KP Baseball Can't Keep Up With Foxborough

By the fifth inning of Wednesday's King Philip-Foxborough baseball game, everything finally appeared to go KP’s (5-5 overall, 2-2 league) way.

With a 2-1 lead going into the sixth inning and Foxborough defense struggling, KP looked to pounce on Foxborough (4-5, 2-4) before the opposite happened.

“Eric [Cote] gave us a nice start and defense kinda fell apart on us for a little bit. We weren't deep enough or strong enough today to overcome those mistakes,” KP head coach Ed Mora said.

A pair of three-run innings by Foxborough would cost KP the lead and give them a 7-2 defeat against their Hockomock League foe.

A defensive struggle for the first five innings, Foxborough clung on to a 1-0 lead for most of the game, after a double by Mike Cappadonna was enough to get Jimmy Flaherty home in the top of the first inning.  

KP struggled to get men on base and had difficulty hitting against Foxborough pitcher Brandon Fowler. Unable to get the bats going, KP struggled through the first four innings as they could only muster up a hit and a pair of walks against Foxborough.

“He [Fowler] kept the ball away from us. He kept that curveball down and away, he was very frustrating,” Mora said.

KP got a break with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when a pair of walks led to opportunity. Gavin Adams’ single allowed Owen Galvin to score and tie the game. One batter later, Cam Walsh’s single brought in Michael Murray to give KP a 2-1 lead after five innings.

Wasting no time coming back, Foxborough quickly got Josh Patkin and Fowler in scoring position for second baseman Brett Cresey. The senior infielder’s single advanced Patkin home and Fowler to third to tie the game. KP avoided further damage when Fowler was called out at the plate when he tried to advance on a Capadonna fielder’s choice.

Foxborough took the lead back off a Nick Sestito single that allowed Cresey and Flaherty to score and give Foxborough a 4-2 lead at the end if the inning.

Unable to produce anything in the bottom of the sixth inning, KP was forced to try to contain the damage created by Foxborough. A single by Fowler to start the top of the seventh inning was quickly followed up by a triple by Cresey that allowed Fowler to score. A single by Flaherty brought Cresey home to increase the lead to four. 

Adding to his first inning production, Cappadona once again batted in Flaherty, this time off a single to cap off the 7-2 win. The Foxborough first baseman went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs

“He’s really swinging it right now for us. He’s hitting in our cleanup spot and he’s really swinging it,” Foxborough head coach Billy Sittig said of Cappadona’s performance.

Also contributing for Foxborough was Cresey who went 2-4 with two runs. Flaherty was able to score three runs after going 1-1 and earning two walks. Fowler pitched a complete game with six strikeouts.

Adams went 1-2 for King Philip. Walsh went 2-4 with a RBI.

King Philip will travel to Attleboro on April 26 while Foxborough hosts Oliver Ames on April 27.