Canton High baseball team has high hopes despite slow start
By Mike Berger
Captain Steve Mullaney is one of eight seniors on this year’s team. (Mike Barucci photo)
With a senior-laden lineup and three experienced senior pitchers, new CHS head baseball coach JP Scott is hoping to improve upon last year’s record of 7-13 and get his team back to the playoffs and past the first round.
The team lost twice last week, falling to North Attleboro 9-1 in the season opener and lost the second game 1-0 in extra innings to Attleboro.
The highlight of the week was the superlative effort of junior pitcher Sam Larson, who struck out 11 and walked only two Attleboro hitters over nine innings. Scott said the Attleboro coaches and the umpires all shook hands with Larson at the end of the game and commented on how well he pitched. Offensively, Kyle Delsignore led the Bulldogs with three hits in the game.
In the season opener, Jimmy Fitzgerald pitched five innings and struck out five batters. Delsignore had a triple and scored on a hit by Kevin O’Brien.
Scott said Fitzgerald got off to a great start, retiring the side in the first three innings. But he got into trouble in the fourth inning after a couple of walks and an error. A triple brought in several runs, and by the time the inning ended North Attleboro had a five-run lead. A similar situation occurred in the fifth, with two walks, an error, and a double leading to four more runs.
“Other than those two innings, he looked really solid,” said Scott. “It was a super cold, windy day. We had a couple long innings where he got cold and had a tough time getting warmed up.”
This year’s team is led by senior captains Fitzgerald, Steve Mullaney, and Justin Rudy. The starting rotation includes Fitzgerald, Larson, and Liam Murphy. The team has eight seniors, including Delsignore, Andrew Lerner, George Ramsey, Blake Phalen, and first-year player German Fernandez. Other players expected to contribute include O’Brien, Wyatt Golledge, Pat Vartanian, and Anthony Reis.
Scott said the success of the team will depend on pitching, defense, and timely hitting. He hopes to use the players’ quickness and speed on the bases to “play an exciting brand of baseball with energy and purpose.”
Scott will be assisted by three former college players. Canton High alum Greg Lyons, who played at the University of Southern New Hampshire and also coaches the Canton American Legion team, will be the team’s pitching coach. Corey Johnston, who played for Stoughton High and Bryant College, will coach the JV team, and Rob Young, who played at UMass Boston, will coach the freshman team. Scott, who was previously an assistant coach under Junior Medina, played college ball at Maryville University in St. Louis.
This week’s schedule includes a home game Monday against Franklin and an away game Wednesday versus Milford. The next home game is Wednesday, April 17, at noon against Oliver Ames.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=20014
Posted by Mike Berger
on Apr 11 2013. Filed under High School, Sports.
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