Taunton High baseball players bond strong during tourney run

All for one and one for all.

No team in Division I South this season relied heavily on each other and grew like a family more than the Taunton High baseball team.

All year and throughout the postseason, the Tigers made believers out of everyone even after no one gave them a chance to survive in the tournament.

Their mentality ? to play hard and good things will happen.
These guys continued to show the heart of champions each game.

They proved it in the biggest game of their lives to date on Sunday.

The Taunton players showed no fear after losing twice to Barnstable and were able to shut out the Old Colony League champion, 3-0, in the Division I South semifinal game at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

?I?m just excited for the team and it?s a big step for us,? Tiger senior second baseman Zach Grady said. ?The Taunton baseball program has never gone this far in the tournament. It?s big for our school.?

A special group of players, who at any given time, can assume the role of hero.

And there were plenty on Sunday.

Grady himself scored an insurance run after lacing a triple down the right field line in the top of the ninth inning. He also combined with shortstop Chris Roumbakis to turn a key double play in the field.

Then there was the pitching performance of starter Dan Pedro and the two special innings of relief by Matt Nunes ? the Tiger closer. Nunes induced Barnstable? pinch hitter Hayden Murphy to pop out to Taunton catcher Joey Walsh for the final out and Nunes celebrated with his catcher behind home plate.

?It?s a complete team effort and like a brotherhood on this team,? Nunes said. ?Everybody likes one another and everyone gets along with one another. Pedro pitched a hell of a game.?

Already lots of love spoken.

But there is more.

Walsh, co-captain, co-MVP and triple crown winner (home runs, RBI and batting average) of the Old Colony League, showed his leadership Sunday by scoring the first run of the game and driving in a pair of insurance runs in the ninth inning. Walsh too is all about team.

?I love this team and these guys are all my brothers,? Walsh said. ?We love playing together and we practice hard every day. I love it when we win. Those are my boys and I have faith in all of them.?

Then there was Tiger first baseman Matt MacLean.

MacLean gave his teammates some faith in the fourth inning when he drove in the first Taunton run with a double. He too expressed his joy.

?I?m just so happy right now,? MacLean said. ?You could not have picked a better day to play baseball. Pedro pitched the best game I?ve ever seen him pitch on the mound. Big props to him. I?m so happy. It?s a great feeling. I love this team. We are a true family. We would have each other?s back no matter what and we just love each other.?

Nunes proved the team?s closeness in the fifth with a big defensively play by throwing out Barnstable?s Luke Besse from right field after reaching on an error. That?s having each other?s back, folks.

And what about Taunton head coach Jeff Sylvia, who has received his share of heartaches from the bench over the years?

For those who don?t think Sylvia has a passion for the sport and his kids, think again.

It was Sylvia, who quietly made believers out of everyone and his system.
?I can?t tell you how proud I am of this team and this family,? Sylvia said. ?We are a team but more of a family. We stick together through thick and thin. We have our gripes and we have our moments but every family goes through that. I would go to the moon for these guys. These kids love the game of baseball and every time they get on the field they play with a lot of confidence and it?s for each other and themselves. It?s fun.?

Sylvia himself envisioned a special group of kids two seasons ago.

?When they were sophomores and started a few games for us, we looked at that and said ?These kids are fun,?? Sylvia said. ?Lot of fun to watch them play. It has gotten more fun in the course of the last couple of years. Everyone wants to be the guy on this team and you win as a team. That is what we?re preaching. The best team always win. We might not have the best player but we?re going to have the best team.?

Well, it?s on to the finals and the Silver City will have a collected group of special individuals representing them in Braintree.

?Nothing is more special than having success in the tournament,? Sylvia said. ?You worked so hard and in such a long season. To see the success they are having, it?s fun. I hope it?s fun for the city. Having the fan base we have is awesome and they give us the confidence to play like we do on the field. We need Tiger Nation there tomorrow. it is going to take a city to win this game. We are going to try and do it.?

Nunes said it best on Sunday.

?It?s too good to be true right now,? he said. ?We?ll shock the world.?
?I know there is one game left for their ultimate dream.?

But after beating No. 1 seed Franklin and now Barnstable, who could doubt them anymore.

Contact Steven Sanchez at ssanchez@tauntongazette.com

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