After Four Years on Stoughton's Varsity Baseball Team, Senior Captains Ready for One Last Challenge

Mainstays on the Stoughton High baseball team since their freshmen year, senior captains Mike Connelly, Pat Jackman and Will McGrath are about to do something for the first time in their Stoughton High baseball careers Friday afternoon - play in a postseason tournament game at home.

Stoughton (13-7), the sixth-seeded team in the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional, .

Connelly, Jackman and McGrath have helped coach Mike Armour revive the baseball program.

When the three senior captains were in eighth grade, the team went 1-19. In their four years in high school, Stoughton has made the postseason tournament three out of four times, only coming up short in 2011, their sophomore seasons.

Connelly has been a constant at catcher, and Jackman has been a vacuum at shortstop. McGrath has played multiple positions, but in his senior season has carved a niche playing right field and pitching.

"I'm very proud to say not only are they good ballplayers, they're even better people. It's been an absolute pleasure having them around," Armour said.

"They've been instrumental in turning this program around. We had a tough run there for a while. They've got us in a situation where we win a 4-2 game against Quincy [May 24th]. Those are the types of games in the past we found ways to lose and now we just have not only been winning them, but kind of expecting to win them and really coming out on top in a lot of those close games and that's their leadership and the example they set for others to follow and I just hope that carries on after they're gone."

Connelly and Jackman joined the team early in 2010 as injury replacements, and ended up becoming key contributors. McGrath joined the team as a late-season call-up.

They started out helping each other carry gear as the youngest members of the team, a duty now performed by current freshman starter Jake Gibb. 

As seniors, Connelly, Jackman and McGrath, always among the team's top players, have continued to improve. All three were named Hockomock League all-stars this season.

Jackman led the team with a .397 batting average and stole a team-high 16 bases, and Connelly was third on the team with a .322 average and led the squad with 16 RBI. For the Sabermetrics folks out there, Jackman had a 0.971 OPS and Connelly had a 0.884 OPS (sorry, WAR - Wins Above Replacement - is not calculated at the high school level).

McGrath chipped in with a .286 average and 11 RBI and had a 1.25 ERA in 22 and 1/3 innings on the mound, while holding opponents to just a .147 batting average. 

"That's experience," Connelly said of the captains' collective success this season. "We've seen the best pitching We've seen the worst pitching. But we got adjusted to the speed of the game. We're used to it. We know what to expect heading into games."

McGrath added, "As a captain I feel I need to step up my game and really lead by example, show the other kids how to play and get things started."

"This is our last season," Jackman said. "I've always tried to go balls to the wall, but I've really laid it on the line this year playing the cliche every game like it's your last."

The three captains are joined on the roster by fellow seniors Mike Dixon (one of the top pitchers on the team) and Brett Hoffman and Mike Romaine. 

A youthful squad, juniors Mike Gallagher, Jovani Pires, Pat Raeke and Zach Gibb have been key contributors the last two seasons, and in Gallagher's case, the last three, playing on the team since his freshman year. Juniors Sam Werman and Kaleb Ballou have come on and played important roles this season. 

Connelly, Jackman and McGrath have been through a lot in four years, but have never experienced a postseason win, being bounced from the tournament in the first round in 2010 and in 2012. Making the postseason, they said, is no longer satisfactory. 

"We want to make a statement this year," Jackman said.

Still, whether their last game comes Friday against Dennis-Yarmouth or (hopefully) later in the postseason, they know the end of their four-year varsity journey is near, but there is "unfinished business" to take care of first, McGrath said.

"We've always been a pretty young team and this year we're definitely that group that's been together for a while," McGrath said. "I think we have good chemistry and have enjoyed Coach Armour as a coach and getting to know [assistant coach Steve Simolaris]. It's been like a family. It's been like a brotherhood. I don't have any brothers - I only have sisters - these guys have been like brothers to me."

"As far as Will and Mike go, I can rely on them on and off the field," Jackman said. "The core [of the team] this year has been really seasoned. I think that's kind of led to a lot of success this year. We've played good the other years, but I think we've been chomping at the bit for this season."

Connelly added, "These four years were very fun. There were a lot of ups and downs, but mostly ups. It was a fun time. I'm always going to remember it."