Ryan MacDougall deals St. John’s Shrewsbury the crowning blow to bring Taunton one win from a repeat Division 1 title

After trailing 3-0, Taunton suddenly had a 6-3 lead and was on its way to outslugging sixth-seeded St. John’s Shrewsbury, 10-5, drawing the second-seeded Tigers (20-4) within one win from repeating as Division 1 state champions.

“I can’t say enough about the camaraderie and effort they give,” said Taunton coach Blair Bourque. “We’re never out of a game so they just keep plugging away and battle back.”

MacDougall finished with four RBIs, adding a line drive single to center in third, tying the score 3-3. Following the triple, MacDougall’s pinch-runner scored on a wild pitch before Shawn Cali added a sac-fly in the fifth for an 8-3 lead, marking the eighth unanswered run from Taunton.

“They are the defending champs for a reason and they clawed back,” said St. John’s coach Charlie Eppinger, whose team finished 19-5. “They saw our pitchers well and they put good swings on the ball one through nine.”

Dawson Bryce added a two-run shot to left in the sixth for the final blow. It was déjà vu for MacDougall, who launched the winning homer in last year’s state final against Franklin. The Tigers will face either Franklin in a rematch or Methuen in the state final this weekend.

“I’m just excited to practice tomorrow,” said MacDougall.

Division 2 State

King Philip 6, St. Mary’s 4 — After allowing two runs in the top of the first inning, King Philip needed a spark. Taking advantage of the cavernous outfield at Haverhill Stadium, Matt Kelley provided that spark with an inside-the-park, two-run homer to tie the game.

Two innings later, the senior came up with a momentum-changing play again. This time, he raced around to score from first on a two-run single from sophomore Drew Herlin that put the No. 3 Warriors (17-7) ahead for good in a Division 2 semifinal win over the 10th-seeded Spartans.

“I thought our guys responded very well and to be able to put up two runs there to answer that just set the tone for the rest of the game,” said King Philip head coach Jeff Plympton.

It marked a return trip to the Division 2 final for the Warriors, who lost a year ago to top-seeded Milton.

Sophomore Nate Pennini pitched 5⅔ innings in the win for the Warriors, eventually being charged for all four runs the Spartans (16-8) scored. But after conceding two in the first, Pennini was locked in for the next four innings, allowing the Warriors to jump in front and stay there.

“We knew the type of team that St. Mary’s was, and we thought he was the best guy to go out there,” Plympton said of Pennini. “For a sophomore, I’ll take that to be in this spot to go to a championship game. I couldn’t ask for a better performance.”

Junior Chris Marks drove in a pair with a first-inning triple for St. Mary’s, and senior Tommy Falasca and sophomore Cam McGonagle each had a pair of hits.

Division 3 State

Medfield 8, Bishop Stang 4 — Medfield wasn’t concerned with style points. It had one mission in mind.

In a game defined by its miscues, the second-seeded Warriors proved their resiliency with avictory over the third-seeded Spartans in the Division 3 baseball semifinals at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

“We never gave in,” said coach Dave Worthley after his team rallied from down 4-2 to reach its second state title game in three seasons. “We didn’t get down with a bad inning. We just kept coming and coming and coming.”

Nobody represented that more than starter Jacob DeCoste who looked bound for a short night after allowing four runs (three earned) and needing 47 pitches to get through two innings. But he buckled down and stuck around to induce the final out, surrendering three hits over the final five innings while scattering six strikeouts.

“He was awesome,” Worthley said. “When he fills up the strike zone he’s as good as anyone out there.”

The Warriors advance to the state final at Worcester’s Polar Park (date and time TBA), where they will face either Oakmont or Taconic, which defeated Medfield, 14-10, in the 2021 title game.

The Spartans (16-6) took advantage of a pair of Medfield errors in the first two innings, building a 4-2 lead on Brock Winslow’s two-run single in the second.

Medfield (18-5) broke the game open with a five-run fourth that featured four singles, two wild pitches, one walk, one error, a bases-loaded hit batsman, and an RBI groundout. Jack Collins (2 for 3, 3 runs) and Colby Hatch (2 for 4, 2 RBIs) powered an 11-hit showing that saw the first eight Warriors in the order collect a hit.

“We’re such a unit as a team,” DeCoste said. “Our team had my back. We just battled as a team.”

Brendan Kurie reported from Brockton, Mike Puzzanghera from Haverhill.