Comeback Falls a Few Feet Short for Stoughton High Baseball

Trailing 3-1 with runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Stoughton catcher Mike Connelly ripped a double to deep right center field. Mike Gallagher came around from second to score. Will McGrath followed right behind, but was thrown out at the plate, just a few feet from tying the game 3-3.

Instead, Mansfield escaped with a 3-2 win Tuesday afternoon at Stoughton. Mansfield right fielder David Eberhart got the ball to shortstop Andrew Bukuras, who fired a throw to home from short right field. Catcher Alex DeSimone applied the tag before McGrath reached the plate.

“We’re sending [McGrath] ten times out of ten. I think they throw him out maybe one out of ten,” Stoughton coach Mike Armour said. “They just made a perfect relay—the shortstop threw a seed to the catcher to get Will by a couple of steps.

“We weren’t showing a lot of fight up to that point,” Armour continued, “so it was nice to see the guys battle. We’re two steps away from tying the game right there, so tough [loss], but we’re going in the right direction.”

With the loss Stoughton falls to 1-4 on the season. Mansfield improves to 5-2.

Mansfield coach Tim Graham said his team “did just enough to get by.”

“I told the kids we made it a little more difficult today than we needed to, but that’s just the way it is right now,” he said. Graham said that the throw from Bukuras was “fantastic” and not a play you will see a lot of people make.

After playing a scoreless three innings, Mansfield got on the board in the top of the fourth. DeSimone was hit by a pitch and Bobby Brunelle walked to lead off the inning. With one out, Chris Johnson reached on an error, with DeSimone coming around to score to give Mansfield a 1-0 lead.

With runners on second and third and one out, Stoughton pitcher Adam Kenney got out of the jam with a popup and fly out, in his final inning of work. Kenney went four innings, allowing only one run.

Armour said Kenney has been a “huge bright spot” for the team this season.

The Black Knights responded with one out in the bottom of the fourth when Atticus Rentsch ripped a double to right center field, with Frankie Morris coming around to score to tie the game. But Mansfield pitcher Tom Brady got out of his own jam to end the inning as Stoughton stranded Rentsch in scoring position.

Mansfield loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth against Stoughton reliever Brian Kaplan. Kaplan induced a 4-6-3 double play (McGrath to Pat Jackman to Sean O’Malley), but Brady came around to score.  David Eberhart later scored on a passed ball to give Mansfield a 3-1 lead.

Mike Gallagher came in to pitch the final 2 1/3 innings for Stoughton. Brady earned the complete game win for Mansfield, scattering seven hits and three walks over seven innings of work. He struck out four.

“Tommy pitched well. Tommy threw strikes, was very efficient at what he did,” Graham said. “Didn’t walk a lot of guys, didn’t give up a lot of hits. This is the second start in a row he’s pitched very efficiently for us. He’s done a great job.”

Despite the team’s 1-4 start, Armour has a positive outlook. “We’re young, we’re going in the right direction, the kids are staying together,” he said. “Losing is no fun, but I think in the long run, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll be battling.”

Mansfield next plays Walpole Thursday at home at 12 p.m. Stoughton’s next game against O’Bryant has been postponed. A makeup date has not been announced. After April vacation, Stoughton travels to North Attleboro on Monday, April 25.