Let Down....

After coming off a playoff type-of atmosphere on Wednesday, with a 4-2 Win over the East Bridgewater Vikings, the Trojans traveled 'over the bridge' to square up against the Red Raiders of Barnstable on Thursday and suffered their 2nd loss of the season. 

Getting his second start of the year for the Trojans was Senior RHP Andrew Noviello. After allowing the first two baserunners to reach in the bottom of the first, Barnstable struck first with an unearned run. Noviello got the next three to retire the inning and the Trojans trailed 1-0. The Trojans bats struggled offensively trying to adjust to the speed difference after facing a strong, hard throwing Connor Gavin for EB. The Trojans had 4 baserunners through the first 4 innings of play only one of which advanced past 2nd base. After a brisk top of the fourth, Noviello was back out and had a quick inning of his own.

In the bottom of the 5th the Trojans fell apart mentally allowing two unearned runs and giving up an infield single and BR trailed 3-0 through 5.

The Trojans, who entered play on an 8-game win streak with 86 runs for and 28 against, bats were silent until the top of the 6th. After two back to back singles for Colin Trahon and Noviello, Senior Jack Connolly hit a blast to left field over the head and fence for a RBI Ground-Ruled double but it was too little too late and the Trojans faltered.

TheTrojans hope to bounce back on Friday, as they travel to Fall River to play the Durfee High Hilltoppers. Probable starter is Mikey Manning.

The Battle of the Bridgewaters

The #3 ranked Trojans Trekked, a little over 4 miles, across the Bridgewater/East Bridgewater line to  visit the #9 ranked EB Vikings in a highly anticipated non league matchup on a sunny afternoon at Strong Field and came away with the W as they defeated the Vikings 4-2.

Both teams were sporting shiny records as the Trojans (15-1) put up their Ace, Notre Dame bound Jack Connolly, who would face off against the Vikings (13-2) Ace, SNHU bound Connor Gavin.  

The game was scoreless through the first 2 frames with Trojans getting on the board in the 3rd as Andrew Noviello would knock in Kyle Horsman and Colin Trahon (who both singled) and added another run in the 5th as Trahon (double) would again score, this time off of a Cory Wasylow single to make it a 3-0 game.  The Trojans added an insurance run in the 6th as Jon Livolsi (single) would score on a Cory Wasylow single making it a 4-0 game!  The never say die Vikings battled back in the bottom of the 7th, scoring 2 runs off 1 hit, but it was too little too late and the Trojans rolled to a 4-2 victory.

"He's one of my best friends" Connolly said, when asked to describe his relationship with the Vikings Gavin. "We played baseball together when we were 12 and have remained friends since" 

Connolly is close with the majority of the kids on EB which became apparent to those in attendance as Connolly Exchanged "good game" hugs with most of them at the conclusion of the game.“I told my coach this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I need the ball." Connolly added.

“I was really impressed with how well our hitters did against a really good pitcher in Gavin,” said Coach John Kearney. “It was a like a playoff game for us; two good teams and two good pitchers. It was good high school baseball.” 
The Trojans will travel "over the bridge" on Thursday as they square off against the Barnstable Red Raiders in Old Colony League action.

No Hitter for Manning

The Trojans improved to 12-1 on Monday afternoon behind a gem of a pitching performance by Junior Mikey Manning  who threw a complete game no hitter (13 K's) to improve his record to a perfect 5-0.
"Coming into the Brockton game I felt good." Said the Junior southpaw. "The Practice the day before set the tone. Being both mentally and physically locked in before each start helps. The offensive support was great with Novi getting things going with his 2 run HR. Having runs on the board makes the flow of the game so much easier as a pitcher."
Manning began his dominant afternoon inducing a ground ball followed by 6 K's.  The offensive support came in the 3rd inning as the Trojans put up a 4 spot on Sr. Andrew Noviellos 2 run HR and Captain Jack Connolly's 2 RBI single.
“Even though we didn’t score in the first few innings I still felt comfortable because of how well he (Manning)  was throwing,” Coach Kearney said.
 The story of the game was Manning's  dominance as he kept the Boxers off balance the entire game and recorded at least one strikeout in six of seven innings. He allowed only one walk and two other Boxers reached base on errors. He worked quickly and never gave Brockton a chance to get into a rhythm.

 “We’re 12-1, this was a huge win for us. Brockton can hit and for Mike to shut them down was awesome. Mike’s just having an incredible year for us. What an effort, just incredible. Hats off to him. We haven’t had a no-hitter here in a while, I can’t tell you the last time. Mike deserved that, he really did. He has been throwing well all year. It was no fluke.” added Kearney.
The Trojans will travel to Billerica to face off against the Indians on Tuesday. Senior Jack Connolly is the scheduled starter.

Trojans win... and lose....

The Trojans defeated the Durfee High Hilltoppers on Thursday, 8-4, at Hank Pearson Field, but lost some pitching depth as Junior Chris Newman suffered an unknown injury to his shoulder, as he began warm ups in the bullpen, and will likely be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Senior Andrew Noviello would be a last second replacement for Newman and he did not disappoint as he breezed through the first 2 innings.  It was a different story in the 3rd as the Hilltoppers, who knocked the Trojans off their undefeated 11-0 record last year, would jump out to a 3-1 lead as they scored 3 runs off 3 hits and 2 BB's. The Trojans rebounded in a big way scoring 6 runs off singles by Trahon and Connolly, who would both be knocked in by a Cory Wasylow 3 run BOMB home run and a Kyle Horsman RBI single to take a lead they would not relinquish at 7-3 and the Trojans rolled to victory.
Offensively the Trojans were led by Mikey Manning (2-4 with a triple, 2 runs scored and a walk), Colin Trahon (3-4  and scored twice)  and Cory Wasylow's 3 RBI Home run.
The Trojans improve to 11-1 and will host the Brockton Boxers on Monday. Probable starter is Mikey Manning.

Hot Bats Lead Trojans over the Boxers

  The Trojans bats were booming, on Wednesday afternoon, as they rolled to a 21-11 victory over the Brockton High Boxers at Campanelli Stadium to notch their 10^th win of the season.

            The Trojans scored first in the Top of the 1^st with a booming lead-off double by Sophomore Colin Trahon. It was a 320ft shoot off the top of the outfield wall near the bullpens at Campanelli Stadium.  Trahon scored on an RBI single by DH Jack Connolly. 

            On the mound for the Trojans was Junior PJ Walsh, getting his second start of the season. Walsh let up a single to right-center to the Boxers lead-off hitter. “It wasn’t what I planned on doing letting the first guy on base obviously because he was the fastest on the team and having him on base is worrisome,” Walsh said about letting up the base-hit. PJ rebounded by getting a fly-out to right and two fielder’s choices groundouts.

            The Boxers kept BR quiet in the 2^nd    but opened it more in the 3^rd, scoring 4 more runs off two hits. One of those hits was a long time waiting for Junior Infielder Nick Andrews, who was battling hard at the plate the past couple games and he  delivered a two-out 3RBI bases clearing triple and the Trojans lead was 7-0 after 2 ½ inns.

            The Boxers wanted to join the fun in the bottom of the 3^rd and they did. Walsh allowed 4Hits and 5 Runs, none of which were earned, as the Trojans defense looked a bit shaky making a few mental errors.

            This game just kept getting more interesting as the Trojans batted 15 times in the top of the 4^th, plating 10 runs off 5Hits and 6 walks. One hit being a Noviello 2RBI triple, who went 3-5 on the afternoon and Br's lead was increased to 17-7 after 4.

Walsh went 4 innings throwing 81 pitches allowing 7 hits, 7 runs, 0 earned and 3Ks. PJ said on his start, “The second varsity win was big… Even though I had a bad inning the team came right back out and gave a lot of run support... Having good and bad innings is all part of the learning experience and getting better.” He advanced to 2-0 on the 2015 season.

Trojans had 15 hits, 10BBs, and only struck out 4 times. Trojans turned to a young arm in Sophomore Mike DiBari to pitch 2 innings of work, before going with Junior Alex McGrath in the 7^th  to close the game out.

The Trojans advance to 10-1 on the season and their busy week continues as they host the Durfee High Hilltoppers at 4PM at Hank Pearson Field.            

Trojans ROLL.....

The Trojans bats erupted once again on a beautiful and warm Monday afternoon as they defeated the Marshfield Rams 15-3 at Hank Pearson Field advancing to 9-1 on the season. 

The onslaught  of runs opened up early in the bottom of the 1st as Senior Andrew Noviello (RBI) launched a no doubter (HR) to straight away CF. BR as a team plated 6 runs off 4 HRs in the game. Things continued to roll with the "walk master" Senior Jack Connolly drawing a one-out walk, followed by a single and another walk, setting the stage for  Senior Paul Lafond who cleared the bases with a one-out 3RBI stand up double and BR took a 4-0 after 1.

The Trojans starter was Junior Southpaw Mikey Manning. After some close misses he allowed the first 2 to get on by way of walks but would get a grounder to record a 6-4-3 double play to smother any chance of a run by the Rams. Manning ended the inning with a called strikeout, of which he would record 6. 

The Trojans added 6 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd off 10 Trojan hitters. It all started with 3 walks and a wild pitch when Senior Cory Wasyolw cleared them all with a 3-Run Home Run (3RBIs). BR 8-0. 

Manning returned to the hill for 3 more innings, (going 4 in total). Unfortunately after some let down defensively, the Rams scored 2 runs, 1 of which was unearned and the Rams got 2 Hits, and 2Reach-on-errors.

In the bottom of the third the Trojans  added 2 more with a Two-Run Home Run smash by U-Maine Commit Noviello (2) to take a 12-2 lead. 

Senior Brandon Connelly was first out of the pen for Trojans and was pitching his first live action since a 2014 season game at Brockton. The senior looked flawless on the bump, getting out all 6 Rams he faced. Connelly: 23 pitches in 2i nnings with 0 Hits and 4Ks. To close things out for the Trojans, was Lefty Alex McGrath who let up a run and a hit in the top of the 7th, but would close the game out with a K as this game result was never in doubt from the get go.

Offensive notables for BR: Andrew Noviello: 2-2, 2 HRs, 3RBIs, 2BBs, 2Runs., Cory Wasylow: 3-3, HR, 2 singles, 3RBIs, 2Runs and Zac Nussbaum: 1-1 with his first Varsity Home Run. 

The Trojans travel to Campanelli Stadium on Wednesday to play the Brockton Boxers, before they  host  the Durfee High Hilltoppers on Thursday. Both games scheduled for 4pm. 

Connolly Family Baseball legacy

Nice article written by Greg Dudek

For the Connollys, baseball runs deeper for them than most families.

It’s like the seams running down a baseball, engrained and woven into their DNA that they were designed to play on the diamond and, specifically, pitch.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE

Bounce BACK Jack!

The Trojans returned to their winning ways Thursday afternoon with a 9-0 win over the Acton - Boxboro Colonials helped out by yet another dominating pitching performance by their Ace Senior Captain Jack Connolly (3-0). 

BR rolled to victory with an offensive explosion in the bottom of the third as they batted around the order sending 14 hitters to the plate scoring 9 runs off 8Hits and 3Walks. That was all the offense they would need as Connolly completely shut down the Colonials as they didnt get a hit until  the 5th inning. 

Connolly went the distance for his 3rd complete game throwing 102 pitches. He recorded 11Ks, 2Hits and 3BBs in his dominating performance.  On the season Connolly has 27Ks, 10BBs and 7Hits, throwing 314 pitches in his three starts. 

Not only was Connolly important on the bump, he helped offensively going 2-4 with two doubles and 2RBIs and a run scored. 

Other notables for the Trojans: Andrew Noviello went 2-4 with 2 doubles, 3RBIs. Cory Wasylow 1-1 with 2 walks. Paul Lafond 1-1 with 2 walks. PJ Walsh, a defensive replacement in the 6th, went 1-1 with a single garnishing his first Varsity hit. The Trojans needed a well played bounce back game after a tough loss to swallow on Tuesday. 

BR improves to 8-1 and are off until Monday when they will host the Marshfield Rams, travel to Campanelli Stadium on Wednesday to play the Boxers and close out the week home against B.M.C. Durfee.

"It's a tough long stretch of games" Quipped Senior Manager Cam Peterson "this week will definitely test the composure of the team and our pitching staff."