KP Baseball Takes Win at Foxborough

From the first pitch to the final out, there was no doubt King Philip was in control.

Besting Foxborough in every aspect of the game, the KP Warriors easily defeated the Foxborough Warriors 17-4 at Foxborough High School.

“They [King Philip] outplayed us in every facet of the game, whether it was pitching, fielding, hitting. They came out and did everything today,” said Foxborough coach Billy Sittig.

King Philip started the top of the first inning not with their own offensive plays but rather taking advantage of Foxborough mistakes. On base after a walk, Jake Cox scored the opening run on an error by first baseman Nick Couroupacias. In the other side of the inning, pitcher Brian Crafton struck out two out of three in an 1-2-3 inning.  Crafton would get six strikeouts in five innings of action.

In the top of the second inning, Rob Boulter took advantage of a Jack Cox hit in to center field to make it a 2-0 game for KP. Ryan Manning would hit a single to get Dan Rosen home to increase the lead to three.

King Philip would add three more runs in the top of the third, including a home run by Charlie Harrington. Foxborough, though, cut into the lead in the other half of the inning. With bases loaded, TJ Notarangelo hit a double to center field to score Steve Fitzmaurice and Brandon Fowler. Notarangelo was one of the few bright spots in the Foxboro line up, going 2-3 with three runs batted in.

The top of the sixth would prove to be the killer for Foxboro. Already down 8-3, Foxboro gave up eight runs to turn what was already a bad day into a worse day. All but one King Philip batter would cross the plate in a showcase of walks and singles into shallow center field. It was an unusual inning for King Philip, which is not known for its active bats.

“For whatever reason, our bats woke up today, and we hit the heck out of the ball. It has been our weakest part of the game so it was the light that saved the kids,” said King Philip coach Ed Moran.

Already up 16-3, King Philip would score one more for the road with a Dan Rosen home run to left field to make it a 17-3 game. In addition to the home run, Rosen went  2-3 with 3 runs and a RBI.

Steve Fitzmaurice would get a run in the bottom of the 7th for Foxborough, but it would be too little, too late in a game dominated by KP.

It was a highlight game for King Philip as they had a successful day up and down the lineup. Jake Cox went 4-4 with 2 hits and 3 RBIs. Charlie Harrington went 3-5 with 3 runs, a home run and 3 RBIs. Ryan Boulter went 3-3 with 3 runs, 3 RBIs. For Foxboro, Jimmy Flahery went 2-4 with a run and a RBI.

For Foxborough, it was another game where their pitching struggled to make an impact. Hurting all game long, Foxborough finally had another meltdown in the 6th with the 8th run inning. It highlights a problem that has existed for some time.

“I think we’re catching too much of the plate with our pitchers,” said Foxborough coach Billy Sittig. "I kinda preach stay on the corners and they prove when you don’t stay on the corners you’re gonna get beat around a little bit.  That’s what we need to improve on.”

In the race for the Hockmock League Title, this was a big win for King Philip. With the victory, King Philip is now 3-3 and only a game and a half behind the 4-1 Oliver Ames Tigers for first place. The loss puts Foxboro at 2-5.

Next up for Foxborough will be a matchup with first place Oliver Ames. As the Tigers are considered one of the best teams in the state, the Warriors will have a challenge in front of them.