Sam Murray pitched Post 104 into the final day with a brilliant complete game effort over Weymouth Saturday, striking out four and walking just one in a 3-2 win.
Both squads scored twice in the first inning, but Joe Cabral lined a two-out single up the middle in the top of the fifth scored Billy Hickey (2-for-3, 2 runs).
Weymouth opened the ninth with a Pat MacDonald (4-for-4, RBI) double, but was quickly erased as Pat McDonough rocket to the right side was snared by second baseman Cabral and his throw to shortstop Phelan beat McDonald by a half-step for the double play.
Other than the first inning, no Weymouth base runner reached third base for the game.
“(Saturday), first pitch strikes, all of them,” said Murray, who retired 10 of the last 11, of the key to his outing. “I only remember missing two spots the whole game. That was by far the best game I’ve pitched this year.”
Phelan and Hickey opened the game with a single and double, a Nicholson groundout and Graham single briefly gave Walpole a 2-0 lead.
Weymouth answered immediately with four hits in their half of the first, but Walpole averted further trouble as Graham threw out Ryan Murphy trying for third on Pat MacDonald’s single for the third out.
EAST LONGMEADOW — Post 104 jumped out early to a 4-0 lead before Nicholson took the mound and he cruised tossing a complete game stopped an inning early by the slaughter rule, eliminating Milford Post 59, the only team with Walpole to reach the State Final Eight for the second straight year.
Chris Ferro was 3-for-5, a home run shy of the cycle, with three RBI including a two-run triple to pace the Walpole 13-hit attack.
Nicholson, 2-for-4 with three runs at the plate, saved the bullpen by going the distance, scattering eight hits and five walks throughout the game.
“All things considered – an elimination game, screwy schedule, playing a very good Milford team that scored some runs in the previous two games,” said Walpole coach Chris Costello, who called it the best he had ever seen the Brandeis hurler throw. “He was dominant times and pretty much in control the entire game. It was exactly what we needed.”
EAST LONGMEADOW — In Friday’s opener, Walpole got behind the eight ball early on as Post 149 scored seven runs in the top of the first and were hardly ever challenged.
Hanover knocked 19 hits, 17 of them for singles, with Ryan McDermott and Chris Amate each picking up four each. Amate and John Granahan each had three RBI.
Nicholson drove in three with two hits while Falvey had a two-run single. Jon Kelly also had a nice day with two doubles filling in for Phelan.
