Sharon Tops Canton, Clinches Playoff Berth

Looking to clinch a playoff berth, the Sharon High baseball team found itself trailing in the fifth inning, 3-0, and without a hit against Canton on Monday.

However, the Eagles’ bats came alive in the fifth and sixth innings, and with junior southpaw Will Ginsberg submitting another effective pitching performance, Sharon came back and downed the Bulldogs, 5-3, at Eagle Ballpark.

“It was a great win,” said Sharon Head Coach Joel Peckham. “Will pitched well, and good defense and timely hitting really made the day. It certainly feels good to have the pressure of winning our 10^th [game] over with.”

Senior captain Brad Kaufman said, “Will pitched a great game. Our clutch hitting finally came back after a little slump – good to get back on track. Clinching the tournament definitely lifted a big weight off our shoulders. It was definitely a very huge win.”

As in Sharon’s previous game, a 2-1 Eagle victory over Seekonk on Friday, neither team posted a run through four innings. Ginsberg and Canton starter Pat Vartanian both made it one-and-a-half times through the opposing batting order before surrendering a hit.

One defensive highlight for Sharon was senior captain and first baseman Nathan Pedersen’s stretch for a throw from senior shortstop Eric Lesser.

Pedersen did nearly a complete split to nip the Canton batter-runner by a half-step. Lesser said, “Nathan Pedersen with the play of the game with that snag at first base.”

In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs’ offense found its rhythm. Vartanian crushed an RBI double to get the visitors on the scoreboard. Two batters later, Frank Powers’ two-run single put Canton on top, 3-0.

In the bottom of the frame, Sharon junior Max Bauman delivered the Eagles’ first base hit of the afternoon, a one-out single. Bauman then swiped second and third bases.

“The way we hit at the end should’ve been the way we hit the whole game,” said senior shortstop Eric Lesser. “Once Max got that first hit, it really sparked us offensively. Finally, we used our speed. We used our power.”

Senior Kevin McLaughlin walked, and his pinch-runner, senior Matt Thomas, stole second base. With two away, Kaufman scored Bauman with an RBI single, advancing Thomas to third.

After Kaufman stole second, the Eagles had two runners in scoring position and one of the team’s hottest hitters at the dish.

Lesser, who knocked home the winning run in Sharon’s victory on Friday, looked to continue his stretch of clutch batting. With two strikes, Lesser lined a single into left field to plate Thomas and Kaufman, tying the ballgame.

“Two strikes, but Coach had confidence in me,” Lesser said. “Looked for a pitch out over the middle of the plate and got it. We had some speed on the basepaths; they were able to score. It was good – something we needed.”

Kaufman said that hitting in big spots, something in which the Eagles found little success during their four-game skid earlier this month, was crucial on Monday. “Clutch hitting had been huge all season for us, had kept us in every game, so it was good to see it come back again today.”

Sharon came back for more the next inning. Junior Frank Sullivan’s double pushed junior Colton Bader to third base with nobody out. Bauman then grounded a ball to third base.

The Canton fielder, in attempting to nail Bader at the plate, threw the ball wide of the plate and to the backstop. Bader and senior Adam DuBrow, who pinch-ran for Sullivan, scampered home to give the Eagles a 5-3 advantage.

Ginsberg greatly appreciated his mates’ backing offensively, and in the sixth and seventh innings, the lefthander returned to the form he showed earlier in the game.

“Nothing is better for a pitcher than run support. It takes all the pressure off and lets you get rid of any tension. When we hit, we can compete with anybody,” Ginsberg said.

Ginsberg was generally pleased with his complete-game outing, in which he allowed just three hits, struck out six, and walked two. “I think I pitched pretty well today. I had a little trouble locating my fastball, but when I needed to throw a good fastball, I did.”

“I thought Will did a great job today of staying with it,” Kaufman said. “One bad inning, but I thought he pitched great overall.”

Ginsberg says that he sees areas for improvement with his pitching. “I can still get better, which is the great part of baseball. No matter how good the outcome is, you can get better,” he said.

Sharon (10-7, 8-6) secured a Division II South playoff berth with the victory. Peckham said, “Clinching a spot in the tournament feels great and is certainly well deserved by our team.”

Kaufman says that making the postseason was one of the Eagles’ goals this season. As for the squad’s mission the rest of the way, he said, “Championship, no less.”

The Eagles look to improve their tournament seeding and complete a rare regular-season sweep over Oliver Ames when they travel to Easton on Wednesday. “Bring on OA,” Peckham said. Canton hosts Dedham on Tuesday.

As for areas to improve looking ahead to the matchup with the Tigers, Kaufman pointed to Sharon’s hitting in early innings.

“We’re starting off slowly,” he said, “and if we’re going to go far in the tournament, we’ve got to start picking it up early in game – not just waiting until we get down, waiting to come back.”