TAUNTON — It was a day of celebration in Taunton, both during pregame and postgame. Senior Day festivities preceded a Hockomock League baseball matchup against No. 10 Milford, and a 9-2 victory for the No. 2 Tigers is how the day ended.
“In the past I’ve had the mindset that Senior Day was a distraction,” Tigers coach Blair Bourque said. “Lately I’ve embraced it and they reward you with a great game. We played really well, and I am proud of them.”
While the runs eventually came for the defending Division 1 state champion Tigers (14-4), it took a few innings. Milford pitcher Evan Cornelius was able to stave Taunton off over the first few innings, but the hitters did pick up on some tendencies.
“Early on, he was pounding me with sliders,” Taunton senior Braden Sullivan said. “I was able to sit back and drive it and do my job to get on base.”
Jack Cali was impressive for the Tigers as well, keeping Milford off the board for the majority of his 3.2 innings outing.
It was Sullivan who broke through first for Taunton when he smacked a double that drove in Caden Lindskog in the bottom of the third. The Scarlet Hawks would respond in the next half of the inning, as Sean McGee knocked in Joey McGee with a single before a Joe Butler double brought Sean McGee across home plate.
Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Tigers pounced when Lindskog drove in AJ Lewis and Dwayne Burgo in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back. They put up three runs in the fifth and sixth, eventually cruising to the seven-run win.
Senior catcher Ryan MacDougall was a huge catalyst, as he smacked a double and eventually scored in the fifth before a sixth-inning triple and RBI put the game out of reach. He credited his success to a recent shift in his approach at the plate.
“The past few games I’ve been hitting a lot better, and I’ve been straight reacting,” MacDougall said. “That’s pretty much what I did today, and I hit the ball well.”
Junior Brady Morin took the victory for the Tigers, tossing 2.1 innings in relief, allowing four hits and one earned run, and earning a strikeout. Seniors Charlie Rabel and David DaSilva accounted for the final three outs, with the latter notching a final strikeout off a wicked curveball.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Bourque said. “We’re looking to finish strong.”