Legion wins final 4;
Jackson to step down
By Mike Berger
Citizen Staff
The Canton
Post 24 American Legion team won its final four games to end the
regular season on a promising note. At the end of the final
game, Coach Al Jackson told his team he would not come back next
season after coaching the Legion team for several summers.
The team
ended the season at 7-12-3, having defeated Needham 8-4, Norfolk
10-7, and Stoughton twice, 8-2 and 3-2.
The Canton
bats came alive in the last four games, propelled by the strong
hitting of Gary Powers, Bryan Rooney and Kevin Godin. In
addition, catcher Chris Ezepik pitched well in relief with two
saves, and starting pitchers Nate Fishman and Dave Roberto were
solid.
Jackson said
the team will lose two or three players to age eligibility, but
most of the team can return and form a strong nucleus for next
year. “There are a great group of guys here. Even though I won’t
be coaching, I hope to see a lot of you here next year as I hope
to watch a lot of games,” said Jackson, whose replacement has
not been named yet.
This was the
first season in a new division for Canton, a more competitive
division that included a very powerful and undefeated Walpole
team (20 consecutive wins), as well as Norwood, Foxboro,
Norfolk, Needham and Westwood.
In the
Needham game, Fishman pitched the entire game and almost every
Legion player had a hit. Three RBIs by Godin and Rooney sparked
the 10-7 win over Norfolk, and Canton beat playoff bound Norfolk
three times this season. Ezepik came on to record the last out,
and a good relief appearance was turned in by Powers.
In the 8-2
win over Stoughton, Dave Roberto was staked to a 4-0 lead in the
second on a two-run double by Powers and a two-run single by
Godin. Roberto pitched well as he finished a complete game.
Powers and Godin also added RBI hits later in the game. Good
defensive plays were turned in by Mike White in the outfield and
Ryan Melaugh at shortstop. Ezepik threw out a runner trying to
steal second base.
In the final
game, John Powers started and pitched well for four innings,
striking out five batters. The game was scoreless until the
bottom of the fifth when White walked, advanced to third on a
sharp double by Powers and came home on an infield hit by Andy
Ferrera. Two more runs came in on an error by Stoughton and a
single by Trevor Boyce.
Stoughton
came back with two runs in the sixth inning, but Ezepik came on
in relief to induce a popup with a runner on second and two out.
He finished the game with a strikeout to preserve the final win
for the Legion team.
July 24, 2008
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