The Rebels fell to the Franklin Panthers by a score of 9-4 on Monday June 6th. Rebel bats provided plenty of run support, scoring four runs on ten hits. Junior Dan King went 2 for 4 and contributed an RBI, while sophomore shortstop John Adams went 1 for 3 with a RBI, but their effort was not enough.
Rebel pitching struggled to get outs, allowing 3 walks and 14 hits with 1 error in the field. Junior Mike Baryski started the game, going only two and a third innings, giving up 6 earned runs on 9 hits. Senior Jeff Meaney pitched in relief, but was unable to stop the bleeding, allowing two earned runs on two hits. Senior Captain Tom Ryan closed the game out, but he also allowed three hits and one earned run.
All year, the Rebels have excelled in all parts of the game. Their one weakness, which proved to be their Achilles’ heel, was the team’s pitching depth. Tom Ryan has pitched lights out all year, but after that it is a struggle to name another consistent pitcher. The problem this year is not the number of pitchers, but the quality. Pitchers include seniors Jeff Meaney and John Cullen; juniors Joe Murphy, Mike Baryski, Matt Ryan; and sophomores tom Farrow and Mike Gaughan. The Rebels knew that this weakness posed a threat to their championship run. When asked about the team’s weaknesses prior to Monday’s game, sophomore Cam Hanley said, “We need to improve our pitching deep in the rotation. We need to find the plate, throw strikes and get outs.” Unfortunately, the Rebels struggled doing just that, and it cost them.
On a lighter note, this year is a major success for the Walpole baseball program. Last year the team struggled to get wins and had a tough time getting runs across the plate—which led to the team missing the state tournament for the first time in several years. In comparison, this year’s team was extremely successful in scoring runs and minimizing mental mistakes in the field and on the base paths—which netted them the top spot in the Bay State League. This year might not have ended the way coach Tompkins and the players would have liked, but it was a success nonetheless.
The future looks bright for Rebels baseball. Aside from returning veterans like Craig and Cam Hanley; John Adams; juniors Matt Lavanchy, Tim Sullivan, and catcher Dan King; and many others, the varsity program will be welcoming some talented players from the junior varsity team, which was successful in its own right this year—only losing one game. With any luck, Rebels baseball is looking at a bright future.
