Junior League all stars capture Mass. championship

By Guest

(Front row) Coach Scott Lysko, Matt Chafin, AJ Lysko, Jay Kelleher, Jake Jones; (back row) Coach Carmen Ferrara, Will Ferrara, Andy Butler, Conor Hunter, Michael Leonetti, Vinny O’Brien, Colin Albert, Matt Quan, Coach Chris Butler; (not pictured) Nico Bonnano.

For an unprecedented three years in a row, Canton’s Junior League all-star baseball team won the Massachusetts state championship and will be heading to Freehold Township, New Jersey, to compete for the Eastern Regional Championship on the road to Taylor, Michigan. With big shoes to fill, Canton’s top 13-14 year olds came out strong and proved that they were ready for the task at hand, shutting out Grafton in a best-of-three series at Horgan Field in Oxford on Saturday, July 21.

Canton earned its spot in the championship round by getting past several talented teams, including Gloucester and Stoneham in a double-elimination sectional round earlier in the week. “We came into Saturday playing some of the best baseball I’ve seen from these kids,” said Manager Carmen Ferrara. “They have all worked so hard and our bats were hot at the right time. Our pitching and defense has been stellar.”

In the first game of the championship series against Grafton, Canton got an incredible 90-pitch effort from Andy Butler as he tossed five scoreless innings, scattering only four hits with a very strong defense behind him. Jake Jones pitched the final inning to close out the game, letting up no runs and securing the shutout for Canton. The offense was led by Vinny O’Brien, Will Ferrara, AJ Lysko, and Jay Kelleher, each with multiple hits and several RBIs. Conor Hunter and Michael Leonetti also knocked in key runs en route to a 7-0 victory.

Canton stormed out to an early 3-0 lead in the second game only to have Grafton come roaring back and tie the game at 5-5 after three innings. Canton got strong pitching performances from Lysko and Matt Quan. A big hit by Colin Albert and aggressive base running by Matt Chafin nearly led to a go-ahead run, but Grafton’s defense made some incredible plays in the outfield to keep the game tied going into the seventh inning.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, Canton had a chance to walk off with a win if they could push across one run. In the bottom of the seventh, Ferrara, Leonetti, and O’Brien each scorched singles to load the bases with no outs. Grafton responded by retiring the next two batters, but with Canton down to its final out, Quan came up to bat and was able to work a tough seven-pitch walk, which plated the game-winning run.

With the victory, Canton clinched the 2018 Massachusetts state title and punched its ticket back to Freehold, NJ for a third straight year and fourth time in the last 11 years. The prestigious Eastern Regional Championship gets underway on Thursday, August 2, with Canton squaring off against the New York state champion beginning at 12 noon. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will represent the East at the Junior League World Series, scheduled for August 12-19 in Taylor, Michigan.

The Canton Junior League all stars are currently accepting donations to help defray the cost of traveling to New Jersey. To make a donation, visit cantonlittleleague.org and click on the donation link.

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=39463