Taunton Tigers Tame Barnstable in Regular Season Finale

Sometimes it pays off to be loud and spirited.

In a tournament-like atmosphere with about 300 vocal fans in attendance Friday afternoon at Taunton High School, the host Tigers jumped on top of the Barnstable High School Red Raiders and did not let go en route to a 4-3 win in both teams' regular-season finale. Barnstable finished at 10-6 on the regular season and now awaits the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 1 South Sectional seedings before playing again.

With sunshine beaming, the wind blowing out and blue, balmy skies, Taunton jumped on top of Barnstable starting pitcher Pete Liimatainen (3-0) in the bottom of the second inning when he walked the first batter he faced, threw away an attempted pick-off at first base, then gave up a single to make it 1-0.

With the Barnstable bats seemingly stymied, Taunton took advantage in the bottom of the third when Liimatainen offered up a fastball to Ben Phillips who crushed it over the centerfield fence to make it 2-0, Taunton. Liimatainen settled to strikeout the next batter for the inning's first out, then walked the next batter he faced and got the hook from BHS head coach Joe DeMartino who brought in junior righty Keegan Dellacona (3-5).

Dellacona walked the next batter to put two men on, then gave up a single to load the bases. He settled down and struck out the next batter then got the critical third out on a liner to shortstop Ty Adams (0-3) to get out of the jam. Taunton still maintained the lead, however, 2-0, after three innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Dellacona led off with a walk then got the next batter to tap a slow roller back to the mound, but in his haste to get the ball out of his mitt Dellacona couldn't grip it right and threw the ball into centerfield in an attempt to get the man at second base. The next Tiger up to the plate then hit a deep fly ball between Luke Besse (0-4) in centerfield and Dylan Morris (1-3) in leftfield and somehow it dropped in for a double to make it 3-0, Taunton. The next batter Dellacona faced then hit a towering fly to rightfield which was caught by BHS rightfielder Everett Walsh (0-1, 2 walks) at the wall, giving the Taunton baserunner on third time to tag up and score to make it 4-0, with two outs. Dellacona then whiffed the next man he faced but the damage had been done.

The Red & White finally got on the board in the top of the fifth when Everett Walsh led off with a walk and D.J. Crook singled to put two men on and Denny Beynor (1-3, 2 RBI) hammered a line drive to left centerfield to bring in two runs and make it 4-2, but that was all BHS could muster.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, buoyed by the two runs from his teammates, Dellacona fanned the first two men he faced but an infield error cost the potential 1-2-3 frame. A pop fly to right ended it.

In the top of the seventh inning, Crook (2-3, HR, RBI) led off with a line-drive solo home run - Barnstable's first home run of the season - to make it 4-3, but no one else could get on base and the game ended with Taunton victorious, 4-3. Dellacona got tagged with the loss. He struck out four batters, walked two and allowed two hits, both runs being earned in 3 2/3 innings of work.

Crook was the sole Barnstable hitter to have multiple hits as he went 2-3 with a home run and one RBI.