Canton A’s ride strong finish to playoff berth

The Canton A’s have made it to the Cranberry League playoffs after finishing third in the standings with a 15-9 record.

The A’s were due to face second-place Weymouth on Tuesday night, with the winner moving on to face either No. 1 Braintree or No. 4 Easton in the championship game on Thursday, July 25, at either Rockland or Campanelli Stadium in Brockton. The winner of the championship game would then represent the Cranberry League in the Stan Musial Tournament in Wallingford, Connecticut, beginning August 1.

Canton wrapped up the regular season last week with three wins in four games, losing only to Easton 1-0 in the second game of a home doubleheader at CHS. If the A’s had won that game, they would have clinched second place and a home game in the playoffs.

Canton won the first game of the doubleheader 2-0 as Zack Walker recorded his seventh win of the season. Walker is undefeated and was also credited with the win in the Cranberry League All-Star team’s 3-2 victory over the Boston Park League All Stars.

Walker was outstanding against Easton, limiting the Huskies to five hits over seven innings with several fly ball outs. The A’s scored single runs in the third and fifth innings with aggressive baserunning. Sean O’Neil’s hustle on a groundout led to the first run, and a well-executed bunt by Joe Belmosto resulted in an overthrow at third, allowing Cory Albanese to score. A’s second baseman Kevin O’Sullivan also made a great defensive play as he lunged for a line drive that he turned into a double play.

In the second game, the unfortunate loser was Sharon’s Dave Roberto, who gave up a run in the first inning on two hits as Easton limited Canton’s offense to just four hits.

In earlier action last week, Walker was credited with a win over Brockton despite giving up a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Reliever Jared Kuzio came in and stopped the Brockton rally as Canton prevailed 3-2. O’Neil had two singles and two RBIs, and Chris Nadeau also had a key hit for an RBI.

Canton also earned an 11-2 win over Rockland, scoring eight runs in the second inning. Jared Clement, who was due to pitch Tuesday’s playoff game, scattered three hits over seven innings while striking out four batters. Albanese had three hits and R.J. McCann had a bases-loaded double. Aiden Farrell also aided the offensive attack with a pinch-hit homerun.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jul 25 2013. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.