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Sports

Baseball: Canton Falls to Norton 10-5

Lancers beat Bulldogs in preliminary round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional Thursday.

Facing an early deficit and a quick exit from the postseason, Norton High, the defending Division 3 state champions responded like champions, overcoming an early 4-1 lead by10-5 in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional on a windy Thursday afternoon at the David Mollica Baseball Complex.

“I’m very happy,” said Norton Head Coach Ted Currle. “This was a good win, being able to come back against a good team. At this time of the year, you just want to advance to the next game and we were able to do that today.”

, the 19th seed in the sectional, completed the season with a 6-13 overall record, having reached the postseason this spring for the first time in five years.

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The Bulldogs scored three times in the top of the first inning and one more in the top of the third to open up a 4-1 lead. But the Lancers responded with five runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good at 8-4. After Canton pulled within three at 8-5 with a run in the fifth, Norton plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 10-5, the final margin of victory.

“If you take those five runs for them off the board in the fifth, it would have been a game,” said first-year Canton Head Coach Junior Medina. “The guys came out strong. Hitting was not an issue for us. We started out hot, but we had that one bad inning.”

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With a large student contingent in attendance, the victory improved the Lancers to 12-9 overall. It also sends them to a much-anticipated re-match with Tri-Valley League champion Medfield in a first-round contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Medfield. Most likely, Norton will face league MVP and standout pitcher Mike Keleher on Saturday.

The third-seeded Warriors will enter that game with a 16-4 overall record and a 16-2 league mark, capturing the TVL crown for the first time since 1997. The two teams split a pair of games within a span of five days this spring, Medfield taking a 7-2 home verdict on May 21 before Norton bounced back with a 7-4 home win on Senior Day on May 25.

Senior and TVL All-Star Rob Cormier started the game on the mound for Norton, but only lasted a little over an inning, surrendering three runs and five hits. With the Lancers trailing 3-0 and with a runner on first base and no outs in the top of the second, Cormier was replaced on the hill by senior captain and TVL Pitcher of the Year A.J. Bashaw.

Bashaw stabilized the game for the Lancers, going the next 4.2 innings for the victory, his seventh of the spring. He allowed two runs and four hits, while striking out five batters and walking one. Norton’s third league all-star, junior Christian Delano, closed out the game by pitching a scoreless top of the seventh inning with one strikeout.

Senior right-hander Matt Bernstein, a Hockomock League All-Star this spring, started on the mound for the Bulldogs. He pitched the first 3.1 innings, surrendering six runs and four hits, while striking out three, walking three and hitting four batters to take the loss.

Junior T.J. Duggan, sophomore Jim Fitzgerald, freshman Sam Larson and senior Tom Nickel also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Norton banged out eight hits in the game, but was also given eight walks and had four batters hit by pitches. Junior right fielder Colin Feeney led the way with a 2-for-2 performance that included two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored. Feeney was also hit by a pitch and had a sacrifice fly.

Senior captain and shortstop Tom Munger was 2-for-3 with a single, double, walk, one RBI and two runs scored. Senior designated hitter Mike Twitchell was 1-for-3 with a double, walk and three runs scored. Senior captain and catcher Brian Fox was 1-for-1 with single, two walks, a sacrifice bunt, one RBI and one run scored. Junior first baseman Dan Kehoe contributed an RBI single and senior outfielder Phil Rizzo also had a single.

Canton had nine hits on the day with senior catcher Matt Nichols going 2-for-3 with two singles, three RBI and one run scored. Senior right fielder Mike Oldenberg was 2-for-4 with two singles, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Junior third baseman Matt Potts was 2-for-3 with two singles and one RBI.

“We have a lot of young guys and this was a good experience for them,” Medina said. “We have not made the tournament in five years, so this was a good experience for the kids that are returning next year. We are disappointed about today, but we are excited about the future.”

The Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the first. Nichols and Potts had RBI singles, while sophomore shortstop Drew Blake scored on a wild pitch.

In a precursor of things to come, Norton scored its first run of the game on a bases-loaded walk to sophomore third baseman Anthony O’Leary in the bottom of the second.

Canton made it 4-1 in the top of the third when Oldenberg reached on an error, stole second and scored on a single to center field by Nichols.

But Norton took the lead for good with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth. The Lancers sent 10 batters to the plate, getting five hits and having a pair of batters hit by pitches. Munger had an RBI single and Feeney connected on a two-run double to tie the game at four.

Feeney then scored the lead run on a very athletic play. On a Bulldog miscue in the field, Feeney broke for the plate and leaped over Nichols before touching home plate to make it 5-4. The final run of the inning later scored when Delano was hit by a pitch.

“That play at the plate was big with Colin jumping over their catcher for a run,” Currle said. “With the big crowd there, they got excited and the team really got fired up.”

The Lancers added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Feeney brought home one run with a sacrifice fly. Munger scored on a wild pitch after doubling to the left-field wall.

Canton cut the deficit to three at 8-5 with a run in the top of the fifth. Bernstein opened the inning with a walk, advanced to third base on a single by Oldenberg and scored on a ground out by Nichols.

Norton scored a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Twitchell doubled to the right-field wall. He scored on a double to the left-field wall by Feeney, who later crossed the plate on an RBI single to right field by Kehoe to make it 10-5.

“We had some plays go our way today,” Currle said. “We got some breaks that we had not been getting this year. I thought Canton was a good team. Under difficult conditions, I thought the kids did a good job maintaining their composure early in the game. We then had that one big inning and we got going from there.”

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