Stoughton High Baseball Team’s Comeback Falls Short at Foxboro

Down 1-0 with two outs in top of the first inning, it looked like Foxboro pitcher Brandon Fowler’s day was done after getting hit in the side of the knee with a ball.

Deciding to fight the pain and play on, the senior captain's nine strikeout performance was one of the deciding factors of the game as Foxboro beat the visiting , 6-4, Tuesday.

It was the season-opening game for both squads.

A passed ball allowed Pat Jackman to score from third to give the Black Knights the initial 1-0 lead, but the Warriors took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Nick Sestito knocked in two runs off a left field double. One batter later, sophomore Owen Campbell’s single to center field allowed Fowler to score giving the Warriors a 3-1 lead after the second inning.

In the next inning, the Warriors got some insurance runs when Jimmy Flaherty scored off a double to right field by Mike Cappadona to increase the lead to three. A single by Freitas allowed Cappadona to score as Foxboro maintained a 5-1 lead after three innings.

The Black Knights had a chance to cut into the lead in the top of the fifth with Zach Gibb and Mike Connelly on base with two outs, but Fowler came up big with a strikeout to end the inning.

“[Fowler] threw a good game for them and we couldn’t get the bats going,” Stoughton coach Mike Armour said.

Another single by Freitas allowed Cappadona to score in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Warriors a 6-1 lead.

With sophomore Josh Patkin coming in to attempt his first save of the year, the Black Knights refused to quit and almost came back. A double by Jovani Pires allowed Jackman to score and a two-run home run from Connelly cut the lead to two, 6-4. Despite the dramatics, Patkin was able to get a ground out and fly out to earn the save for the Warriors.

“Give them credit," said Armour. "They made more plays than we did today. We got some stuff we gotta work on but tip our caps to Foxboro."

It was day of high and lows for Fowler who almost had to leave the game in the top of the first inning. The senior captain threw 66 strikes and 98 total pitches with an ERA of 0.00 in the winning effort.

"He was kinda blowing guys away a little bit with the fastball," Foxboro head coach Billy Sittig said. "[Stoughton’s] top few hitters are very good players and as a lineup they started to thin out so he had his way."

Senior Nick Sestito went 3-3 with two RBIs and a pair of doubles in his first game at the high school level. Sophomore Tim Freitas also went 3-3 with a couple of RBIs and a run. Mike Cappadona went 1-3 with two runs and a RBI. Owen Campbell went 1-2 with a RBI.

Connelly went 1-2 from the plate with a two run homer. Pat Jackman went 1-3 with a couple of runs. Zach Gibb went 2-4 for the Black Knights.

Brian Kaplan and Mike Dixon combined to pitch for Stoughton.

The Warriors travel to Duxbury for a non-league matchup on Thursday, while Stoughton hosts Quincy on Wednesday in the Black Knights’ home opener.