H.S. BASEBALL: Whitman-Hanson delivers early knockout punch in Patriot Cup final
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WHITMAN — “Ruthlessly efficient” might be a good way to describe the Whitman-Hanson High baseball team’s approach to Wednesday’s inaugural Patriot Cup championship game.
In a battle of Panthers, the hosts sent 10 men to the plate in the first inning and scored six runs, five of which came before Plymouth South had recorded an out. That flurry was more than enough cushion for starting pitcher Bobby Marshall (more on him in a minute) to cruise to an 8-1 win that crowned Whitman-Hanson as Patriot League champs.
“It’s very, very exciting,” senior shortstop Danny Kent said of celebrating with the Cup, “especially because nobody’s won it before.”
The first inning was a blast as Whitman-Hanson’s first six batters reached base and eventually came around to score as coach Pat Cronin looked on in amazement.
“One after another you see guys deliver,” Cronin said. “That was really nice. Really was (a dream). I told the guys, ‘If I had to (map it out) how I’d like to see it start, this would have been it.’ I can’t believe it. Really cool.”
Tommy Marshall’s two-run double made it 2-0, Ethan Smith’s two-run single doubled the advantage, and Ty Gordon (RBI double) and Aidan Barry (sacrifice fly into foul territory) applied the finishing touches.
Of course, that was only half of the equation. The other half was Bobby Marshall, who barely broke a sweat in a three-hit complete-game win that required a mere 79 pitches. In contrast, Plymouth South starter Tommy Sullivan — who had been brilliant in 14-strikeout two-hitter against Hingham in the second round of the tournament — needed 39 pitches to get through the first inning alone.
“I was getting my curveball and changeup over, so it helped me out a little bit,” said Bobby Marshall, a senior right-hander. “They were swinging at the first pitch a lot, too. I got (though a game on) 68 pitches last year.”
Bobby Marshall struck out seven and issued no walks. In fact, he only went to three-ball counts on two batters and fanned them both. He needed 18 pitches each to navigate the sixth and seventh innings but breezed through the first five on just 43 pitches total. The inning-by-inning breakdown to that point: 14-11-5-7-6.
“He’s a machine,” Cronin raved. “The kid can deal. He doesn’t get flustered. What you see is what you get. He’s very efficient.”
Said Tommy Marshall, Bobby’s twin brother and co-ace of the staff: “He pitches for soft contact and the fielding was good today. And it’s been good most of the year. If we can keep doing that, we’ll keep winning.”
Bobby Marshall was two outs away from a two-hit shutout when South first baseman Hunter Dean blasted an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left center for a solo home run in the seventh inning. No shame in that, considering that Dean was just recently named MVP of the Fisher Division.
“That was a bomb,” Cronin said, approvingly.
Bobby Marshall said he felt he was “losing a little bit of velocity” late, even though he struck out four of the last five South batters.
No matter. Whitman-Hanson’s first-inning attack proved far too deep a hole for South (11-4), which was hoping to ride the momentum of a big semifinal win over town rival Plymouth North.
Sullivan was close to escaping major damage in the first inning, but three different Whitman-Hanson hitters reached base after Sullivan got two strikes on them. After Bobby Marshall reached on an infield single off Sullivan’s glove leading off, Jack Allen, the No. 2 hitter, fell behind 1-2 but worked out a walk. Kent, hitting third, bunted foul on his first two attempts but also walked to load the bases, setting the table for Tommy Marshall’s two-run double. Smith, the next batter, fell behind 0-2 before delivering his two-run single that made it 4-0.
“We like to work counts and make sure the pitcher earns all of his outs,” Tommy Marshall said. “Try to (run up) his pitch count.”
“That’s something we work on,” Cronin said of hitting with two strikes. “We pride ourselves on being tough. We may not be fancy or showy or brag, but we’re hard-working, lunch-pail-carrying, blue-collar guys. With two strikes it’s like, ‘Let’s go to work.’ That’s kind of our motto. These kids go to work and they are amazing.”
Left-hander Adam Maher replaced Sullivan after the first inning and pitched five strong innings, although Whitman-Hanson scratched out single runs in the third (T.J. Whitman RBI single) and fifth (Gordon RBI single). Gordon, Cole LeVangie and Whitman, the Nos. 6, 7 and 8 hitters, each went 2 for 3 as Whitman-Hanson showcased its deep lineup.
“Amazing,” Bobby Marshall said. “Everybody hits.”
Now it’s on to the MIAA playoffs, where a potential rematch with South looms in the Division 2 South quarterfinals. First things first, though. Third-seeded Whitman-Hanson (11-2) hosts No. 14 Dartmouth (6-7) on Monday. That same day, No. 6 South hosts No. 11 Canton (8-6). If both Cup finalists advance, Whitman-Hanson would host the quarterfinal next Wednesday.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful group to hang out with,” Cronin said of his team. “I’m very proud of them. They do the work. They’re here a half-hour, 15 minutes before practice starts, taking extra BP and stuff.
“They just don’t want to stop playing baseball. … Who knows how far we’ll go? I’ve seen a few tournaments in my life, as you know. I’ve spoken to them at length (about how nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs). But when you’ve got pitching and you can hit, anything is possible.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: H.S. BASEBALL: Whitman-Hanson delivers early knockout punch in Patriot Cup final