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www.charltonvillager.com Friday, June 6, 2008
•THE CHARLTON VILLAGER•13
SPORTS
Minutemen cruise to victory over Valley Tech
BY RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL
STONEBRIDGE PRESS STAFF WRITER
CHARLTON — The Bay
Path Minutemen baseball
team easily crushed the
Blackstone Valley Tech
Beavers, 13-3, Thursday, May
29, moving on to the next
round of the Central Mass.
Division 2 tournament.
The No. 2-seeded
Minutemen led their opponent,
1-0, after an uneventful
first couple of innings, in the
game played at the Charlton
trade school, before starting a
long rally in the bottom of the
third inning. Minuteman
Spencer Donovan nailed a
double up the middle, pushing
home teammates Erik
Peterson and Ryan Turner,
both of who walked to base
earlier in the inning. Bay Path
led Blackstone Valley, 4-0, by
the end of the inning.
Next inning, however,
Beaver Ryan Blake answered
the Minutemen with a triple
deep to center field. That
drove his teammate, third
baseman Aron Sweeper,
across the plate for the team’s
first run of the game. Beaver
Sean O’Rourke struck out to
end his team’s batting session.
Minuteman Tim Brayton, in
the bottom of the fourth, continued
his team’s constant
scoring streak by driving his
teammate, Juan Moldonado,
who hit a single just prior,
home with a double deep to
left field. Brayton, later in the
inning, crossed the plate on a
single from Turner.
The Minutemen scored two
more runs in the bottom of the
fifth, after the Beavers failed
to score in the top of the
inning. Bay Path’s David
Prince drove home Tim
Pageau, waiting on second
base, and Renaud on third
base, making the score 8-1.
Moldonado batted Prince
home, upping that tally one
more run, before Brayton
struck out to end the inning.
Valley hitters failed to reach
the bases during the top of the
sixth inning before Bay Path
ran the score up even more in
the bottom of the inning. Once
the Beavers tossed Peterson
out after his leadoff single,
Turner hit a single to begin
the rally. Donovan smacked
another single toward the
Beavers, moving Turner to
second base. The next batter,
Renaud, hit another single to
load the bases before Pageau
hit a double, driving two runs
home. With the score 11-1 at
that point, right fielder
Brendan Wing, pinch hitting
for Moldonado, blasted a triple
to drive in two more runs.
Brayton ended the inning with
a flyball for the third out.
In a valiant effort to come
back from defeat in the top of
the seventh inning, Valley
Tech’s Ryan Blake doubled to
right field before right-fielder
Ryan Flaherty hit a single
driving him home, for their
second run of the game. The
game’s second to last batter,
Beaver Nate Cote, hit a triple,
driving Flaherty home from
third base to make the final
score 13-3. Center fielder Zach
Poisson hit a fly ball to center
field for the game’s final out.
Ryan Grannan-Doll photo
Beaver Mike Dean prepares to swing at a pitch during a game Thursday, May 29 at Bay Path Regional
Vocational Technical High School.
Rams give their all, end up falling to Gardner
BY JOHN RADZINSKI
drilled an opposite field double that scored Ben Norcross came up with a clutch RBI, hitting
a go-ahead single to make the game 9-8 in
SPORTS STAFF WRITER
Eisenhauer. Center fielder John Hanna drew a
DUDLEY — No. 7 ranked Shepherd Hill
showed its perseverance Thursday, May 29 in
walk to put Eisenhauer in scoring position for
John Stearns, who delivered with a double of
favor of the Rams.
But in the end, Gardner was able to recapture
the first round game of the Central Mass. his own. Then, Norcross stepped to the plate the lead and the game, adding five runs to win,
District 1 playoffs against No. 10 Gardner.
Down by seven runs, 8-1, in the second inning
with their ace pitcher, Ben Stochaj, knocked
out of the game, the Rams clawed their way
back, but lost, 14-9.
Gardner came out swinging a hot bat and
unexpectedly got to Stochaj early on in the first
two innings. The bulk of the damage was done
by the Wildcats’ first five batters. In the first
two innings, the five accounted for six runs on
four hits, including a ground-rule double, a single
by Shaan Slattery (three RBI), and a two-
RBI triple by Eric O’Reilly.
But the Rams on this day had the hearts of
lions, and refused to quit.
The player who got the Rams back in the
game was arguably Ben Norcross. Norcross
came in relief of Stochaj in the second inning,
and the crafty lefty proved to be up to the task
as he stopped the bleeding and kept his team in
the game with his arm and his bat.
Down 8-2 in the fourth inning, the Rams
broke out of the spell Gardner pitcher Nate
Harty had them in until that point. With the
first man up, Eric Ray, out on a ground ball, second
baseman Mike Gamache started the Rams’
rally with a seemingly harmless single. Mike
Legendre followed that with another single.
The ninth batter in the lineup, right-fielder Jeff
Eisenhauer, drilled the third single in a row,
scoring Gamache. Leadoff hitter Zach Kielinen
ended the single streak, but had a productive atbat,
lofting a sacrifice fly ball that knocked in
Legendre.
With two outs in the inning, the Wildcats simply
could not get one last out as they watched
with two men in scoring position to help his
own cause. Norcross did not disappoint. On an
0-2 count, Norcross slugged a two-RBI double
that tied the game, 8-8.
After the dust settled in the fourth inning,
the Rams collected six runs on six hits. Two
innings later, in the sixth, John Hanna hit a
monster blast that most likely would have
ended in a home run at many fields, but was
called a ground-rule double as it drifted into the
forest behind the Rams’ outfield. Once again,
14-9.
For Shepherd Hill, the season ends with a 13-
8 record, but it was not indicative of how well
the Rams played throughout the year. The Hill
had a 12-0 record against SWCL-West opponents
and showed Thursday, May 29 the kind of
spirit the team possesses, coming back and
even taking the lead after being down by seven
runs. The Rams look forward to returning a
stronger team next year with many players
returning.
their lead dissipate. Catcher Matt Howard Rams catcher Matt Howard is called safe at home in the first inning against Gardner.
John Radzinski photos
Shepherd Hill second baseman Mike Gamache
makes a diving stop on a ground ball.
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