Tobin Johnston sends Bourne Baseball to State Title Game

BROCKTON -- The pressure was on.

After the No. 2 Bourne High baseball team had led since the first inning in Tuesday's Division 5 semifinal at Campanelli Stadium, the Canalmen (17-7) suddenly found themselves trailing 5-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, and their chance of playing for a state title slipping away.

A four-run inning from the Ayer-Shirley Panthers had flipped the game on its head. Bourne's ace, Ryan Sullivan, had been chased from the game, and Luca Finton (more on him later) had just gotten them out of a jam. With just six outs potentially remaining in their postseason lives, Bourne's offense would need to step up one more time.

Leading off the inning, Trevor Billard drew a walk. Sullivan followed with a single, and Griffen Kelly took a free pass on a 3-2 pitch that missed low.

Suddenly, the Canalmen had the bases loaded with no one out and their season hanging in the balance.

Up stepped junior Tobin Johnston.

A junior at the plate in the most pivotal moment of the season, sounds like a matchup any team would want. However, Johnston isn't your typical experienced junior.

Prior to this year, Johnston hadn't played baseball since seventh, yes seventh, grade.

The Canalmen's nine-hole hitter, who's mainly known for his defense at second base, came through with the biggest hit of their season.

With two strikes on him, Johnston laced what should've been an RBI single to left to cut the deficit in half. However, the ball got by the Panthers left fielder, and Billard, Sullivan, and Kelly all came racing around to score.

"It was amazing," Johnston said. "I haven't had (this experience) in a while."

More: Ryan Sullivan saves season for the Bourne High School baseball in Sweet 16 comeback

Johnston, amidst all the chaos, made it all the way to third, when a throw sailed all the way to home to try and hose Kelly. When the dust settled, he had given his team a 6-5 lead.

"I was just hype," he said. "I was like, 'We're going to win, we're going to win.' That (was) all we needed."

He then came in to score on a Damon White RBI groundout, and was greeted by a raucous Bourne dugout.

"Words can't express how happy I am for him," Bourne coach Sean Donovan said after the game.

It's the type of moment so many of us dreamt about as kids.

It also shows what type of team this year's Bourne group is.

Any way you slice it, the Canalmen took a gut punch in the top of the sixth inning. Giving up four runs and the lead so late in a semifinal game could've easily rattled the Canalmen's collective cage, but not this team.

"None of them shy away from the moment. I won't allow them to do that," Donovan said. "They keep kicking butt, and they keep earning everything that they've gotten. It's an amazing group."

The Canalmen had a response each time the Panthers threatened. After Ayer-Shirley trimmed it to 2-1 in the third inning, the Canalmen responded with a run in the bottom of the third to reestablish the two-run cushion, and after the Panthers landed a punch with a four-run sixth, Bourne swung back with a four-run haymaker of its own to make it 7-5.

Which brings us back to Finton, who had his own personal redemption today.

Finton got the start for Bourne in the Sweet 16 win over Maynard last week. He admittedly struggled with nerves and command, and was pulled after just five outs.

He said after the game a piece of advice from his dad helped him turn the corner.

"I've been asking people left and right what I should do to help calm myself down," Finton said. "I was talking to my parents and my dad gave me the best advice. (He said) at the end of the day, 'It's just a game."

He took the ball in an even bigger spot Tuesday night, and despite allowing a run on a wild pitch, came back out for the seventh inning, and got the save. Finton recorded all three outs via strikeout in the seventh, and sent his team to the title game.

"Luca has seen the best of the best in D-3, and D-4, it doesn't matter. We had to give him the ball, and he had to come up big, and he did." Donovan said. "I told him he was going to get a big at-bat, apparently he was going to get a big couple (of) innings on the mound."

Both Finton, and Donovan, credited the competitive balance of the South Coast Conference for preparing them for this game and this moment. Even with seven losses entering the tournament, the Canalmen claimed the No. 2 seed in part due to the collective strength of their opponents.

"During the regular season we play up," Finton said. "That competition, it's playoff baseball all the time. We're used to this."

Now, for the first time ever, Bourne Baseball will compete for a state title at Polar Park in Worcester.

"I'm speechless," Donovan said. "Took over the job four years ago, (and) we missed (the playoffs) my second year. I've had the senior class right now for three years. They've been up with varsity, they've been playing their butts off. They buy into what I sell, and here we are."

Here they are. The Canalmen will take on No. 9 Hopkins Academy for the Division 5 crown.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Canalmen advance to State Title game