Sports

Dedham 10s Fall to Kingston in Cal Ripken State Tournament

Dedham will face Quincy Friday night in an elimination game.

Pitching and defense carried the Dedham 10s through the first five innings of Thursday's Cal Ripken state tournament semifinal against Kingston, but the bats were silent at the plate as Dedham lost 4-0.

"If we have one good inning, we put them away," Dedham coach Andy Shumway said. "All we need to do now is find it and keep it going."

Kingston, who beat Dedham twice last year as 9-year-olds, received a big lift in the top of the first inning when Christian Burzycki launched a 3-0 pitch over the center field fence.

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It was the only blunder - and only hit allowed - for Dedham starter Alex Cherry, who finished with five strikeouts in three innings of work.

Shawn Nosky, once again, relieved Cherry in the fourth. Nosky fanned five himself, but ran into trouble in the top of the sixth.

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With the 1-0 lead, Kingston opened it up in the sixth by putting runners on second and third with no one out. A sacrifice grounder, an error and a solid single later and Kingston had a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

"The pitching kept us in it the whole time. It always does," Shumway said. "We can count on that."

Dedham will play Quincy Friday at 6 p.m. in Revere in the losers bracket, with the winner moving on to face Kingston in the championship on Saturday. Dedham and Quincy would have to beat Kingston twice in order to take home the crown.

"I'm not saying anything out of term, but I'm very confident with who we are. Once we get past [Quincy], we'll see Kingston again for two more games."

For the first time, the Dedham 10s threatened in the bottom of the sixth, as Ben Dean launched a double that sent Nosky racing to third base. 

But that would be it for the 10s, as nothing would come of the threat. 

"We've been in an offensive rut, and not putting the best swings on," Shumway said.

Heading into Friday's contest, Shumway said they team will take extra time to work on timing and hitting, and focus on putting the ball in play.

Dedham had runners on base in every inning except the third, and finished with four hits.

"Credit to Kingston though, they're a great team. [We] hate to lose to them all the time, but they made some great plays in the field," Shumway said. "If we have an inning like they did in the top of the sixth, it's a whole different ballgame."


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