Canton’s Andrew Middleton tosses perfect game

In his first career start as a varsity baseball player, Canton High junior Andrew Middleton lived out the dream of every starting pitcher on the planet — tossing a perfect game to lead the Bulldogs over Attleboro 3-0 in Thursday’s season opener.

Andrew Middleton is all smiles after his perfect game.

Middleton, whose last high school outing came in the spring of 2019 as the leading pitcher on the CHS freshman team, retired all 21 Bombardier batters he faced over seven flawless innings of work, walking none while striking out 17.

No one seems to know when a Canton High pitcher last threw a no-hitter. CHS head coach Ben Shuffain said to his knowledge no Hockomock League pitcher had thrown a perfect game since 1995. CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson said he had no knowledge of the last time a CHS pitcher threw a no-hitter or a perfect game.

But Shuffain was not totally surprised by the feat as he had followed Middleton’s progress over the course of the pandemic year, including stints with the GBG Hawks and Canton Junior Legion team. Shuffain believes Middleton may be one of the top pitchers in the league, if not the best. “Andrew is bigger, stronger and it shows in his pitching,” said the Canton coach.

In last week’s gem against Attleboro, Middleton threw a dominating fastball, which hovered around 86 miles per hour, and mixed in a curveball, slider, breaking ball and changeup. He also helped himself out at the plate, driving in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice. When he isn’t pitching, Middleton plays first base and bats in the No. 5 spot in the order.

Shuffain is also high on the rest of his pitching staff, including Nico Bonnano, Matt Quan, Steve Burbank, Andy Butler, Zach Peters, and Nick Hewitt, who is recovering from shoulder surgery but slated to return in June. Every member of the staff is expected to see action as both a starter and reliever.

Offensively, this year’s team features several capable hitters, including Burbank, Middleton, Sawyer Julier-Albert, Cam Sanchez, Matt Chafin, and Jack Digirolamo. Team captains this season are Burbank, Julier-Albert, and Hewitt.

Shuffain likes the overall talent level of the team and said if all goes well, the Bulldogs should have a “great season” and be competitive in the MAA postseason tournament. He was especially pleased with the conditioning of the players going in to the season as many had played AAU baseball, winter practice, or took part in other team sports. “I was amazed,” Shuffain said. “During our first practice, it looked like we were in mid-season form. We were very clean on drills. I guess the weather helps.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on May 13 2021. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.