Dedham Victorious in Cal Ripken District Tournament

Editor’s Note: The following was submitted to Dedham Patch by Daniel T. Maher, president of the Dedham summer league, who managed the tournament and serves as a coach for the Dedham 11s.

Dedham 9s

After much anticipation, the Dedham 9s finally played North Attleboro in their opening game of the District 4 Championships held at Capone Field at Fairbanks Park last week.

The game had been rained out twice before Dedham was able to notch Victory No. 1 on Sunday morning. Matt Ryan started and was the winning pitcher with three strong innings and seven strikeouts. Scott Nosky closed the game out with three dominant innings of his own.

Next up for the 9s was Norton. The 9s dismantled a strong Norton team 11-0 after five innings. Ryan again was dominant as the starter, tossing three shutout innings. Andrew Mercuri shut the door this time with two scoreless frames in relief.

Next up, in the semifinals was Stoughton. This Stoughton squad was a team to be reckoned with. They won the highly competitive Friendship League as 8-year-lds and were a co-favorite with Dedham coming into the tourney. Matt Ryan again started and pitched great for three innings, allowing only an unearned run. Scott Nosky was then given the ball in the fourth inning, and he never gave it back. The game went 8 innings and Nosky threw the final five allowing only one unearned run.

Dedham notched a hard fought 3-2 victory in eight innings. The key play of the game was Liam Flynn lacing a double to score Eric Leonard from first to tie the game and send it to extras. Andrew Mercuri caught all eight innings for his battery mates. Stoughton then knocked off Wrentham to earn them another crack at Dedham in the Championship round. The final was not quite as dramatic as the previous contest as the crème truly rose to the top.

Dedham won the District 4 Championship 10-3 over Stoughton in a game that wasn’t really that close. Eric Leonard saw his first action on the mound as the starting pitcher and threw three string innings to get Dedham started. Matt Ryan came on for two and Scott Nosky shut the door in the sixth. Andrew Mercuri led the team with eight hits in the tourney as the Dedham 9s became only the second Dedham team to win a District title. The Dedham 9s, who went 4-0 in the Districts, will compete in the Cal Ripken EMass State Championships in Plymouth July 13-21.

Dedham 11s

The Dedham 11s, two time defending District 4 Champions, did not have as smooth a ride. Fortunate to have a first round bye, Dedham patiently awaited the winner of Stoughton vs. Wrentham. With some rain early in the week, Dedham had to wait until the fifth day of the tourney to play game one, a highly anticipated game against Stoughton.

In 2011, Stoughton beat Dedham in the first game of the tourney. Dedham then ran off 6 straight victories in five days to win the District 4 Tournament in Norton. The 10-year-old team had to beat Norton twice on Saturday, in Norton, coming out of the Loser’s Bracket. They won the first game handily, by mercy rule, and, in the second game, Alex Cherry hit two home runs and Billy Casey had the walkoff double to win the game. Who knew foreshadowing would play such a role.

All geared up for the Stoughton game, Dedham was close to perfect. Dedham scored early and held on for a 4-1 victory. Nolan Fitzpatrick was two-for-two with a walk, RBI and run scored. Alex Cherry and Shawn Nosky were dominant on the mound for Dedham.

Cherry pitched three innings, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out seven batters. Nosky was just as good, striking out six in three frames, allowing two hits and a walk and one run.

The 4-1 score indicates the game was closer than it really was. Next up was Mansfield, a new entry to Cal Ripken District 4. Mansfield was 2-0 coming into the game having beaten Foxboro and North Attleboro. They were a well coached team than made all the plays on defense and could hit a ton. They were good . . . very good. They jumped on Dedham early, sitting on fastballs and hitting them hard. They won the game 10-5, but Dedham held them to only one run over the final four innings, keeping them off balance with offspeed pitches.

Dedham entered the Loser’s Bracket, a place they have been before. The 11s seem to perform their best when their back is against the wall. They beat a strong Wrentham team 4-2 to set up a rematch with Mansfield. Because Dedham had one loss, they had to win two on Saturday, just like the year before in Norton.

The 9s had won their title earlier in the day, so energy was high at Capone Field. Manager Andy Shumway deviated from his normal routine and started Nolan Fitzpatrick in game one. Fitzpatrick kept the mighty Mansfield team off balance with a sharp curveball to go with a powerful fastball. Fitzpatrick kept the big bats at bay, allowing tw runs, one earned, over a complete game effort. He also went four-for-four with a double, RBI and two runs scored. This fantastic effort set up an improbable game two.

Trying to keep the Mansfield bats off balance, Dedham again deviated from its normal recipe for success, starting Shawn Nosky, the team’s regular closer. Nosky threw four strong innings, without allowing an earned run, while striking out five. This after catching Fitzpatrick’s complete game effort in game one. With Nosky out and Fitzpatrick unavailable, Alex Cherry got his second opportunity at the Mansfield squad and he didn’t waste it. Cherry was dominant in relief, tossing five innings, allowing only two hits while striking out eight.

Mansfield jumped out early, getting two in the second, capitalizing on a Dedham miscue. Dedham rallied back on an RBI single by Peter Coughlin in the bottom of the second to score Ben Dean.

The game stayed at 2-1 Mansfield until the fifth. Mikey Littmarck led off the inning with a well struck double to the gap. PJ DeVirgilio was inserted as a pinch runner. The next batter, Nolan Fitzpatrick slammed a fly ball to deep center. DeVirgilio went back to the bag to tag up. The ball was caught and the centerfielder threw a laser right on the mark to third base. DeVirgilio avoided the tag and was safe at third in what was one of several huge plays near the conclusion of this game. DeVirgilio came around to score on a Shawn Nosky single. Alex Cherry then singled. He was pinch run for by Elian Rivera. Rivera made his way around the basepaths with singles by Ben Dean, Ben Shumway and Billy Casey to score the go ahead run.

Billy Casey knocked in Rivera to put Dedham ahead 3-2, poised to be the hero two years in a row. Unfortunately, Mansfield scored a run in the top of the sixth off a walk and a double to knot the game at 3-3. That is where we stayed for the seventh and eighth. Mansfield intentionally walked Fitzpatrick and Dean to get out of jams in each inning. Momentum was on Dedham’s side as they had two runners on in both the seventh and eighth inning.

In the ninth, yes the ninth inning, Mansfield scored. They got a single from Saraceno who was three for three on the day. He had previously hit a home run on Thursday night that cleared the batting cages at Capone (and hit Ass’t Coach Dan Maher’s truck). Safe to say, this young man was a dangerous hitter. A few errant pitches later, Saraceno had come on to score and Mansfield led 4-3. Dedham had threatened in every extra inning, yet now they trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Alex Cherry led off with a sharp single. Ben Dean grounded out to first to advance Cherry. Ben Shumway laced a double to right center to score Cherry and the score was tied 4-4. The scene was set. Déjà vu was everywhere. Dedham needed to win two to secure the District Championship, just like the year before. They won game one handily, just like the year before. The opponent got up off the mat, dusted themselves off and put up a hell of a fight, taking a lead late into the game, just like the year before. And, just like the year before, with Ben Shumway on base, Billy Casey stepped to bat. With the score tied and Shumway on second, Casey lined a double to the right center gap, almost the same spot he hit the ball in Norton. Shumway scampered around the bases and scored on a play at the plate, just as he did in Norton. Players and fans charged the field as Shumway and Casey burst into tears, heroes again.  

The Dedham 11s head to the State Tournament for the third year in a row. This time, it will be held in Marshfield. Opening ceremonies will be held Friday July 13. Dedham is slated to play their first game Sunday afternoon against a yet undetermined opponent.