Baseball team works hard but loses last three games

By Mike Berger

The Bulldog bats finally woke up, but it wasn’t enough as Abington ended the season for the 1-19 CHS baseball team, coming from behind in the late innings to beat Canton 10-9. Earlier last week, Canton lost to King Philip 6-0 and Wayland 10-1.

Canton had a 9-3 lead going into the fourth inning against Abington on the strength of 12 hits, led by Matt Bernstein, Kevin Rooney and Andrew Vinciguerra, who each had two. Mike Cleary and Sean Wilson each knocked in three runs.

Bernstein pitched well but tired in the fourth inning as he gave up a total of eight runs on five hits, while walking five batters and striking out six. Joey Wilkinson pitched the rest of the way, giving up two runs, one unearned.

“It was a shame we had to lose this way,” CHS coach Tom Healy said. “Our bats finally came alive. We got 12 hits, but in retrospect, the seven walks they got really hurt us. This was a very good team we played, but it was ours for the taking.”

Healy said the game was representative of the Bulldogs’ 2010 season. “We did not go for the jugular,” he said. “We didn’t finish a team off.”

Wilkinson pitched well, but there wasn’t enough offensive support as the Bulldogs fell to KP 6-0. Wilkinson pitched the entire game and gave up six runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking two. He also picked off three runners on first base. KP scored two runs in the first inning, three in the third, and added a run in the fifth inning.

The Bulldogs tallied only six hits, with Rooney going 3 for 3 and collecting three RBIs.

In the Wayland loss, Tom Nickel pitched four innings and gave up five runs on five hits, striking out two batters but walking seven. Rooney came on to help a strapped pitching staff and went the rest of the way in his first time pitching since Little League. Playing third base and batting .323, Rooney has been named to this year’s Hockomock League all-star team.

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