Johnny Escobalez started the year on the junior varsity. He finished as a state champion.
In front of an energetic and boisterous crowd, Escobalez fired a complete game, scattering just five hits and surrendering a lone earned run to lift No. 2 Taunton to its third Div. 1 State title in four years with a 7-2 win over No. 1 Franklin on Sunday night at Polar Park.
The state championship is Taunton’s second straight over its Hockomock Kelley-Rex rival Franklin.
“Johnny is phenomenal,” Taunton coach Blair Bourque said. “Enough can’t be said about the performance, especially being a sophomore. Being on this stage is incredible. The future is really bright but this is a really special day for him.”
The top of Taunton’s lineup proved relentless once again off Franklin ace Alfred Mucciarone. Braden Sullivan, Brayden Cali, and Dawson Bryce combined for eight of the Tigers’ 11 hits and five of their RBIs.
“Mucciarone is the best pitcher in the state so we wanted to be aggressive early in counts,” Bourque said. “If he could get ahead we knew we would be in trouble so we looked to capitalize early. (Sullivan) and Dawson had some major hits.”
Taunton (21-4) struck in the top of the opening inning when Ryan MacDougall dropped an RBI double into no-man’s land in left field that brought home Cali. One inning later, the Tigers provided all the insurance Escobalez needed. Consecutive comebackers, the second on a bunt, to Mucciarone led to errant throws to bring home Taunton’s second run of the game. Later in the inning, after a walk, Sullivan roped a two run single to left to stretch Taunton’s lead to 4-0.
After Cali singled, Bryce put on the exclamation point in the inning taking a slider down the right field line for a two run double to put Taunton on top 6-0. Franklin got a run back in the bottom of the third on a pair of errors but Escobalez was otherwise dominant.
The sophomore left-hander retired eight consecutive hitters between the third and sixth innings to help the Tigers extinguish their rival foe for the second consecutive year in the season’s climax.
“We knew we had what it took,” Sullivan said. “This city, this program. It starts from a very young age. I think we carried that legacy on throughout our careers. To have a junior and senior year winning state championships, it’s awesome.”