Canton 9A baseball team captures Hock title
By Guest
Canton 9A players and coaches celebrate after winning the Hockomock championship.
With the Red Sox struggling through a down year, it has been tough finding some good baseball to watch, but the Canton 9A summer team changed that. It was a busy six weeks in which the boys compiled a 17-7-1 record, culminating in a Hockomock League championship. Congratulations go out to the team, including Andrew Butler, Matt Chafin, Nico Crawford, John Degnan, Billy DeLello, Matt Hart, Griffin Hughes, AJ Lysko, Tommy Phaneuf, Sam Poch, Matt Quan, and Luke Toland.
Early in the season, the boys made it to the finals of the Reilly Classic Tournament in Westwood and the semifinals of a 16-team field in the Sandwich Summer Blast Tournament. They learned a ton from these great tournament runs, so when they made the playoffs at the end of their season in the Hockomock League, they were battle tested and ready for anything.
All season long the boys worked on playing fundamental baseball. They combined strong defense and timely hitting game in and game out. They had significant depth in the lineup offensively as well as on the mound. Each of the 12 players pitched on multiple occasions throughout the summer. The batting lineup was relentless with each player making numerous offensive contributions. Opposing teams had no rest from batters one through 12. The team never quit. Throughout the season, they had various come-from-behind wins and several one-run wins.
So when the playoffs arrived, the team was ready. With their characteristic never-say-die attitude, they twice came back in extra innings in their quarterfinal matchup against Franklin, ultimately winning 12-11 with a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth inning. Next they played a flawless game in the semifinals, knocking off Mansfield 8-5. In the finals, the boys faced Plainville, the number-one seed, and they did not disappoint. Once again using strong defense, gutsy pitching, and their relentless offensive attack, they were able to beat Plainville 10-9, again needing nine innings to do it. The finals win was a microcosm of the season with all the boys contributing in the field and at the plate.
Canton 9A players and coaches are proud to call themselves Hockomock champs! Congratulations on a fantastically exciting season!
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=26704
Posted by Guest
on Sep 4 2014. Filed under Sports, Youth Sports.
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