Jack Cali, No. 2 Taunton baseball shut out No. 18 Springfield Central in D1 Sweet 16

TAUNTON— A first ever playoff start can be daunting for any young pitcher, especially a couple rounds into the tournament.

However Jack Cali made it look easy.

The junior tossed a complete game shutout for No. 2 Taunton (18-4) as they beat Springfield Central (17-3) 8-0 in the Division I Round of 16 Thursday to book their place in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.

"It felt good," Cali said. "Being able to keep them to zero runs was even better. The first inning was a little shaky but I worked out of it and things went really well after that."

After giving up a single to Hamilton Wray and Michael Quiros advancing to first on a throwing error by second baseman Brayden Cali put two Golden Eagles on base, Jack Cali retired the next eight batters and 19 of the remaining 23 batters as he gave up three hits and two walks while striking out five.

For Tigers coach Blair Bourque, Jack Cali's performance could be summed up in one word.

"Efficient," Bourque said. "He was awesome. He kept hitters off-balance, he was able to execute his pitches and was able to get ahead. He did a really good job. That’s a good offensive team and he was able to basically shut them down."

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He was aided by an overall solid day at the plate by Taunton, starting in the first inning as Dwayne Burgo, who went two-for-four with a run and three RBIs, hit a triple with the bases loaded to give the hosts an early 3-0 lead, something which certainly helped Jack Cali getting back on the mound.

"Any lead that I get, I feel way more confident (on the mound) with it," Jack Cali said.

"Dwayne’s been big for us all year and I’m happy that he was able to come through in the clutch for us again," added Bourque.

Taunton added another run in the second as Dawson Bryce led off with a triple and Ryan MacDougall, who led the way at the plate for the Tigers going three-for-four with three RBIs, brought him home on an RBI single the next at-bat.

"That’s what we expect out of him and it’s what he expects out of himself," Bourque said of MacDougall. "I’m really happy for him to come out there and execute and have a big game today. I know it means a lot for him because he’s put in a lot of work and it’s nice to have a big day like that on a big stage."

In the fifth inning, Burgo singled and later came home off a wild pitch to make it 5-0 before Taunton added three more in the sixth as Braden Sullivan and Brayden Cali singled and walked to open the inning before coming home on a MacDougall double and Jared Spencer, pinch running for McDougall, came in from second on a Sean Murphy single the next at-bat.

Other notable performers at the plate include Bryce, who went one-for-four with a pair of runs, while Sullivan went two-for-four with a run, Murphy went one-for-three with a run and RBI, Spencer had two runs pinch running for MacDougall and AJ Lewis, Shawn Cali and Andrew Cali each had a hit.

(It was) a phenomenal job by everybody," Bourque said. "Pitching was awesome (and) offensively we were able to execute. The bench was loud, we had a lot of energy, so I was really happy with the outcome and the performance."

Taunton also saw a solid fielding day from their outfield, with left fielder Burgo, center fielder Shawn Cali and right fielder Andrew Cali combining for seven catches.

"They put a lot of work in," Bourque said. "It’s really nice to get Shawn Cali back, he’s kind of the anchor out there so it’s nice to have him back out there patrolling center field and Dwayne and Andrew do a great job in the corners. They work hard at practice, they came prepared and were able to track down a lot of balls today."

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As for Springfield Central, Wray was credited with the loss after going three innings giving up an earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out one before Javier Lopez tossed the remaining three innings giving up four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two.

At the plate, Wray and Franklyn Torres went one-for-three for the Golden Eagles while Quiros went one-for-two with a double, walk and advanced once on an error.

The Tigers now turn their attention to an Elite Eight matchup with No. 7 BC High (14-8) Saturday, a challenge which Boruque knows his team must be ready for.

"Every team from here on out is going to be really difficult (to face) so we need to make sure that we continue to have games like today and make sure that we’re able to execute," Bourque said.

First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Buck Mahoney Field at Taunton High School.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: No. 2 Taunton baseball shuts out No. 18 Springfield Central