very often this season, nor have they played in many close games. They had to deal with both on Friday afternoon, but that wasn’t necessarily such a bad thing for head coach Mike Armour.

Stoughton rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring a run in each the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, the last being a walk-off hit by junior Jack Connelly to hand the Black Knights their sixth win of the season.

“It’s good to be in games like that and it’s nice to win games like that,” Armour said. “Not being in a lot of close games, I think you could see our guys were making more errors then we’ve made all year. Not to take anything away from Milford, their kid pitched a hell of a game and they came to play today. At the same time, we got down a couple of runs and it kind of took the wind out of us before we got it back.”

Senior Jake Gibb was the catalyst of the comeback, starting with a big defensive play. He threw out a Milford base runner trying to steal second to give Stoughton some momentum heading to the bottom of the fifth. Stoughton capitalized with leadoff man Pat Hagerty drawing a walk on a full count and advancing to second on an infield hit from Doug Seaman. Gibb followed up with an RBI single through the left side, playing Hagerty to make it 3-2.

Seaman made a nice play at shortstop to end the top of the sixth and Stoughton used that momentum to tie the game in the bottom half. Luke Johnson reached on a hard hit ball that got through at second base and Justin Hutchinson’s hit was bobbled at shortstop to put two on with no outs. After a sac bunt from Nick Quattrucci advanced the runners, Hagerty plated Johnson with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-3.

“Gibb kind of had his coming out party [offensively] against Foxboro early this week and since then he’s just been mashing the ball,” Armour said. “And then another senior captain, Doug Seaman came in on the soft hit ball and made the play in the sixth inning. In a one run game, that’s big time baseball. It’s nice to see good things happen to the kids who do all the right things.”

Hutchinson shined on the mound in his seventh inning of work in the top of the final inning. He needed just 11 pitches to notch his ninth, 10th and 11th strikeouts of the game to give the Black Knights a wave of momentum entering the bottom of the seventh.

“I think Hutch got into a little zone there [towards the end],” Armour said. “He’s the one guy wehave that can throw a lot of pitches, he’s kind of got a rubber arm. He was not coming out of the game. It was nice seeing him kind of stepping up to another level and he really dealt in the top of the seventh.”

Gibb helped finish the rally he started two innings earlier, leading the bottom half with a double. Senior Kyle Romaine came in as a pitch runner for Stoughton and Connelly connected on a 2-2 pitch, driving the ball into left field, right out of the reach of a diving Alex Coady for the winning run.

“The boys woke up,” Armour said. “There’s a lot of talent on the team, their a tight group, everybody gets along so they expected to win. It’s just nice to see good things happen because they do a lot of the little things. A lot of the things I ask, and a lot of the times I don’t even have to ask, they do those things. It’s just about putting it all together.”

Both teams scored in the first inning before the Scarlet Hawks pulled away through the middle innings. In the top of the first, Chris Speroni led off with a single, moved to second when Coady reached on an error and then scored on a two-out RBI single from Anthony Arcudi to make it 1-0.

Gibb drew a two out walk in the bottom of the first, moved to second on a wild pitch and then to third when the throw to second sailed into the outfield. A single from Connelly plated Gibb to tie the game 1-1 after an inning.

The Scarlet Hawks tacked on a run in both the third and fourth innings. Coady walked and moved to second after an errant pickoff throw. Blake Hill reached on a fielder’s choice and then a throwing error allowed Coady to scamper home from third. Milford’s third run came in the fifth after a leadoff single from Nick Johnson. A sac bunt from Brian Ireland pushed Johnson to second and he came in to score on a triple from Alex Macek.

Both starters pitched well, with Hutchinson earning the win in a complete game effort. Hutchinson struck out a career-high 11 batters, scattering six hits and issuing just two walks. Macek was strong in his season debut on the mound for the Scarlet Hawks, allowing just one run in five innings of work while striking out six.

“Stoughton did a good job, they capitalized on our inability to finish seven innings, that’s been our problem all year,” Milford coach Paul Pellegrini said. “We haven’t played great defense and it shows sometimes. We had a couple mistakes there in the sixth. Whether they were errors or not, the ball was in front of us so we have to make those plays. We just haven’t completed a game yet. We had a lead on OA late the other day and the same thing, we made errors. You can’t do that against teams that can play.

“This was Alex’s first time on the mound all year. He’s our go to guy too, and that’s been part of the problem is having our top three pitchers out all year. Alex looked good, he felt good and that’s what good pitchers do. That was good to see because we’re going to really nice him going forward. We’re not a bad team that’s for sure, we’re better than 2-7 but we just need to play some better defense to show that.”

Stoughton baseball improves to 6-2 overall, 6-1 in league play and will be back in action on Monday when they host King Philip in a battle of division leaders. Milford (2-6, 2-7) will look to bounce back the same day when they play host to Franklin.

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

04/05/2016

Baseball: Davenport Division Preview 2016

Stoughton junior Ryan Sullivan will look to try and lead the Black Knights to the playoffs. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By HockomockSports.com Staff

CANTON

2015 Record: 11-11
2015 Finish: Reached D2 South First Round
Coach: JP Scott

The Bulldogs graduated a handful of key pieces from last year’s team that reached the playoffs but they also return plenty of experienced players and hope to reach the playoffs again.

“The expectation for us is to have a successful season and make a run for a small Hock title,” Canton head coach JP Scott said. “But our main goal of the season will be to make it back to the state tournament like we did in 2015.”

Canton has 11 seniors on the roster this season led by captains Griffin Jerrier and Joe Peccia. Jerrier has plenty of experience on the bump while Peccia was second on the team last year with a .393 batting average. The Bulldogs also have their top batter back in Kevin Powers, who batted over .400 last year and drove in 15 runs in the season. Powers was also one of Canton’s top pitchers after logging over 40 innings in 2015.

Scott also brings back Jim Jenkins, Mike McMahon, Sean Doyle and Joe Bires, all which have starting experience. Junior Jackson Maffeo, fresh off a tremendous season on the ice, is expected to contribute in his first season on varsity.

FOXBORO

2015 Record: 4-16
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Chris Sullivan

After just four wins last year, the Warriors look poised to improve on that this year. Foxboro graduated just two seniors year last and have seven starters back for 2016.

“This is the hardest working and most dedicated group that has come through the school since I graduated in 2002,” head coach Chris Sullivan said. “We have a ton of guys who worked hard in the weight room, in the cages, and by playing competitive summer baseball this past offseason.”

Justin Garcia will lead a strong group of experienced pitchers. Garcia had a 1.54 ERA last season, striking out nearly 50 batters to rank near the top of the league. Colin Thoener, Darren Kelly and Aaron Wentling will also all see time on the mound this season.

Chad Bearce will likely handle first base while Garcia is on the mound while Darren Kelly and John Cronin will see time up the middle. Thoener will show off his defensive prowess at third and senior Nick Wright will return for his third season patrolling centerfield for Foxboro. AJ Cavossa, AJ Bubencik and Cam Feldman will all split the other outfield time and Jesse Galanti is back behind the plate for the third consecutive season.

MILFORD

2015 Record: 11-10
2015 Finish: Reached D2 South First Round
Coach: Paul Pellegrini

After just getting into the postseason last year, Milford has key pieces back in key positions to try and keep their playoff streak alive.

“This team is a very athletic team with lots of versatility,” head coach Paul Pellegrini said. “If we put everything together, which I believe we will, we should be fun to watch. We will definitely be very competitive and strong team all around.”

One big reason that Milford has a shot at getting back there is sophomore Aidan Wilde, who led the league as a freshman in batting last year. He hit had 36 hits and hit .537 with 21 RBI and was selected as the HockomockSports.com Underclassman of the Year. Junior Blake Hill has batted .360 over the past two years and will also be a key part of the Scarlet Hawks pitching staff.

Junior Alex Macek will be one of the more experienced pitchers in the Davenport and will be relied upon as Milford tries to replace Griffin Lynch and Alex Croteau. Brian Ireland, who also is the starting third baseman, will also get innings for Milford this season.

OLIVER AMES

2016 Record: 15-7
2016 Finish: Reached D2 South Quarterfinal
Coach: Leo Duggan

Losing arguably the two top players in the league will be tough for Oliver Ames but the Tigers have been the class of the league in recent years and have reloaded year after year.

Oliver Ames has won six straight league titles but this season might be the biggest challenge. Hockomock MVP and HockomockSports.com Player of the Year Brendan Welch is off at SNHU now and Mike Ferrara, who set the single season hit record for the Tigers, is out at Worcester State.

However, Leo Duggan has infielder Chris Romero back to lead OA after batting .474 last year, good for fourth in the league. Romero gets it done at the plate, in the field and on the bases – stealing 18 bases last year. Romero will be joined by Josh Minuskin, who saw time all over the field last year and will settle in behind the plate in 2016.

Ryan Adams will be another key piece, playing in 18 games last year and batting .404 with 10 RBI. Sophomore Matt Muir also returns after a standout freshman year. Sam Burr, Kevin Geary, Mitchell Goulet and Nick Zwerle should all see some innings on the mound this season.

Sharon

2015 Record: 6-14
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Kee Arguimbau

For the first time in nearly a half a century, there will be a new head coach for the Sharon Eagles baseball team. After 44 years at the helm, Joel Peckham retired after last season and assistant Kee Arguimbau has taken the reigns.

Senior Isaac Miley will be a leader that Arguimbau will rely on all over the place. He’s been on varsity since his sophomore year and is returns as the starting shortstop this season and will be one of the program’s top pitchers.

Senior Mark Botaish will also see a lot of time on the mound and will man third base when he’s not pitching. Arguimbau noted Botaish’s strong junior season and is hoping that will be built on this year. Andrew Filipkowski is back in the outfield for his third season and will be relied upon to get the offense started from the leadoff spot.

Junior Jake Marglous is back at catcher again this season and classmate Aiden Arnold is back to man first base. Arnold was also one of the Eagles’ top hitters last season and will help pace the offense this year. Arguimbau also expect contributions from Rob Bayha, Mike Dumont, Jordan Chabot, Ryan Crooks and Spencer Singer.

Stoughton

2015 Record: 9-11
2015 Finish: Missed playoffs
Coach: Mike Armour

The Black Knights came up just short of the postseason last year but return a strong core and are poised to punch their ticket to the playoffs in 2016.

“With a mix of experience and youth, we are looking to field a competitive team this season that should be able to compete with anybody,” head coach Mike Armour said.

Jake Gibbs has been one of the top players in the league the last two seasons and will look to do the same during his senior year behind the plate. Junior Ryan Sullivan showed a lot on the mound last season and will see a lot of innings along with juniors Justin Hutchinson and Nico Parmeggiani and senior Barry Cooke.

Armour is looking for Doug Seaman to take on an expanded role during his senior season after being limited to just hitting last season. Junior Jack Connelly will man first base for the Black Knights while Joe Piana will see time at third base. Expect Chris McNulty, Nick Quattrucci, Matt Gallagher, Luke Johnson, Michael Batte to all see time in the field while Jared Maher will log some innings on the mound.