By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Every town loves to think that their rivalry is the best, but the Walpole-Norwood baseball rivalry is as good as it gets. Crowds would flock to Bird Middle School in Walpole and the Balch Elementary School in Norwood to see these bitter adversaries do battle. There have been too many instant classics to list between the two old foes.
Walpole’s 25 man roster is led by their captains Paul Whelan, Quinn McNeil, Mike St. Martin and Andrew Burke. In the rain filled contest with Norwood, Walpole struck early and often in the first inning putting six runs on the board on five consecutive singles and a double. They added another run in the second and two more in the fourth. In the sixth, shortstop Shane Harrington rapped a line drive to left field that got by the Norwood left fielder and led to a two run homer to finish the game with Walpole securing an 11-0 victory.
Starting pitcher Andrew Burke was nearly perfect throughout as he only gave up one hit with no walks. His efficiency around the plate kept him in the game longer and not running into pitch count limits.
Harrington contributed a double and a homer as well as string defense as shot turning two 1-6-3 ground outs. The plate setters in leadoff man Cash Cantrell and Paul Whelan scored two runs apiece. McNeil had three singles.
It was a solid way to end the regular season with three wins in the final week: an almost no hitter to beat Needham, beat the Prep at their place and then beat rival Norwood with a one hitter. Solid, efficient pitching, flawless defense and timely hitting all lead to positive results for a baseball crew especially at tournament time.
Walpole awaits its seeding and first round opponent in the state tournament. All regular season games had to be played by Memorial Day.
