WORCESTER – Post 397 plays for all the glitz and glory. But most importantly, the team plays for Frank Vaccaro.
Vaccaro, the longtime coach of Shrewsbury Post 397 affectionately known as “The Don,” is more than just a manager for this group of Post 397 players. In post-game interviews throughout the season, players have called him “everybody’s grandfather,” their “source of inspiration,” and a “great unifier.”
So, after Shrewsbury Post 397 won the Massachusetts American Legion tournament, defeating Hudson Post 100 in a mercy-rule-shortened 14-3 contest, it was natural that the team’s first instinct was to grab the water cooler, run to Vaccaro, and soak him in celebration. Vaccaro later proudly accepted the tournament trophy.
Vaccaro is a coach who focuses on making his athletes better people before better fielders – in an earlier interview with the Community Advocate, he professed that “baseball is life” – and as the team celebrated the state tournament victory on August 1 at the College of the Holy Cross’ Fitton Field, it was evident that this team doesn’t just win for winning’s sake. After Vaccaro had a difficult year personally, Post 397 decided to rally behind its coach.
“You want to die on the field for that guy every time you step on the field. He has faith in you all the time, leads the team, makes you feel like a good man,” said Tedy Cove, one of Post 397’s captains this year.
The championship game
After winning the first four state tournament games, Shrewsbury Post 397 matched up against Zone 4 rival Hudson Post 100 in the championship game. An experienced team with nine college players, four recent high school graduates, and a penchant for dramatic, come-from-behind victories, Hudson won the Zone 4 championship and competed in its first state tournament as a non-host this year, sporting a 24-7 record entering competition.
Hudson was frequently a stone’s throw away from defeat throughout the state competition – Post 100 was one strike away from elimination in the tournament’s second round, and most recently rallied back from 8-0 to make it to the championship – but almost always managed to gut out the win.
It looked as if Post 100 might continue that pattern. Hudson briefly got the offense going in the third inning, attempting to erase an early 1-0 Shrewsbury lead. A Marshall Kehlhem walk, a Bobby Long Jr. double and Chase Donahue’s single helped Post 100 plate three runs and pull ahead 3-1.
But Hudson’s lead was short-lived. Shrewsbury’s bats exploded in the bottom of the inning, helping get seven runs across the plate. Back-to-back Post 397 batters were hit by pitches in the frame, and six consecutive Shrewsbury players reached base at one stretch.
“Give a lot of credit to them. It’s not easy to come out as a host and win five games and win a state championship … The teams that they beat – they’re no slouches. We had our fair share of comebacks, and in the last game, I think we just ran out of gas. We’ll take the next couple days and regroup,” said Hudson Head Coach Ryan Bowen.
Shrewsbury wasn’t done doing damage. Already sporting an 8-3 lead, Post 397 added six more in the fourth inning, making the game 14-3. JJ Ferguson and Jimmy Mitchell – the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters for Shrewsbury – went a combined 6-8 to fuel the offense, and the bottom three batters in Shrewsbury’s order totaled eight RBIs.
Mitchell – who earned tournament MVP honors – went 8-10 at the plate over the last three games of the tournament.
“I really think that [the offense picked up because] we had a week off after the zone playoffs, and we practiced hard for a week. We had hard practices, we played hard in this tournament. Down the stretch, we really started to play for Coach [Vaccaro]. We played for the team instead of playing for ourselves,” he told the Community Advocate.
“[Mitchell] was sick early, and then he came on with a mission and a goal. He’s a captain. I’m extremely, extremely proud of him. He’s a true leader – on and off the field,” Vaccaro said after the game.
Connor Herlihy, who pitched all five innings, was effective on the mound, allowing three hits and the three third-inning runs. A 2024 Brooks School graduate, Herlihy was also on the mound against Hudson earlier in the season; he hurled a nine-inning gem to secure the win for Post 397 in that game.
“It means a lot. I’ve been here for one year, [Vaccaro] hasn’t seen a lot from me, but I did well against Hudson last time, so we just stuck with it, and it worked out. I’m super happy. [Winning the state] was one of our goals from the beginning of the season. Coach told us that we had a great group of guys on the team – a great group of baseball players,” said Herlihy.
“He was gutsy. I’d say that he made this happen because of his adrenaline and guts to pitch,” Vaccaro said.
Shrewsbury Post 397’s title win redeemed the team’s narrow, 6-5 loss to Franklin Post 75 in last year’s state championship game. Under Vaccaro’s leadership, Post 397 has frequently found success heading into major tournaments – the team has become Massachusetts champion four times, won the American Legion Northeast Tournament on three occasions, and qualified for the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C., in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
“Last year we lost to Franklin, and we had that sour taste in our mouths,” said Mitchell. “We really wanted this one.”
Both Post 397 and Post 100 advance to the Northeast Tournament, which will be played in Manchester, N.H., from Aug. 7 through 11. Hudson – in the team’s first-ever regional tournament – is scheduled to face the Maine champion on Aug. 7 at 9:30 a.m., while Shrewsbury is slated to compete against the host, Sweeney, N.H., later that day. The winner of the Northeast Tournament will head to Shelby, N.C.
Although Hudson’s state tournament run didn’t end as planned, Bowen expressed optimism: The Northeast Tournament is yet another chance to get out on the ballfield with his group of players.
“More days of baseball with the guys. This group – incredible is an understatement. To be able to go out on the field with these guys every day is incredible. We have at least two more games, and hopefully more than that,” said Bowen.
For Shrewsbury, no stranger to big-time games, the regional tournament is another opportunity to play for Vaccaro.
“It means the world [to play for Vaccaro],” said Cove. “He’s always got our backs.”
