After enduring a rain-soaked two-day layoff at the American Legion State Final Eight, the Walpole Post 104 baseball team split a pair of games yesterday, dropping a 14-7 decision to Hanover in morning before keeping its season alive in the afternoon with a 12-2 victory over Milford at East Longmeadow High School.
Walpole advances to face Weymouth today at either 1 or 4:30 p.m. at South Hadley High and now needs three wins in the next two days to claim its second state crown.
Pat Nicholson made it 2-for-2 in elimination games this postseason with a clutch complete-game eight-inning performance in the victory over Post 59, striking four. Pat Falvey delivered a two-run single in the top of the eighth to give Walpole the 10-run cushion needed to end it early, with Nicholson snagging a sharp comebacker up the middle with runners and first and third to seal it
Post 104 got four in the first and jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Chris Ferro was 3-for 5 with 3 RBI, including a two-run triple in the first.
It was the other extreme in the morning as Hanover knocked out Walpole starter Eric Brown early with a seven-run first and built an 11-0 margin. Nicholson drove in three runs to lead the Post 104 offense.
With host venue Szot Park in Chicopee still unplayable because of field conditions and possibily remaining that way throughout the weekend, Hanover's scheduled matchup with the tournament's other unbeaten team, Weymouth, which beat Lowell 6-5 on a ninth-inning walkoff home run yesterday morning, was not able to be played yesterday and will take place this morning at 9:30 a.m. at South Hadley High.
Two games will follow in South Hadley, with Walpole playing in either the middle or final contest depending on the Hanover-Weymouth result. A Weymouth loss slots Post 104 at 1 while a Weymouth win puts them in the 4:30 game. Lowell will play Hanover in the other contest, having eliminated Newburyport by an 11-7 count yesterday. Sunday's schedule is still to be announced, depending on field availability.
