Tag: Taunton
King Philip Outlasts Taunton To Earn Share Of Division Title
WRENTHAM, Mass. – Entering Monday night’s marquee matchup between two of the best teams in all of Massachusetts, Taunton had already clinched at least a share of the Kelley-Rex division title.
King Philip wanted its share of the throne, too.
KP senior Sarah Cullen smacked an opposite field line drive to left that found its way to the fence and junior Taylor Regan hustled all the way from first to cross home plate in the bottom of the 10th inning, handing the Warriors a 1-0 walk-off win over the Tigers and a share of the league crown.
“Sometimes you just hit a ball, and you just know,” Cullen said. “It could have been anyone on this team though, everyone works so hard. I just happened to be the lucky one to get it done.
“We have all worked so hard for this but we really had to focus on keeping our nerves at a minimum. They are a great team as well. We knew we could do this but we had to carry a lot of energy and confidence into this one.”
The battle between two of the best squads in the state delivered as the game remained scoreless through seven innings, as well as the first two extra innings.
“You couldn’t ask for a better one, it was such a great game,” said King Philip head coach Kate Fallon-Comeau. “We really focus on one at-bat at a time but they were really excited coming off the field each inning, but they were able to really settle in and take it one at-bat at a time in that last inning.
“We knew if we won we’d get a share of the title but it wasn’t the first thing they were focused on. They come into every game and want to win, that’s the mentality they have every time out.”
KP freshman McCoy Walsh escape an early first inning jam and went on to toss one of the best games of her young career, allowing just two hits and three walks, striking out a career-high 17 in 10 scoreless innings of work.
Taunton junior Sam Lincoln was equally impressive, scattering five hits and no walks with 16 strikeouts and no earned runs allowed. Lincoln worked her way out of a couple of jams, including in the 8th inning when she stranded a runner at third after a two-out triple,
“We never want to lose a game but if there’s such thing as a good loss, this is it,” said Taunton head coach Michelle Raposo. “This is a good mental reset for us before the tournament. They wanted it a little more than we did tonight. We didn’t produce offensively through the lineup so we have some things we need to work on but it will prepare us for the postseason.”
The Tigers’ best chance was in the top of the first inning when Kyleah Plumb and Bella Bourque earned back-to-back walks to start the game and Kaysie DeMoura legged out an infield hit on a bunt to load the bases with no outs.
Regan came up with a massive diving catch at first on a bunt attempt for the first out, Walsh induced a grounder back to the circle and got the force out at home, and then picked up her first strikeout to escape unscathed.
“She started off the game with the bases loaded but she just battles, and she battled the entire way,” Fallon-Comeau said. “She has the whole team supporting her. Once she got that strikeout in the first to get out of that jam, I think she settled in and that really propelled her the rest of the game.”
KP’s first threat came in the third when Regan singled to center and took second on a sac bunt from Ava Lanza. Cullen’s first hit of the day put runners on the corners but Lincoln got back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame.
Freshman Ali Gill had a one-out single in the sixth and moved to second when senior Libby Walsh was hit by a pitch but once again Lincoln buckled down, getting a grounder to third for the force and another strikeout to finish the inning.
“We’ve been in that situation a couple of times but they buckle down and can get out of it,” Raposo said. “Whether it’s Sam’s pitching or the relying on our defense…they don’t get nervous and they are very confident defensively. We didn’t have Ava [Venturelli] tonight but our other kids should be able to produce and we just couldn’t string something together.”
“This was two good pitchers going at. Sam pitched a hell of a game and her defense was great. If there was any little error or a mistake, either team is capable to capitalize but there really wasn’t any of that.”
Both teams went quietly in the seventh, sending the game to extras. Taunton’s second hit came on a one-out single from Mia Torres but Walsh responded with consecutive strikeouts to squander the threat.
Gill nearly won the game in the bottom of the 9th when she drilled a shot to right but it hit high off the fence for a triple. Before KP could capitalize, Lincoln got a swinging strikeout to keep the game going.
DeMoura got a hold of one to start the 9th inning with a good hit to center but Cullen tracked back and made a leaping catch at the fence for the out, denying at least a double, potentially more.
“Sarah was like an overdue library book, she was due, she was ready,” Fallon-Comeau said. “She had that great catch in the top of the ninth and I felt really good about her next at-bat. She came back from the tough at-bat before and just ripped that one down the line.”
In the bottom of the 10th, Regan reached after an infield error. Cullen, who had struck out on a check swing in the 8th, laced the first pitch she saw to left for the winning hit.
“Something I really love about this team is that everyone picks each other up really quick,” Cullen said. “After that at-bat [in the 8th], they all picked me up and kept telling me I would get it the next time. When I went up there, I was just ready and had a good feeling about the first strike I saw.”
King Philip softball (15-1 Hockomock, 20-1 overall) finishes the regular season on Saturday with a date against Bridgewater-Raynham on Saturday at 1:00. Taunton (15-1, 18-1) hosts Bishop Feehan on Wednesday at 6:30.
Hockomock League Outdoor Track Championships 2023
The Hockomock League Championships were held at Foxboro High this past weekend. Below are the team results and the top eight finishers for each event.
Boys Team Results
1. Attleboro – 119
2. Oliver Ames – 112
3. Mansfield – 76
4. Stoughton – 69
5. Taunton – 61
T6. Franklin – 42
T6. King Philip – 42
T6. North Attleboro – 42
9. Sharon – 41
10. Foxboro – 33
11. Milford – 19
12. Canton – 7
100M
1. Dmitrius Shearrion, Taunton – 11.29
2. Ayden Ramirez, Attleboro – 11.48
3. Myles Brown, Mansfield – 11.53
4. Kadon Jordan, Taunton – 11.57
5. Matt-Andy Beauchamps, Stoughton – 11.74
6. Duncan Seaman, Sharon – 11.94
7. Dylan Huffman, Sharon – 11.99
8. Kevin Smith, King Philip – 12.02
200M
1. Dmitrius Shearrion, Taunton – 22.40
2. Jordan Rivera-Silva, Attleboro – 22.73
3. Nate Kablik, Mansfield – 23.08
4. Elijah Wisdom, Sharon – 23.35
5. William Tinkham, Stoughton – 23.70
6. Jack Reed, Mansfield – 23.77
7. Nolan Querzoli, Oliver Ames – 23.80
8. Sean Kaswale, Attleboro – 23.83
400M
Hockomock League Outdoor Track Championships 2023
1. Aaron Martin, Attleboro – 50.95
2. Trey Lovell, Franklin – 51.10
3. Nolan Querzoli, Oliver Ames – 51.66
4. Ben Parson, Milford – 52.10
5. Dan Krasylnykov, Canton – 52.13
6. Stephen Haney, Foxboro – 52.77
7. Jaylen Outland, Attleboro – 52.96
8. Kyle Dickinson, Mansfield – 53.55
800M
1. Ryan Sarney, Oliver Ames – 2:01.69
2. Aidan Dupill, Oliver Ames – 2:02.44
3. Brendan Thomas, Oliver Ames – 2:03.12
4. Marco Geminiani, Mansfield – 2:05.48
5. Luca Giardini, King Philip – 2:06.26
6. Troy Penney, Mansfield – 2:06.68
7. Alexander Blumen, Sharon – 2:06.83
8. Brooks Stone, Foxboro – 2:07.07
1 Mile
1. Brendan Thomas, Oliver Ames – 4:26.75
2. Ryan Sarney, Oliver Ames – 4:27.17
3. Aidan Dupill, Oliver Ames – 4:27.57
4. Connor Peterson, North Attleboro – 4:34.68
5. Talon Johnson, Mansfield – 4:39.91
6. Nathan Sylven, King Philip – 4:41.94
7. Baxter Greene, North Attleboro – 4:43.04
8. Jonathan Pink, Franklin – 4:43.96
2 Mile
1. Aidan Dupill, Oliver Ames – 9:51.63
2. Brendan Thomas, Oliver Ames – 9:54.27
3. Nicholas Yacoub, Sharon – 10:00.45
4. Nathan Sylven, King Philip – 10:04.93
5. Alexander Pierce, Oliver Ames – 10:12.79
6. Andrew Fletcher, Milford – 10:21.36
7. Sam Denis, Taunton – 10:27.59
8. Joe Thomas, Sharon – 10:28.40
110M Hurdles
1. William Tinkham, Stoughton – 15.03
2. Alexander Gong, Sharon – 15.55
3. Evan Rawlings, Mansfield – 16.11
4. Alex Huynh, Stoughton – 16.29
5. Maxwell Crawford, Attleboro – 16.38
6. Kevin Smith, King Philip – 16.39
7. Mason Scardocci, Foxboro – 16.82
8. Jaret Schmidt, Franklin – 17.68
400M Hurdles
1. Evan Rawlings, Mansfield – 56.63
2. Maxwell Crawford, Attleboro – 57.82
3. Daniel O’Malley, Foxboro – 58.45
4. Jacob Blazek, Attleboro – 58.49
5. Luca Giardini, King Philip – 59.73
6. Vance Crawford, Attleboro – 1:01.31
7. William Sobieraj, Oliver Ames – 1:01.61
8. Jack Butler, Oliver Ames – 1:02.22
4×100 Relay
1. Attleboro (Ayden Ramirez, Jaylen Outland, Zyeem Charles, Adrian Rivera) – 44.12
2. Mansfield (Myles Brown, Jack Reed, Sirius Li, Nate Kablik) – 44.26
3. Franklin (Connor Klawson, Joshua Dunlap, Bryce Dragsbaek, Stephon Reed) – 44.47
4. Taunton (Jonathan Trinh, Omari Rodrigues, Malachi Johnson, Dmitrius Shearrion) – 44.84
5. Sharon (Alex Gong, Malachi Diaz, Naeem Prempin, Duncan Seaman) – 44.95
6. Stoughton (Matt-Andy Beauchamps, Zachary Feist, William Tinkham, Brandon Madden) – 45.64
7. Oliver Ames (Lubert Etienne, Patrick Dunlap, Dominic Nowakowski, Joe Calisi) – 46.00
8. Milford (Shawn Pierce, Jarret Brown, Taylor Feliciano, Yael Lopez De Victoria) – 46.88
4×400 Relay
1. Attleboro (Austin Bowie, Jacob Blazek, Jordan Rivera-Silva, Aaron Martin) – 3:34.07
2. Oliver Ames (Jack Butler, Christopher Gaskill, William Sobieraj, Nolan Querzoli) – 3:39.56
3. Franklin (Aidan Orr, Fraser Baird, Jake Vaccarezza, Trey Lovell) – 3:39.60
4. Foxboro (Stephen Haney, Daniel O’Malley, Brayden Pace, Brooks Stone) – 3:41.80
5. Mansfield (Kyle Dickinson, Marco Geminiani, Thomas Giudicianni, Evan Rawlings) – 3:44.08
6. Canton (Dan Glemaud, Dan Krasylnykov, Ruairi Ritson, Mohith Arugollu) – 3:45.24
7. Taunton (Fitting Aidden, Peyton Weldon, Aidan Zamora, Az St. Marc) – 3:47.29
8. King Philip (Ryan Taylor, Sean Woods, Pranav Srinivasan, Owen MacKenzie) – 3:48.57
4×800 Relay
1. Oliver Ames (Alex Callanan, Ethan Mahoney, Alexander Pierce, Ryan Sarney) – 8:30.95
2. Franklin (Jack Halter, Anton Sackley, Aidan Nisbett, Will Boozang) – 8:39.12
3. Attleboro (Michael Jennison, Nicholas Graber, William Badger III, Luke Hagopian) – 8:45.75
4. North Attleboro (Connor Peterson, Baxter Greene, Brady King, Eliude Alcanat) – 8:49.00
5. King Philip (Nathan Sylven, James McKenna, Liam Nolan, Luca Giardini) – 8:50.37
6. Mansfield (Colby Quersher, Collin Fine, Troy Penney, Talon Johnson) – 8:53.87
7. Stoughton (Jacob Marques, Jack Barbato, William Borges, Max Pokraka) – 9:16.77
8. Sharon (Joe Thomas, Adam Lessard, Vincent Chen, Ethan Scarfo) – 9:28.75
Shot Put
1. Mark Etienvre, North Attleboro – 51-04.50
2. Joe Flanagan, Foxboro – 47-02.25
3. Ayden Agbasi, Mansfield – 43-09.00
4. Thomas Laz, Stoughton – 42-02.00
5. Peter Andromalos, Oliver Ames – 41-01.00
6. Chris Young, Oliver Ames – 40-02.00
7. Degen Granese, King Philip – 39-09.00
8. Kamron Marsh, Attleboro – 39-07.75
Discus
1. Mark Etienvre, North Attleboro – 124-04
2. Ayden Agbasi, Mansfield – 116-00
3. Enrique Maldonado, Taunton – 107-07
4. Kamron Marsh, Attleboro – 106-06
5. Jacob Bowser, Franklin – 104-05
6. Daniel Mintz, Mansfield – 103-05
7. Ethan Jimenez, Stoughton – 101-04
8. Jayden Tetreault, Attleboro – 99-09
Javelin
1. Joe Coplan, Milford – 148-04
2. James Scott, Franklin – 147-00
3. Harrison Keen, Foxboro – 133-04
4. Elijah Perez, Taunton – 128-08
5. Brayden Burton, Oliver Ames – 127-06
6. Logan Frank, Taunton – 126-09
7. Mark Etienvre, North Attleboro – 126-03
8. Joshua C Masuwa, Stoughton – 122-03
High Jump
Hockomock League Outdoor Track Championships 2023
1. Matt Singletary, Stoughton – 6-06.00
2. Carson Crump, North Attleboro – 6-02.00
T3. Zyeem Charles, Attleboro – 5-10.00
T3. Dylan Woods, King Philip – 5-10.00
T3. Alex Huynh, Stoughton – 5-10.00
6. Keagan Fletcher, King Philip – 5-10.00
7. Ty Boswell, Attleboro – 5-10.00
8. Jake Stromfors, Attleboro – 5-10.00
Long Jump
1. Matt Singletary, Stoughton – 23-02.00
2. Adrian Rivera, Attleboro – 21-05.50
3. Malachi Johnson, Taunton – 21-04.50
4. Elijah Wisdom, Sharon – 21-02.25
5. Alex Huynh, Stoughton – 20-08.00
6. Aidan Pantages, Attleboro – 20-05.00
7. Daniel O’Malley, Foxboro – 20-04.75
8. Anthony Petijohn, Taunton – 19-11.50
Triple Jump
1. Zyeem Charles, Attleboro – 43-09.00
2. Adrian Rivera, Attleboro – 43-01.00
3. Anthony Petijohn, Taunton – 42-04.50
4. Sean Woods, King Philip – 42-03.00
5. Matt Singletary, Stoughton – 42-02.00
6. Tobiah Stessman, Sharon – 41-11.50
7. Degen Granese, King Philip – 41-06.50
8. Elijah Wisdom, Sharon – 41-05.50
Girls Team Results
1. Franklin – 155
2. Oliver Ames – 92.5
3. Mansfield – 91
4. Stoughton – 68.5
5. King Philip – 53
6. North Attleboro – 47.5
7. Canton – 44
8. Taunton – 38
9. Sharon – 31
10. Milford – 22
11. Foxboro – 15.5
12. Attleboro – 5
100M
1. Abigail Scott, Mansfield – 11.90
T2. Grace Okocha, Oliver Ames – 12.20
T2. Nina Kyei-Aboagye, Sharon – 12.20
4. Alex D’Amadio, King Philip – 12.30
T5. Amelia Andre, Oliver Ames – 12.70
T5. Senai Whigham, Stoughton – 12.70
7. Grace Inacio, Taunton – 12.80
8. Amaya Cruz, Taunton – 13.10
200M
1. Nina Kyei-Aboagye, Sharon – 26.344
2. Grace Okocha, Oliver Ames – 26.349
3. Julia Maclaine, Oliver Ames – 26.92
4. Camryn Collins, Foxboro – 27.19
5. Meghan Driscoll, Mansfield – 27.65
6. Olivia Barry, Mansfield – 28.06
7. Lauren Signoriello, Mansfield – 28.25
8. Chidera Agbanari, North Attleboro – 28.28
400M
1. Shayla Ford, Stoughton – 59.75
2. Madison Bruno, Franklin – 1:00.20
3. Julie Richardson, Stoughton – 1:01.01
4. Caelen O’Leary, Taunton – 1:01.45
5. Lauren Signoriello, Mansfield – 1:01.74
6. Dani Atherton, Milford – 1:01.92
7. Sydney DiVasta, Mansfield – 1:02.67
8. Lauren Bober, Foxboro – 1:03.11
800M
1. Danielle Lomuscio, King Philip – 2:18.60
2. Emersyn DePonte, Taunton – 2:20.77
3. Phylicia Dias, Taunton – 2:28.03
4. Danessa Francois, Stoughton – 2:28.57
5. Meghan Griffith, Franklin – 2:30.93
6. Elaine McCarty, Stoughton – 2:32.34
7. Brooke Davies, Foxboro – 2:32.39
8. Norah Puleo, Mansfield – 2:32.94
1 Mile
1. Katie Sobieraj, Oliver Ames – 5:10.43
2. Gwenyth Holland, Franklin – 5:15.14
3. Molly Capece, Oliver Ames – 5:20.82
4. Braelyn Graham, Oliver Ames – 5:27.97
5. Sydney Kalil, Milford – 5:28.19
6. Julia Simpson, North Attleboro – 5:43.37
7. Cheyanne Kelley, King Philip – 5:58.79
8. Lilly Branco, Stoughton – 5:59.31
2 Mile
1. Hannah Dupill, Oliver Ames – 11:39.16
2. Annie Reilly, Oliver Ames – 11:43.80
3. Katie Galgoczy, North Attleboro – 11:47.25
4. Emilia Smith, Attleboro – 11:59.98
5. Anna Moore, Mansfield – 12:04.63
6. Alexandra Batla, Franklin – 12:22.74
7. Madeline Stewart, Oliver Ames – 12:23.37
8. Ella Lussier, King Philip – 12:41.86
100M Hurdles
1. Sarah Dumas, Franklin – 15.48
2. Ella Chandaria, Franklin – 16.39
3. Madeline Hill, King Philip – 16.70
4. Maude Kilmer, Sharon – 17.43
5. Sarah Glaser, King Philip – 17.73
6. Jayda Proffit, Canton – 17.99
7. Elyssa Buchanan, Mansfield – 18.06
8. Madison Morris, Mansfield – 18.37
400M Hurdles
1. Sarah Dumas, Franklin – 1:02.70
2. Ella Chandaria, Franklin – 1:08.92
3. Anna Cliff, Franklin – 1:10.85
4. Chloe Dubuisson, Canton – 1:10.97
5. Kay Wheelock, Milford – 1:11.60
6. Heidi Lawrence, King Philip – 1:12.69
7. Maddy Luck, Foxboro – 1:12.86
8. Frankie Smith, Mansfield – 1:13.19
4×100 Relay
1. Mansfield (Abigail Scott, Meghan Driscoll, Danni Cuzzi, Chloe Guthrie) – 50.92
2. Oliver Ames (Grace Okocha, Julia Maclaine, Aubrey Thibault, Amelia Andre) – 51.75
3. Canton (Diana Tambi, Katherin Oliver, Jayda Proffit, Syriah McCruse) – 51.87
4. Franklin (Sophia Cuneo, Cara DiDomenico, Olivia Costa, Ella Chandaria) – 52.55
5. Stoughton (Senai Whigham, Bellaya Franck, Gabriele Julien, Shayla Ford) – 52.77
6. Sharon (Callie Weader, Nina Kyei-Aboagye, Maude Kilmer, Olivia Nau) – 53.28
7. Taunton (Renee Leao, Larissa Cardoso, Lia Abouyazbek, Neveah Young) – 54.03
8. North Attleboro (Chidera Agbanari, Haleigh Branconier, Marissa Daley, Julia Smith) – 54.79
4×400 Relay
Hockomock League Outdoor Track Championships 2023
1. Franklin (Gwenyth Holland, Anna Cliff, Kyra McSweeney, Madison Bruno) – 4:15.84
2. Taunton (Phylicia Dias, Ava Uhl, Emersyn DePonte, Caelen O’Leary) – 4:21.21
3. Stoughton (Leah McCarty, Danessa Francois, Katherine Giroux, Julie Richardson) – 4:24.23
4. Canton (Alyssa Wong, Brianna Rosebrugh, Chloe Dubuisson, Lianne Camille) – 4:26.78
5. King Philip (Alex D’Amadio, Ella McManus, Sarah Glaser, Dani Lomuscio) – 4:32.45
6. Mansfield (Rosie McIntyre, Avery Hawthorne, Brooke Penney, Frankie Smith) – 4:40.75
7. North Attleboro (Haley Carr, Peighton Gagne, Julia Smith, Rylie Souza) – 4:44.91
8. Oliver Ames (Bridget Hughes, Annie Reilly, Iole Apostoli, Braelyn Graham) – 4:45.74
4×800 Relay
1. Oliver Ames (Jenna Gilman, Hannah Dupill, Molly Capece, Katie Sobieraj) – 10:06.86
2. Franklin (Meghan Griffith, Allison Powderly, Alex Alvarado, Lainey Costa) – 10:37.09
3. Sharon (Eva Olszewski, Sara Lessard, Sierra Robison, Amaya Zibrak) – 10:51.73
4. North Attleboro (Ellie Fournier, Katie Galgoczy, Julia Simpson, Harper Sweeney) – 11:01.34
5. Mansfield (Taylor Palinski, Anna Moore, Gwynne Pare, Norah Puleo) – 11:03.11
6. Foxboro (Casey Dahl, Brooke Davies, Áine Fitzpatrick, Mable Linck) – 11:07.77
7. Stoughton (Rivanah Lauradin, Elaine McCarty, Briana Lozano, Lilly Branco) – 11:17.19
8. King Philip (Katelyn Buban, Leah Burke, Cheyanne Kelley, Ella Lussier) – 11:37.16
Shot Put
1. Simarah McPherson, Stoughton – 36-01.00
2. Elizabeth Hopkins, Franklin – 33-07.75
3. Lily Deforge, Franklin – 33-05.00
4. Caitlin Garrahy, Mansfield – 31-11.00
5. Emma Massih, Canton – 31-03.50
6. Darby Nicholson, Franklin – 31-01.50
7. Sienna Newth, North Attleboro – 31-00.50
8. Kara Santos, Mansfield – 30-11.50
Discus
1. Lily Deforge, Franklin – 111-10
2. Elizabeth Hopkins, Franklin – 102-03
3. Caitlin Garrahy, Mansfield – 95-04
4. Darby Nicholson, Franklin – 95-04
5. Sienna Newth, North Attleboro – 94-08
6. Sophia Olaniyan, Taunton – 88-08
7. Emma Massih, Canton – 88-01
8. Marissa King, North Attleboro – 87-08
Javelin
1. Elizabeth Hopkins, Franklin – 125-04
2. Evalysse Pierce, Milford – 115-11
3. Maya Ashu, Stoughton, 109-03
4. Luran Slotnick, Canton – 97-06
5. Ellie Weidman, Franklin – 97-00
6. Avery Hawthorne, Mansfield – 95-06
7. Dakota Costa, Taunton – 93-01
8. Brooke Navarro, Taunton – 92-02
High Jump
1. Sarah Dumas, Franklin – 5-02.00
2. Elyssa Buchanan, Mansfield – 4-10.00
3. Sydney O’Connor, North Attleboro – 4-10.00
T4. Belleya Franck, Stoughton – 4-08.00
T4. Gabriele Julien, Stoughton – 4-08.00
T4. Megan Ladd, North Attleborough – 4-08.00
7. Chloe Davies, Foxboro – 4-08.00
T8. Sarah Christo, North Attleboro – 4-06.00
T8. Kiley Osborne, Foxboro – 4-06.00
Long Jump
1. Alex D’Amadio, King Philip – 18-00.75
2. Katherine Oliver, Canton – 17-05.75
3. Frankie Spagna, Mansfield – 16-09.00
4. Amelia Andre, Oliver Ames – 16-08.75
5. Marissa Daley, North Attleboro – 16-07.25
6. Caleigh Wilson, Milford – 16-00.75
7. Heidi Lawrence, King Philip – 16-00.50
8. Olivia Costa, Franklin – 15-11.00
Triple Jump
1. Frankie Spagna, Mansfield – 37-03.50
2. Marissa Daley, North Attleboro – 35-06.00
3. Katherine Oliver, Canton – 34-05.50
4. Heidi Lawrence, King Philip – 33-11.50
5. Maya Ashu, Stoughton – 33-04.00
6. Aubrey Thibault, Oliver Ames – 32-07.00
7. Olivia Costa, Franklin – 32-04.50
8. Elsie Roberts, Mansfield – 32-02.00
Boys Track Photos: Hockomock Championships
Girls Track Photos: Hockomock Championships
Girls Lacrosse Photos: Mansfield vs. Taunton
Baseball Photos: Franklin vs. Taunton
Franklin Clinches Kelley-Rex With Win Over Taunton
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.
“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.
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.
Boys Tennis Photos: Taunton vs. Oliver Ames
Girls Tennis Photos: Oliver Ames vs. Taunton