Canton A’s no-hit Foxboro, take 3 of 5 heading into postseason

The Canton A’s finally had a winning week of play, taking three of five games, including a no-hitter, to finish the regular season at 7-16. The A’s were due to play Rockland earlier this week in a single-elimination Cranberry League tournament.

Pitcher Paul Toland is Canton’s lone representative to the league All-Star team, which will play tomorrow night against the Boston Park League All Stars at Brockton’s Campanelli Stadium. A’s General Manager Cab Devoll said Toland may be the finest pitcher he has seen in more than 15 years of Cranberry League action. Toland has a 4-1 record, and his only loss came against first-place Braintree 2-1.

The other highlight for Canton last week was the no-hitter thrown by Canton’s Chris Smith and player-manager Kee Arguimbeau in an 11-4 win over Foxboro. There were still plenty of base runners, however, as Smith issued four walks and hit eight batters. Devoll said none of the hit batters were intentional.

“Chris just couldn’t get his curveball over, and the umpire knew that it was not intentional,” Devoll said.

Smith pitched almost six innings with Arguimbeau coming off the bench to finish the game. Leading the offense were Alex Rossi and Joe Belmosto with two hits apiece, and Cory Bergman, who had three hits and to go along with four RBIs.

On Sunday, the A’s split a doubleheader with the South Shore Braves, dropping the first one 2-1 then rallying to win game two in extra innings 6-5.

Tim Bonham pitched well in the game-one loss, scattering six hits over seven innings. The winning run was decided on a controversial play at the plate, with Canton’s Bill Murray appearing to apply the tag in time after receiving a perfect throw from Bergman in right field.

In the second game, Tyler Hitchcock pitched well, limiting South Shore to one run on four hits over five innings. In the sixth inning, South Shore tied the game at 3 and went ahead 4-3 in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and a runner on third, Belmosto delivered a game-tying RBI hit. South Shore squeezed ahead a run in the top of the eighth, but Canton scored two in the bottom of the inning on a Murray single, a bunt single by Canton’s Pat Bogue, and a single by DeMarco, which knocked in the winning runs.

Earlier in the week, Toland pitched a three-hitter in an easy 9-1 win over Weymouth. The only run he allowed was the result of a passed ball. The A’s offense was hot with DeMarco going 4 for 4 and Belmosto and Rossi each getting two hits.

The other game last week was a 10-0 loss to Rockland that ended with a rare triple play. With two A’s on base, a line drive was snared by the Rockland first baseman, who tagged the runner for the second out and then threw to second base to catch the lead runner.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=3229

Posted by Mike Berger on Jul 15 2010. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.