Clutch Sharon Hitting Snaps Skid

The four games prior to the Sharon High baseball team’s contest with Seekonk, the Eagles mustered a grand total of six runs and dropped all four decisions.

However, on Friday afternoon, Sharon broke through offensively late in the game. Coupled with an superb complete-game outing from senior captain Jake Fishman, single runs in the fifth and sixth innings provided the Eagles’ 2-1 margin of victory.

“The win was huge for us,” said Sharon Head Coach Joel Peckham. “Continued pressure and the need to win brought out our best. Jake was outstanding on the mound. Our defense also held up well under all the pressure.”

 “Our offense sparked up,” said Fishman. “We had opportunities – some we missed, some we took advantage of. A few mistakes were made, but overall, we definitely played very well.”

On a warm day at Eagle Ballpark, the first four innings were fast and scoreless, as both southpaw Fishman and Warriors righthander Jake Roy worked quickly and effectively.

“Jake always keeps us in the game,” said Sharon senior Kevin McLaughlin. “He did a great job for us on the mound. We’re very confident with him out there.

“We started off a little bit slow [offensively]. We had some opportunities - hit the ball hard, hit it right to them. But we came around,” McLaughlin added.

Seekonk broke the ice in the fifth inning. Roy singled home John Balasco with two outs, giving the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

Roy then swiped second and third bases, and with the left-handed-hitting Jesse Archimbault at bat, took off for home. But Fishman calmly tossed the ball to senior captain and catcher Colin Gray, who slapped down the tag in front of the plate on Roy to end the inning.

Leading off for the Eagles in the bottom of the frame was McLaughlin. The Sharon designated hitter, who had stroked a ball that was caught earlier in the game, got the Eagles rolling offensively with a sharp single to center field.

“I’ve been working at it in practice trying to get back into the lineup,” McLaughlin said. “Coach gave me the opportunity to DH today; I wanted to prove my worth, do something for the team. So I just got up there – swing the bat, hit the ball hard, and the second one fell.”

After junior third baseman Frank Sullivan worked a walk, sophomore Matt Shaffer laid an excellent sacrifice bunt down the first-base side, bringing senior Matt Thomas (who pinch-ran for McLaughlin) up to third base and Sullivan to second.

Sharon leadoff batter and senior captain Brad Kaufman flied a ball into left-center field, deep enough for Thomas to race in with the game-tying run without a throw home.

The Eagles came through again in the following inning, the sixth. Gray reached on a fielder’s choice, and with two outs, stole second base. Senior shortstop Eric Lesser then smoked an immense single down the third-base line, plating Gray and providing Sharon a 2-1 advantage.

“The offense of Lesser, Gray, and Kaufman was timely,” Peckham said. “Seekonk is an excellent team that gave us their very best, and we withstood the pressure and came through.”

Fishman, who had suffered hard-luck walkoff losses in multiple recent outings, says that it was a pleasure to pitch with a lead in the seventh inning.

“It was a very big relief,” he said with a chuckle. “We’ve had a lot of games when I’ve had to go out there with a tie game or down by one - it’s hard to do. Come back, play, and win.”

Seekonk wouldn’t go away in the top of the seventh. With one out, Daniel Silva doubled to right field and advanced to third when a pitch went through to the backstop.

At that juncture, Fishman sealed the Sharon victory by inducing a pop-out and then striking out the final hitter. The Eagle ace finished with eight strikeouts, five hits, no walks, and a pickoff.

“I thought I pitched well. It was a hard battle to win, but came out, hit my spots when I needed to, and we won the game,” said Fishman, who recorded his fourth victory of the season.

McLaughlin says that the Eagles’ win was crucial given the squad’s recent lack of success. “I think after this streak, we were all a little bit agitated, rearing to go to get this victory, and get this new streak started.

“We just came through – had a little meeting the other day as a team, discussed what we had to get done. That’s it,” McLaughlin added.

Sharon (9-7) returns to Hockomock League play on Monday against Canton at Eagle Ballpark, looking to clinch a state tournament berth. Seekonk travels to Bishop Feehan.

As for Sharon’s aims for Monday, McLaughlin said, “Keep the momentum going, just keep hitting the ball. That’s what it comes down to for us.

“We always have great pitching with Jake and [junior] Will [Ginsberg] and our bullpen, and our fielding is usually there,” McLaughlin added. “Just got to keep raking - hitting the ball hard, hitting into gaps, and scoring runs.”