Legion Post 24 caps off season with awards night
By Canton Citizen
The 2012 Canton American Legion Post 24 baseball team: (front row, l-r) Yoni Monat, Brad Kaufman, Stephen Mullaney, Bob Brown, Jake Fishman, Colin Gray, Nathan Pedersen; (back row, l-r) coach Al Jackson, Brennan Sullivan, Dan Friedman, Liam Murphy, Jimmy Fitzgerald, Dave Roberto, Drew Blake, Sam Larson, Matt Potts, Kyle Delsignore, Kevin O’Brien, Justin Rudy, coach Walter Mann, Billy Murray, and head coach Greg Lyons
The Canton American Legion Post 24 baseball team honored four departing players and celebrated the team’s 2012 achievements at a recent awards dinner held at the Canton Town Club.
The team finished the season at 10-12, good for sixth place in the District 6 West Division standings and just seven points shy of the final playoff spot. Canton also produced two signature wins, beating first-place Norwood and second-place Walpole — a first in the modern era — while almost beating Norwood a second time.
Most observers noted that this year’s team, which featured several current CHS players, showed plenty of potential but could not finish off many of the weaker teams. The team occasionally went into hitting and fielding slumps, but players plan to hit the batting cages in the offseason in order to get a head start on hitting for next season.
Due to age restrictions, the squad will be losing its top two pitchers in Dave Roberto and Jake Fishman; however, there were some flashes of pitching potential shown by Sam Larson, Liam Murphy, Jimmy Fitzgerald, and Kyle Delsignore.
The team also received good contributions from Brad Kaufmann, Drew Blake, Nate Pedersen, Justin Rudy, Brennan Sullivan, Steve Mullaney, Chris Cammarata, Matt Potts, Kevin O’Brien, and Collin Gray.
This season also marked the coaching debut of former CHS baseball standout Greg Lyons, who described his first year as head coach as a great learning experience. Lyons was assisted by Al Jackson, Bill Murray, Walter Mann, and team founder Bob “Brownie” Brown.
“Overall we had some highs and lows, but there were more highs than lows,” said Lyons. “We have 14 players returning next year, and I think we will be right there with more hitting consistency. We also have a good pitching staff, the third best in the league in terms of earned run average, and we had 12 complete games. I like the atmosphere with great fan support and help from the coaches. I am already looking forward to next year.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=15484
Posted by Canton Citizen
on Aug 8 2012. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports.
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