MARLBOROUGH – After defeating the Hudson Hawks in the opening round of the John Ahearn Memorial Tournament on Tuesday, the Marlborough Panthers fell in the baseball tournament championship to the Tantasqua Regional High School Warriors, 7-5, on Thursday afternoon.
Originally slated to be played at Hudson High School, steady rain forced the game to be relocated to Marlborough High School’s turf baseball field. The rain continued throughout the contest.
The Panthers did most of their damage in the first inning, pulling ahead 3-0 and taking an early-inning lead. Ryan Dillon (1-1, 3B, 3RBI) led the Marlborough offense, with contributions from Dylan Romano (1-2, 2B) and Jack Cincotta (1-2, 2B, 2RBI). Cincotta pitched six innings, allowing three hits.
“[It] was a tough day with the weather. Both teams had to battle the chill and the rain. I think our guys battled through that challenge to give us all a good baseball game to watch,” said Marlborough Head Coach Jon Cruickshank. “We battled and fought through scrappy at-bats. The boys never gave up on themselves but… came up a little short. I’m very happy with our drive to compete.”
Dillion and Tyler Moore, who pitched all seven innings of Marlborough’s opening-round game, were named to the All-Tournament Team. Three Tantasqua players – including tournament MVP Miles Blake – made the team, while Shrewsbury’s Joey Guidotti and Hudson’s Michael Atwater rounded out the all-tournament squad.
