On Wednesday May 25th, the Rebels faced off against rival Mustangs.  Senior captain and ace pitcher Tom Ryan was on the bump in Norwood.  Ryan pitched an excellent game, allowing 4 hits and no earned runs in a 127-pitch complete game.  Ryan struck out 10 and walked 5.  Norwood batters couldn’t figure him out— no Mustang managed to get more than one hit off of him.

Walpole’s high-powered offense scored 5 runs on 11 hits.  Sophomore shortstop, John Adams had a productive day at the plate, going 2 for 3 witProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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a RBI.  Fellow sophomore Cam Hanley went 3 for 5 with a RBI, as well.  In addition, junior right-fielder Craig Hanley, turned in a stellar performance in the field, raking in four put outs.  The Rebels prevailed against the Mustangs, winning 5-0.

Two days later, the boys squared off against the Braintree Wamps.  Senior southpaw Jeff Meaney got the nod from Coach Bill Tompkins.  This game did not go as planned for the Rebels.  The pitching staff was rocked for 14 runs as the offense provide 6 runs in support.  However, this loss does not shake the confidence of the boys going into the tournament.  They know what needs to be done to win this year.  According to Adams the Rebels need to “capitalize on every opportunity, eliminate mental mistakes, and do the little things like [they] have all year.”

The players also realize that the opposition will bring give them their best.  “Other teams are going to have to bring their A game. They are going to have to excel in pitching and keep us off the bases,” says Cam Hanley.

With a lineup filled with high-power hitters, runs should be no problem.  In the field, Walpole has both talent and depth, as said by senior center-fielder Troy Salvatore.

When it comes down to it, Adams made it simple.  “[They] just have to play Walpole baseball and do what [they] have done all year, and that’s winning games.”