Post 24 climbs atop division heading into playoffs

By Mike Berger

Canton American Legion Post 24 baseball players awoke on Monday morning to news that they were in first place in the District 6 East Division with a very impressive record of 15-4-1 — the best record in the modern-day era for a Canton Legion team.

Griffin Jerrier (Mike Barucci photo)

The twist in the standings is that Hyde Park forfeited both of its games versus Braintree over the weekend, giving them three forfeits for the season and requiring them to forfeit all of their earlier wins. Canton gained two wins as a result and vaulted to the top of the eight-team division.

The team also greatly helped its cause by winning four of five games last week, highlighted by a 7-3 win over a strong Braintree team — its second of the season — and a doubleheader sweep over Cohasset on Sunday.

Canton had one more regular season game remaining — July 11 at Holbrook — before opening postseason play later this week. The district playoffs consists of a double-elimination, round robin tournament featuring the top four teams in both the east and west divisions.

Canton head coach Greg Lyons said there is a possibility that the team will have some home games due to its superior record, which is currently tops in all of District 6. Games will start Friday and continue on consecutive days, with teams being eliminated after incurring two losses. For details on the tournament, including seeding and scheduling information, go to www.district6baseball.com.

In last week’s action, Canton’s Griffin Jerrier was the star as he earned a complete-game victory over Braintree, which features many of the players from the Division 1 MIAA state championship squad. Post 24 did commit three errors in the game, but Jerrier limited Braintee to one earned run. “Griffin pitched very well, probably the best I have seen him this year,” said Lyons. “He threw strikes and had great poise. We used him a couple of times in relief and he had college orientation. So this was his first real start.”

Canton fell behind 3-1 in the game but rallied to take a 4-3 lead on RBIs by Luke Johnson, Andrew Filipkowski, and Ryan Sullivan. Andrew Bryant added a two-run single in the sixth, and Canton tacked on an insurance run after a Braintree error to take a commanding 7-3 lead.

In Sunday’s sweep over Cohasset, Canton’s offense exploded for 16 runs in a shortened first game and eight more in the second game as Post 24 combined to win 24-1.

Lyons used all of his players in game one and everyone had at least one hit, led by Kevin Powers and Aidan Arnold with four RBIs apiece and Jerrier with a double, a triple, and three RBIs. Filipkowski and Joe Bires each added two RBIs while Pat Vartanian, Joe Peccia, and Matt Shaffer all drove in one. Ryan Riley finished with no earned runs while striking out 10 batters over five innings.

In the second game, Sullivan drew the start and threw five scoreless innings while striking out six. Isaac Milley completed the shutout with two strong innings of relief and also played well in the field in the earlier innings.

Sullivan, Powers, and Arnold each had two RBIs for Canton in the 8-0 win, while Peccia, Vartanian, and Milley had one apiece.

In Thursday’s victory over Weymouth, Powers continued his excellent pitching, going the distance for the 6-3 win. Producing RBIs for Canton were Bryant (2), Powers, and Peccia. Bires had two hits and Sullivan slugged a triple.

The only loss for Post 24 last week came at the hands of Hyde Park 3-2, although the result was reversed due to the HP forfeits. The Canton bats were quiet in this game, but the team still got good pitching from Bryant, who hurled a complete game and limited Hyde Park to four hits. Peccia and Vartanian drove in the runs for Canton.

Canton had a large contingent at the league all-star game on Saturday, including Lyons as head coach and Sullivan and Bryant, who each pitched a scoreless inning, as well as Johnson and Jack Connelly.

Going into the final week, Post 24 has a team batting average of .306 with seven batters hitting over .300 and two hitting over .400 (Sullivan and Bryant).

Canton has also been aggressive on the bases with 45 steals as a team in 49 attempts and 15 different guys having at least one stolen base, led by Sullivan with seven.

The pitching has also been excellent with the team posting a 2.42 ERA with six pitchers having at least one win and six pitchers with ERAs under 3.

“It has been a strong team effort all the way through,” said Lyons. “We have a few guys who have really stepped it up for us, but everyone has had at least one or two moments when they have done something to help the team win ball games.”

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