Monday’s baseball roundup: With his arm and bat, Eric Stanley sends Barnstable past Duxbury
Moments after his mammoth two-run home run in the fifth inning Monday, Barnstable baseball senior standout Eric Stanley glanced to the bleachers to confirm that his mother, Catherine Stanley, captured it on video.
“I get in trouble if I don’t film it,” she said, drawing a laugh from the Stanley fan section.
The video — which Catherine Stanley did, in fact, record — shows her son smashing a ball over the right-field fence and past the cars at Chandler School. The University of Rhode Island-bound Stanley added a double and didn’t allow a hit to Duxbury until the fifth inning, steering Barnstable to a 4-2 victory in the Division 2 first round.
He went the distance, fanning seven as the No. 18 Red Hawks (11-10) won their first tournament game since 2023 and first non-preliminary-round triumph since 2013. Stanley, a natural energizer who goes by “Spark” and “Sparky,” provided just that when his team needed it most.
“He’s a special player,” said Barnstable coach Rob Toffolon. “There’s a reason he’s going where he’s going next season. He’s the engine that makes this team go, the heart and soul. That’s exactly what we expect out of him.”
Joey Hussar belted a solo shot in the fifth and Cole Michelson scored a run in the sixth for the No. 15 Dragons (12-9). Duxbury put runners at second and third in the seventh before Stanley regrouped and induced a ground out to seal it.
That came shortly after a bang-bang call at first base that yielded Duxbury coach Brandon Josselyn’s first high school ejection. The Dragons were confident that Jack Carney was safe, but they tipped their cap to Stanley and the Redhawks.
“He stole the show, unfortunately, but it wasn’t from lack of effort on our part,” Josselyn said. “We threatened there at the end and just didn’t come through. That’s baseball.”
Clarkson University-bound senior captain Sam Szczesny capped a terrific career with a solid outing for the Dragons. The Redhawks scored two in the third on a sacrifice fly from Daniel Murphy and RBI ground out from Brayden Beaumont.
Stanley’s blast made it 4-0, then Duxbury chipped away and almost tied it before Stanley and Co. provided the finishing touches.
The Redhawks, who rebounded from a 5-15 season last year, will earn a crack at No. 2 Walpole in the second round after a thrilling win. While they made it clear they’re not done yet, they’ll always cherish this one.
“We didn’t get to get it done when I was here as a sophomore,” Stanley said. “There’s no better feeling.”
Canton 5, Shepherd Hill 4 — Teddy Shuman logged three hits and drove in a pair of runs for the 27th-seeded Bulldogs (12-9) in a first-round victory over the sixth-seeded Rams (13-8).
Longmeadow 1, Holliston 0 — Jackson Passonno fired a no-hitter, walking just one batter and fanning seven for the seventh-seeded Lancers (17-5) in a first-round victory over the 26th-seeded Panthers (13-10).
Masconomet 8, Minnechaug 2 — Senior righthander Drew Gustafson hurled 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, and freshman Benjamin Linehan tallied three hits to send the No. 25 Rockets (13-8) past No. 8 Minnechaug (12-9) into the second round. Paul DeLeo walked three times and scored twice, and Drew Nelson scored twice.
Nashoba 3, Hingham 0 — Jake Schwartz impressed with a four-hitter, in addition to finishing 2 for 3 at the plate for the 24th-seeded Wolves (9-10) in a first-round upset victory over the ninth-seeded Harbormen (12-9).
Reading 6, Oliver Ames 0 — Sam Clark went 3 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs and Cooper Dean dealt a complete game for the third-seeded Rockets (19-2) in a first-round win over the 30th-seeded Tigers (11-11).
St. Mary’s 9, Dartmouth 4 — Brennan Malloy struck out seven for the top-seeded Spartans (18-3) to advance past the 32nd-seeded Indians (9-13) in the first round.
Walpole 9, Bedford 1 — On just 82 pitches, junior Luca Digiulio went the distance for the second-seeded Timberwolves (16-4), striking out eight without issuing a walk in a first-round victory over the 34th-seeded Buccaneers (11-11).
Wakefield 4, Westborough 2 — Patrick Maloney fired a complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits with a walk and eight punchouts for the 10th-seeded Warriors (16-5) to double up the 23rd-seeded Rangers (10-11).
Westwood 7, West Springfield 5 — Chase Warren went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs for the 16th-seeded Wolverines (13-8) in a first-round win over the 17th-seeded Terriers (13-8).
Division 1 State
Braintree 3, Newton South 1 — Ryan Zelano and Luke Joyce had back-to-back RBI doubles in the seventh inning to push the 17th-seeded Wamps (13-8) to a first-round win over No. 16 Newton South (15-6). “Those are our middle of the order guys, the RBI guys,” said Braintree coach Bill O’Connell. “They earned their money today.” Mike Ryan pitched a complete game two-hitter for Braintree, stranding the tying run in scoring position.
Wellesley 1, Waltham 0 — Max Boehm mowed down 10 in a two-hitter, and Cole DeFina delivered an RBI single for the 13th-seeded Raiders (13-8) in a first-round clash over the 20th-seeded Hawks (12-9).
Xaverian 14, North Andover 3 — Beckett Delleo finished 3 for 3 with two doubles, five RBIs, a walk and a steal for the sixth-seeded Hawks (12-9) in a first-round rout of the 27th-seeded Scarlet Knights (13-11). Jack Coen also went 3 for 3 for Xaverian.
Division 3 State
Danvers 4, Swampscott 2 — Beckett Wodarski hit two doubles in support of himself on the mound, where he fired a complete game with two runs on six hits, a walk and four strikeouts for the 22nd-seeded Falcons (11-11) in a first-round victory over the 11th-seeded Big Blue (16-5).
Falmouth 1, Martha’s Vineyard 0 — Connor Oliver walked it off with a single in the bottom of the ninth for the fourth-seeded Clippers (15-4) to deny the 29th-seeded Vineyarders (11-11) in a first-round matchup. Josh Matta fired all nine frames for Falmouth, giving up three hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. It was the third win for the Clippers over their Cape & Islands Atlantic rival this spring, following a pair of victories in the regular season.
Hanover 5, Tri-County 0 — Junior Will Davidson delivered, punching out 11 and walking only one in a three-hitter for the eighth-seeded Hawks (14-5) in a first-round blanking of the 40th-seeded Cougars (14-7).
Division 4 State
Abington 15, Gardner 1 — Colin Henry paced an offensive onslaught with four hits and four RBIs for the ninth-seeded Green Wave (15-6) in a first-round victory over the 41st-seeded Wildcats (11-7).
Dennis-Yarmouth 5, West Bridgewater 0 — Hudson Cambal dominated, striking out 12 and walking only one in a three-hitter for the third-seeded Dolphins (16-7) in a first-round victory over the 30th-seeded Wildcats (6-16).
East Bridgewater 11, Northbridge 0 — Manny Delcarmen drove in four runs as the second-seeded Vikings (14-7) sailed past No. 31 Northbridge (6-15) in a first-round matchup split over two days due to rain. East Bridgewater led, 6-0, in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday before the game was suspended.
Hamilton-Wenham 1, Advanced Math and Science 0 — A well-executed safety squeeze in the fifth inning by Ryan Fazio, which plated Owen Waddell, was enough to lift the top-seeded Generals (20-1) over No. 32 Advanced Math and Science (10-12) in the first round. Waddell fanned nine in 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
Division 5 State
Brighton 13, Madison Park 8 — Lester Martinez paced a balanced attack with three hits for the 20th-seeded Bengals (10-10) to outlast the 13th-seeded Cardinals (13-3) in a first-round slugfest. It was Brighton’s first win in three tries against Madison Park this spring, following a pair of losses in the regular season.
Charlestown 13, Tahanto 2 — Jeremy Baez went 4 for 4 with four RBIs and was a home run shy of the cycle, igniting the eighth-seeded Townies (13-6) to a first-round victory over the 25th-seeded Stags (7-12).
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