Carefree Caleb: Post 129 gets gem from Allen to force winner-take-all clash for Zone 4 title

WINCHENDON — Caleb Allen doesn’t stress out when he’s on the pitcher’s mound.

It’s easy to see why.

The last time the recent Oakmont Regional grad felt frazzled was in the Spartans’ 2-1 win over Hudson High in a Division 2 playoff game on June 11, 2021 , when Allen was just a freshman.

Since then, it’s been carefree livin’ for the right-handed pitcher.

“I haven’t been stressed since,” Allen said. “When I’m pitching, I feel more confident because I have the ball, I decide what’s going to happen (and) I don’t have to count on someone else.

“But yeah, it’s fun to pitch.”

Allen showed his stress-free nature Tuesday night when the 18-year-old from Ashburnham twirled a complete-game shutout to lead North County Post 129 to a 3-0 win over Hudson Post 100 in Game 2 of a best-of-three series to decide the Zone 4 Champion.

With the victory, Post 129 forced a winner-take-all meeting with Post 100 on Wednesday. The win also allowed the carefree Allen to play in at least one more Legion game with his hometown friends and teammates.

“I love playing baseball, I don’t want it to end, so I just let it all go out there,” Allen said. “It’s been great. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. It’s one last ride with my guys.”

Leaving a legacy

Just over a month ago, Allen capped his high school baseball career in storybook fashion.

The two-year captain, two-time T&G Super Team selection and all-time career leader in strikeouts (317) at Oakmont fired a complete-game gem with 10 punchouts to secure the Spartans a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s in the Division 3 state championship at Polar Park on June 15.

The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder wrapped up his senior season with a 7-2 record and a 0.50 ERA with 75 strikeouts and just 12 walks. In four years at Oakmont, Allen helped his team go 76-13, win four Mid-Wach C titles and claim back-to-back D3 state crowns.

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“I see greatness,” said Johnny Losordo, Allen’s teammate at Oakmont and with North County. “I’ve always looked up to Caleb Allen since Little League. I love playing with him.”

“He’s probably the best pitcher I’ve ever caught for or seen,” said Will Gage, another two-way teammate of Allen with Oakmont and North County.

Taking care of business

On Tuesday night, Allen showed why he has garnered such high praise from his peers.

The recent Bentley University commit for baseball tossed seven innings of four-hit ball to go along with eight strikeouts and one walk. The pitcher with a quick and compact — yet unconventional — motion threw 109 pitches, 70 for strikes.

Allen’s final offering blazed past Cornell University commit Ryan Dillon for the final out and left the bases full of Post 100 runners. Allen was spotted three runs from former Oakmont teammates Losordo (2 RBIs) and Sam Curtis (RBI), while playing a big role in the game taking only 1 hour, 7 minutes to play.

“He was very, very efficient,” North County manager Gregg Picucci said. “Now we get to go home and watch TV early.”

Allen’s coaches and teammates love having him on the mound, and on their team.

He certainly never stresses them out.

“He’s like a pitbull,” Picucci said. “He takes care of business. He’s a gamer.”

“We know that he’s going to get the job done,” Losordo said. “He always makes the right call.”

And Allen feels like he made the right call to play Legion baseball for North County Post 129 this summer.

He guaranteed that his team would play at least one more game on Wednesday (or Thursday if it rains) — when he will play shortstop and bat fifth for Post 129, while attempting to help North County win its first Zone 4 championship.

“Baseball is fun. It’s what I love to do, and it’s a good thing to keep playing out here, and it’s a good thing to play with my guys,” Allen said. “I love it. I know I can keep us going, and it fuels me.”

Full of fuel, free of stress.

That’s Caleb Allen.

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Carefree Caleb: Post 129 gets gem from Allen to force winner-take-all clash for Zone 4 title