With its 21st consecutive win last night against visiting Westwood Post 320, the Walpole American Legion Post 104 baseball stands one victory away from a perfect regular season.
In a nearly perfect outing by Sam Murray on the mound for Walpole, Post 104 defeated Post 320, 10-0, and host Medfield tomorrow at 5:55 p.m. to see whether or not a 22-0 season is in store.
Throwing his second complete game shutout this season, Murray lost a no-hit bid when Westwood third baseman Brian Morante lined a first-pitch fastball just over the glove of a leaping John Phelan at shortstop with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.
“[Murray] can be dominant when he wants to be,” said head coach Chris Costello. “He just pumps strikes and challenges people, and he pitched for contact tonight and I think that single was the first solid contact they had all game.”
With yet another landslide victory, the atmosphere on the Post 104 bench is an easygoing one this time of season. When the last loss a team can remember is nearly a calendar year ago, it’s hard for it not to be.
“The streak isn’t affecting this team at all,” Costello said. “We come to the park every day with the same philosophy we always have: expecting to win. We have the pitching, the defense, and we have the hitting. This is a special team, But we still have goals we want to accomplish.”
In an attempt to set some long-term goals for his own players, Post 320 manager Dick Paster gave Matt Venti the ball for the first time in his American Legion career.
The Westwood High incoming junior threw 3 and 2/3 innings and allowed nine runs on seven hits.
“Matt did what I wanted for us tonight,” said Paster, whose team fell to 6-13-1 with two games remaining on its schedule. “He concentrated on throwing strikes, focused on his mechanics, and kept the runners close at the start of the game. This was a good opportunity for him to see what this level of pitching is like, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he does next year.”
Post 104 knocked the wheels off Venti’s wagon in the second inning as 11 men came to the plate and seven scored. Pat Falvey hit a double to left field to score the first two runs and Phelan soon followed with one to right field to score Falvey. Post 104 batted around with help from Venti, who surrendered three walks in the inning.
After a scoreless third, Walpole struck again in the fourth when Billy Hickey led off with a double and Pat Nicholson followed with a walk. Murray then added his second RBI of the night on a double to right-center field and Chris Ferro drove in Nicholson on a ground ball out.
T.J. Manning threw the final 2 and 1/3 innings for Post 320, allowing one run in the top of the sixth on a Ferro sacrifice fly. Westwood could still have a say in the District 6 West playoff race with two postseason teams still on the its docket, Norwood at the Balch tonight before wrapping up the season by hosting Norfolk tomorrow.
Murray, whose throwing arm and hot bat have been a key ingredient to Post 104’s success all year, ended up striking out six on the night in a 76-pitch performance. A first-inning walk was the only other blemish on his outing. The southpaw was looking to join teammate Connor Thornton, who has turned the trick twice this summer, and Norwood’s Chris Foley in the no-hit column in District 6 West.
Although the two two-out hits to Post 320’s four- and five-hitters weren’t what he wanted, the Saint Joseph’s-bound pitcher/outfielder has other things to think about.
“I didn’t even know until the fourth or fifth inning,” said Murray regarding his no-hitter. “It doesn’t really matter. As long as we play how we know we can play, we can beat anybody.”
