MacDougall, Evan Cali help Taunton baseball claim second D1 title in three seasons

LOWELL — Who else but them?

All season long, as has been the case the past few years, No. 2 Taunton and No. 1 Franklin battled it out for baseball supremacy in the Hockomock League and throughout the state rankings. After splitting their regular season series with a win apiece, the Panthers nabbed the Hockomock Kelley-Rex Division title.

But Saturday afternoon, it was the Tigers who came away with the top prize as they topped their league rivals 2-1 at LaLacheur Park to claim the program’s second state title in three seasons.

“It’s a little more sweet I’d say,” Ryan MacDougall said of winning the state title. “It’s a great win.”

And in the end, who else was more fitting to lead the way for Taunton in the championship game than two of their top performers all season in MacDougall and Evan Cali. MacDougall led the way on offense for the Tigers as he hit the eventual game winning home run in the top of the sixth and went two-for-three with a run and RBI while Cali tossed a complete game giving up a run on six hits and a walk while striking out three and driving in his cousin Shawn Cali for the tying run in the fifth.

“(Evan Cali’s) game against Braintree was awesome and I think today was just as good,” Taunton coach Blair Bourque said. “Against this team too, this team is phenomenal. They’ve got great hitters one through nine so for him to come out and to only give up one run, it’s more than you can ask for. I was hoping to get a couple innings out of him and then bring the next guy up, but for him to come out and throw a complete game is a great cumulation for his senior year. I’m super proud of him and proud of the team and what they’ve done.”

Back to back: Taunton softball claims D1 title in thriller with Peabody

For Evan Cali, winning the state championship in his final high school game carried a lot of emotion with it, especially as he was surrounded by teammates, coaches and family.

“I feel so excited right now I’m sobbing,” Evan Cali said. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried this much before just seeing all the people who have helped me all this way through that entire game. I’ve just thought about everyone who’s helped me and it just fueled me through this entire game.”

Franklin challenged Evan Cali early, especially in the second when the first three batters all got hits, with Jass Lyons leading off with a single followed by a double from Eisig Chin and a single by Ben Jarosz to drive in Lyons to give the Panthers the 1-0 lead.

Evan Cali retired the next three batters to get out of trouble and keep Franklin contained, but as he returned to the dugout, he noticed something he knew he had to change.

”I saw that our team lost hope for a second,” Evan Cali said. “We lost hope after that inning. Once Franklin gets a run, their whole energy turns around. They’re fired up and I noticed that we were down and I talked to (Bourque) and told him that we get them in, we do a huddle and we win this game.”

The key was to break through the Panthers pitcher Jacob Jette, who took the loss as he ended up on the wrong end of a pitcher’s duel, going a little over six innings giving up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four.

“Jette was just unbelievable tonight,” Bourque said. “He threw really well, we faced him earlier in the season and he really battled today.”

The senior had a no-hitter going through the first three innings before MacDougall led off the top of the fourth with a single to center. Still, he was able to retire the next three batters, two by strikeout, before Shawn Cali led off the fourth with a triple to deep right center then came home on a grounder to short by Evan Cali to bring things even at 1-1.

“(Jette) executed on the outside corner, Shawn just got a hold of one and was able to find a spot and then Evan got the RBI,” Bourque said. “The infield was back so we took advantage of that. That was huge because we really hadn’t done much and we weren’t really able to get anything going, so just putting quality at-bats together and then just seeing them a couple times we were able to take advantage.”

Evan Cali credits the huddle to helping refocus and re-energize the team.

“We got that huddle then Shawn hit the triple and I drove him in,” Evan Cali said.

”After Evan let up the one run we knew we could get it back, we got it back and then we just stuck together the rest of the game,” MacDougall said.” It was just awesome, I love this team.”

The home run from MacDougall an inning later certainly helped as the junior launched a shot to deep right center that bounced off the top of the wall. After initial confusion on whether it was a double or solo shot, the umpire signaled the home run and the Taunton bench and their fans behind them erupted as they took the 2-1 lead.

“Nothing like it, it was the best feeling ever,” MacDougall said. “I knew it was for the go-ahead run and there was just nothing like it, I was so happy.”

“As soon as he hit that home run, everyone was fueled up,” Evan Cali said. “Everyone knew that the game was over and everyone knew that Franklin was gone. Everyone knew Franklin wasn’t going to say anything else.”

It was a confidence that, while still well aware of what the Panthers were capable of, that the coaching staff felt as well, especially knowing what MacDougall and Evan Cali are capable of.

“Ryan puts a lot of pressure on himself,” Bourque said. “We as a team tend to get on his back and he’s a big boy so he can carry us and he was able to get a hold of one today and that was the game winner right there, so we knew with Evan pitching that we just needed to put some good at-bats together and fortunately for us Ryan was in the right place at the right time.”

From there Evan Cali was lights out on the mound, retiring the last 11 batters he faced, including all three in a stressful bottom half of the seventh inning after an initial lead-off triple by Colby DeCouta in the top half of the inning was followed by three quick outs.

For Evan Cali, the only thing going through his mind was getting those guys out to stay in the game and win it for his team.

“I threw the (final) pitch and I prayed that he didn’t get a base hit because if he did I was getting taken out,” Evan Cali said. “Going into that second inning (Bourque) said that if someone got on base I was done, so at the start of the inning I tried my best to let no one on and no one did.”

For those neutrals looking for a close matchup between the two Hockomock heavyweights, the game certainly didn’t disappoint. For MacDougall, it’s a certain energy that always comes when these two rivals face off.

“When we play each other we just come with unmatched energy unlike anybody else, so it just felt great to win,” MacDougall said. “It was an unreal win.”

Bourque knows just how hard it is to beat a ball club like the one the Panthers have.

“That’s a phenomenal team, they’re great kids and we love competing against them,” Bourque said. Coach (Zach) Brown is awesome, he’s one of the best for a reason so we knew we were going to be in for a battle and we were very fortunate to come out on top.”

As for being a state champion coach for the second time in three seasons, Bourque said the real credit belongs to Taunton’s youth baseball coaches and the parents who teach them not just to be great players, but exceptional young men as well.

Having the Hockomock League MVP in MacDougall on your team is always an asset as well.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Bourque said. “He’s a hard worker and a great kid and I’m really happy for him and I think he’s got a lot of talent. He’s got a bright future ahead of him and I’m really happy that we have another year with him.”

MacDougall is now a two-time state champion, having been a member of the 2019 championship team as an eighth grader, and appreciates the rarity of having such an honor, which few outside of the Taunton softball team can claim.

As for potentially becoming a three-time state champion next year, MacDougall has a lot of faith in his team staying at this high level.

”We’re not losing many seniors this season, we have a young junior squad, so it’s looking good next year,” MacDougall said.

Stats

Other top offensive performers for the Tigers include Shawn Cali, who went two-for-three with a run, DeCouta, who went one-for-three with a triple and Evan Cali, who went zero-for-three with an RBI.

For the Panthers, Jarosz was the top performer at the plate, going two-for-three with an RBI while Lyons went one-for-three with a run. Franklin reliever James Kuczmiec through an inning of relief giving up just a hit.

With Taunton softball having won the Division I title Saturday as well, their second in a row, Taunton High School became the first high school in Massachusetts to claim both a baseball and softball state title in the same year since Bellingham did it in Division III in 2014.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton baseball claims second D1 title in three seasons