By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – It was just 12 short months ago when 14-year manager Frank Vaccaro took Quaranta Post 397’s American Legion baseball team where no other Shrewsbury team has been since 1977. Post 397 put it all together to perfection capturing zone and state titles before an overwhelming constituency of fans who backed the team from day one. The veteran skipper knew that his team possessed an abundance of talent and experience but what mattered most was how much his players would believe in one another.
So is there an encore in the cards this summer as many believe there may be? The hunger is there for certain, says Vaccaro with much conviction.
“I think this team is even hungrier than last year’s because we didn’t win Regionals,” he said. “We were one game away and I think that they felt that. So now they’re on a mission which is to have a great season and playoffs because you don’t want to go into that tournament looking like you don’t belong there. This team plays really well together and when we start hitting the way we know we can it’s going to be great.
“Our pitching is strong and I’m really pleased with what I see. I like their attitude. They’re hungry and they’re having fun. In the end, I think we’ll be one of the top three teams in the zone and we’ll see what happens in the playoffs.”
Post 397 is on track for a possible repeat season with a record of 6-2 following its 6-1 triumph over visiting North County on June 24. The squad boasts standouts from state titleholder St. John’s High, Shrewsbury High and Holy Name so why not a sense of deep optimism? The team has bonded well, according to Vaccaro, and has demonstrated a winning culture as the team moves into the midpoint of its season.
Shrewsbury would strike first in the third inning versus North County when Lou Davolio cracked his first of three hits on the day, this one a leadoff double. Shortly after, he was able to come around on a gapper to right-center by Adam Twitchell.
Four runs in the fifth inning salted it away for 397. Singles by Davolio, Dave Turco, Twitchell, Jack Gardner and Dillon Zona did all the damage but five wild pitches and a third baseman error contributed mightily. Taking advantage of other teams’ mistakes has been a key to recording wins, according to Vaccaro.
“I felt pretty good today,” said Davolio of his three-hit afternoon. “My approach was just to shoot it up the middle or left side and I was able to do that today. We have a bunch of good players between both schools with Shrewsbury, St. John’s and Holy Name even though I’m the only one from there (Holy Name). We’ve been working pretty well together so it’s all good.”
While Shrewsbury bats and North County miscues put runs on the board, keeping them off the visitor’s side of the ledger rested on the shoulders of right hander Dylan Degon who went the distance scattering nine hits while striking out four and allowing no walks. Defense came up big in support by pulling off three double plays to escape damage.
“In the first inning I kept pounding the strike zone,” Degon explained. “I have a great catcher behind the plate (Nick Martin) helping me locate the ball and keeping their players off balance.
When they get a hit, you know there are kids backing you up defensively and there’s nothing like that to build confidence. Casey (Boudreau) turned two of those double plays and it felt so good to stop those runs from scoring.”
“Defense won the game today,” added Vaccaro. “We threw a guy out at the plate and we had three double plays. Dylan threw strikes and was able to work himself out of jams and I didn’t have to take him out of the game.”
From his prospective, Vaccaro feels that the team has met expectations with much due to the leadership roles of some of the veterans who are there to encourage and assist younger players when needed.
“This team’s bonded together well and I’m happy to have kids from all three schools. Twitchell and Casey are the college kids and the rest of the team looks up to them. Nick Martin is a fiery leader. Jack Gardner is quiet but just goes at it. We have a lot of quiet guys that just like to take care of business. They’re all dying to play so that’s a good thing.”
Members of the 2017 Shrewsbury Quaranta Post 397 American Legion baseball team are Casey Boudreau (INF), Parker Browne (P), Thomas Cue (INF), Louis Davolio (INF/P), Dylan Degon (P/OF), Patrick Galvin (INF), Jack Gardner (C), Kevin Hummer (P/INF), Christian Jordan (OF/P), Nick Martin (C), Matthew Mattero (INF), Thomas Moschella (INF), Joe Sacco (P), Patrick Shaughnessy (P), Matthew Stansky (P), David Turco (INF), Adam Twitchell (OF/P) and Dillon Zona (INF).