Sharon Baseball Downs Franklin in Walkoff

Fresh off of a mid-March Spring Training trip to Florida and a nonleague victory over Seekonk, the Sharon High varsity baseball team trailed Franklin, 7-3, late in their home opener on Tuesday.

However, the Eagles stormed back with two runs in the sixth and three more in a wild bottom of the seventh inning, downing the Panthers on a walkoff walk, 8-7, at Eagle Ballpark.

“Fantastic comeback,” said Sharon Head Coach Joel Peckham. “We have a good team, good senior leadership. It was great to see them come back in the end.”

Senior captain Nathan Pedersen says that the Eagles shifted momentum their way in the late innings. “We picked it up and didn't give up. That ultimately won us the game, because we wanted it and we knew we could do it,” he said.

With the score 7-3, in the sixth, Pedersen came on to pitch in relief of senior Kevin McLaughlin. Peckham said, “Nate Pedersen did a fantastic job on the mound for us [striking out the side, all looking]. That really shut them down. That was good.”

In the bottom half, Sharon mounted an offensive charge. Pedersen knocked home junior Michael Birschbach with an RBI double off the right-center-field fence. Pedersen later scored, making the score 7-5.

Pedersen says that the Eagles showed abundant energy on a frigid early April afternoon. “The bench was loud and enthusiastic, which pumped the batters up a lot,” he said.

After Pedersen set the Panthers down in the top of the seventh, the Eagles’ offense went back to work. Senior captain Brad Kaufman started things with a one-out single. Senior captain Jake Fishman followed with another base hit. Birschbach then reached on an error.

With the bases loaded, Pedersen delivered an RBI single, cutting the deficit to one. Next, senior captain Colin Gray drew a walk, sending home Fishman to tie the score. Senior Eric Lesser then took a full-pitch ball, allowing Birschbach to cross the plate with a Sharon victory.

Pedersen says that beating Franklin is a notch on the Eagles’ belt. “Franklin is a top, competitive team every year, and beating them in any way means a lot to us and the Hock - that we won't back down and that we can win,” he said.

Next up for Sharon (2-0, 1-0 Hockomock) is another Kelly-Rex test on Thursday, on the road against Taunton.