Bulldog batmen stay afloat above .500 with 1-1 week
By Mike Berger
Senior Mike Konzal has helped power the Canton High varsity baseball team to a winning start.
It was a productive but ultimately frustrating April vacation week for the Canton High baseball team as the Bulldogs squandered a golden opportunity for a two-game sweep with a hard-luck loss to King Philip at home on Thursday.
Already winners of a 5-3 decision over nonleague Wellesley the previous day and with a 3-0 advantage going into the fifth inning, Canton appeared to be cruising toward another win when the Warriors suddenly came alive, rallying for four runs in the top half of the inning to steal the momentum and the lead. The Bulldogs did manage to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth but could not push a run across as they went on to lose 4-3.
The loss upset Canton head coach Ben Shuffain, who had a long team meeting in centerfield at the end of the game.
“We have to cut down on the mental mistakes,” said Shuffain. “The mental mistakes cost us today. Mental mistakes cost games and championships.”
Pitcher Kevin McGonigle started well for Canton and looked brilliant at times, throwing four innings of shutout ball before the Warriors broke through.
Matt Pigeon went 3 for 3 to pace the offense and Paul Corcoran had an RBI single, with the other two runs coming on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Canton also threatened to score in the fifth, putting men on first and third before the rallied fizzled with a double play.
Despite the disappointing finish, Shuffain said he was pleased with many aspects of the team’s play, including starting pitching, fielding, and hitting with men on base. “We just didn’t have enough men on base to drive in,” he said.
In their earlier win over Wellesley, the Bulldogs got two runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie. Matt Connolly went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Nate Quan had a single, a walk, a stolen base, and a well-executed sacrifice bunt. Robert Sullivan drew the start for Canton and pitched well over six innings of work, with Chris Rota coming on in relief to pitch a scoreless seventh.
Wellesley struck first in the game but the Bulldogs came back to tie it as Quan singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and came home on a wild pitch. Wellesley then went ahead on a dropped fly-ball error, but Canton tied the score on a Wellesley error in the third and then pulled ahead with an RBI by Connolly. The Raiders managed to tie the score at 3-3 in the top of the fifth, but a great catch by Corcoran in deep centerfield ended the rally for Wellesley.
Canton’s aggressive baserunning paved the way for the final Canton rally as a delayed double steal resulted in a wild throw, allowing one run to score. The Bulldogs would then tack on an insurance run with an RBI double by Sullivan.
The Wellesley win was significant as the Raiders were highly rated going into the season and were fresh off an 8-2 win over Xaverian, considered one of the top teams in the state.
The Bulldogs are still over .500 at 4-3 and currently in second place in the Hockomock’s Davenport Division. The team was due to host Sharon on Wednesday and will travel to Mansfield today at 3:45 p.m.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=54925
Posted by Mike Berger
on Apr 25 2019. Filed under High School, Sports.
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