Canton A’s salvage week with monster upset win
By Mike Berger
Canton native and CHS grad Steve Burbank, now a star shortstop at Framingham State University, has been one of the steadiest players this summer for the Canton A’s. (Framingham State Athletics photo)
In a strange week for the hometown team in Cranberry Baseball League action, the Canton A’s dropped three of four games to lose their grip on second place, yet they also came away with arguably their finest win in several seasons as they outlasted previously unbeaten Braintree, the defending CBL champs and a perennial league powerhouse, 3-2 at home last week.
Coming off a 12-1 blowout loss to that same Braintree squad just a few days earlier, the A’s rebounded with a much sharper performance in a tight, well-played game Thursday night at CHS. With darkness looming and the score tied 1-1 heading into extra innings, the White Sox would push across the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th and were just one out away in the bottom half of the inning when the A’s pulled off the improbable — rallying for two runs to steal the victory and snap Braintree’s season-long winning streak at 15.
Sparking the rally was Canton’s Steve Burbank, whose key bunt helped move a runner along and set up the game-tying hit, with Stoughton’s Kyle Doolin capping the rally with an RBI single.
Besides the late-inning heroics, Thursday’s game also featured a great pitching duel between Braintree co-ace Chase Cahill and the A’s Max Tarlin, a former Sharon High standout who was a key reliever for an Endicott College team that made history this spring en route to the D3 College World Series.
After Canton’s Andrew Bryant (UMass Dartmouth) staked the hosts to a 1-0 lead with a 350-foot blast over the right field fence, Tarlin would hold the White Sox scoreless until the fifth, when they tied the game on two wild pitches. Easton’s Jack Haynes also pitched well in relief for the A’s, while catcher Tyler Lafreniere and first baseman Jake Waxman both had strong games defensively.
Unfortunately, the comeback win over Braintree was Canton’s only highlight of the week as they went on to lose both games in a Sunday doubleheader to the Hock Valley Panthers at home, 6-0 and 7-1. Jake Levine provided the A’s only offense with a solo homerun, while Jay Witkowski flashed his glove at shortstop. Canton also got some good relief pitching from the likes of Cam Prescott, Pat Hart and Ryan Morry.
Despite their recent slide, the A’s remain in a strong position at 12-7 overall, putting them just behind the Mass. Hurricanes in third place in the 10-team Cranberry League.
Among the regulars, Bryant, a Blue Hills Regional alumnus, leads the team with a .484 batting average and six extra-base hits, followed by Attleboro’s Tim Callahan (.469), Norwood’s Jay Wladkowski (.448) and Doolin (.448).
Burbank has also been productive in a team-high 15 games, batting .295 with 13 hits, while fellow CHS alum Matt Pigeon has chipped in with five hits in 13 at bats.
Tarlin leads a Canton pitching staff that also features three others with an ERA of 2.00 or less, including Jake Silveria, Prescott and Steven Grenham.
This week, the A’s were due to visit Rockland and then host Acushnet tonight at CHS starting at 6 p.m. The team then gets a week off before resuming play July 6 at Hock Valley.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=114888
Posted by Mike Berger
on Jun 30 2023. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports.
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