Legion baseball falls to Walpole in season opener

The Canton American Legion Post 24 baseball team opened its season on Saturday afternoon with a 10-1 loss at home to perennial powerhouse Walpole.

Walpole took advantage of 12 walks off three Legion pitchers, combined with several singles, to produce four runs in the third inning and five in the fourth.

Canton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Nate Pedersen, who had one of three Canton hits in the game, led off with a single, went to second on a ground ball, and scored off a Walpole error.

Starting pitcher Dan Friedman pitched well in the early innings, striking out two while getting help from catcher Steve Mullaney, who threw out a runner attempting to steal second base.

But after inducing a pop-up to start the third inning, Friedman ran into trouble, walking three batters and giving up a double and two infield hits as Walpole took a 4-1 lead.

Jimmy Fitzgerald came on in relief in the fourth and issued five walks, sandwiched around three singles. Kyle Delsignore relieved Fitzgerald in the sixth and fared better, striking out two while getting some good defense with a double play.

Besides the hit by Pedersen, Canton’s other hits included doubles by Delsignore and Fitzgerald.

The year’s Legion team is coached by former CHS star pitcher and Legion player Greg Lyons. Although he was disappointed by the 12 walks given up, Lyons said the team’s strength is pitching and defense. Besides Friedman, Fitzgerald, and Delsignore, Lyons will have a good assortment of starting pitchers, including Dave Roberto, last season’s top pitcher, as well as promising CHS pitcher Sam Larson and Sharon’s Jake Fishman.

“We will have a good team this year, with good pitching, defense, and speed,” said Lyons. “We are going to have to manufacture runs and play some small ball.”

“With all the rain we had this week, we were limited in practice,” he added. “We will be better, especially in pitching.”

Canton finished last year at 9-9 and entered the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

The Legion team is made up of high school and first-year college players. Canton residents besides Fitzgerald, Mullaney, Delsignore and Larson include Drew Blake, Justin Rudy, Brennan Sullivan, Chris Cammarata, Matt Potts, Ian Flavin, Kevin O’Brien, and Liam Murphy. Sharon players besides Friedman, Roberto, Pedersen and Fishman include Brad Kaufman and Collin Gray. Besides Lyons, the team is coached by Al Jackson (general manager), Bill Murray Sr., Walter Mann, Yoni Monat, and Bob Brown.

Saturday’s game marked the beginning of a 22-game regular season, which runs until July 16. Besides Walpole, Canton plays home and away games against Norwood, Needham, Westwood, Franklin, Norfolk, Brookline, Foxboro, and Medfield.

The team was due to host Needham on Tuesday, travel to Westwood today at 5:45, and then play three consecutive home games: tomorrow against Franklin at 5:45, Sunday against Norfolk at 5 p.m., and next Tuesday against Brookline at 5:45. All home games are at Canton High School.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jun 13 2012. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.