'They did the job, which was great': Host Shrewsbury strikes late, stuns Needham in American Legion state tourney at Fitton Field

WORCESTER — It took a while Saturday night, but after getting no-hit through the first 5⅔ innings, Shrewsbury Post 397 finally woke up in the host team's first-round game at the American Legion State Tournament at Fitton Field.

Needham Post 14 starter Jason Waarich was cruising until Jimmy Mitchell broke up the no-hit bid with an infield single up the middle.

And the hit ignited Shrewsbury toward its 3-1 victory over the tournament's top seed.

“The umpire had a low zone, so I knew that he was going to try to live low especially with two strikes because he’s been getting that call all night,” Mitchell said. “He threw me a low fastball, and I was kind of sitting on it and went with it up the middle, and luckily it got through.”

From there, Shrewsbury put together a two-out, three-run charge. Noah Basgaard doubled to left, driving in Mitchell from second to tie the game at 1-1. Tommy Kursonis then gave Post 397 the lead with a two-run single to right, and Shrewsbury delivered Needham its first loss of the season.

“It felt really good,” Kursonis said about his winning hit. “I knew he was going to throw me a curveball because of the other at-bats, and I was ready for it.”

“We expected Tommy to be in that spot,” Shrewsbury acting manager Chris DeSantis said. “It matched up well for us, and we expect big things out of him.”

After the fifth inning, DeSantis challenged his team.

“I said, ‘Hey guys, I’ll be the guinea pig, we are getting no-hit. Do you guys really want to be the team that gets no-hit tonight? ’” DeSantis said. “And they said ‘No,’ and they did the job, which was great.”

Post 397’s comeback would not have been possible without the strong pitching of Connor Herlihy, who hurleed a complete game, giving up one run on three hits while striking out six on 79 pitches.

“In the first inning, I threw two curveballs and that was the two hits they got,” Herlihy said. “So I just decided not to throw that pitch anymore and stuck with the slider. Coach told me that they are not too good at hitting off-speed.

"Figured out in the first inning the slider is what I want to go, too," he added, "and then later in the game, my fastball velo felt good, so I threw that a little more.”

Needham got on the board first when shortstop Nolan Bibbo singled to drive in center fielder Alexander Giancola, who led off the game with a single and a stole second. After that rough first inning, Herlihy settled down, giving up just one more hit through the final six innings.

“He’s been a workhorse for us,” DeSantis said. “He’s been fantastic. He’s a senior, he’s a leader. and I couldn’t be happier for him. He pitched his heart out.”

Post 397 faces Hyde Park Post 78 in a winners' bracket game at 7 p.m. Sunday, the final game of the day.

“We have a storied path of playoff baseball,” DeSantis said. “We have a lot of veterans on this team, a lot of guys that have been here before. A lot of our St. John’s guys just went to the state championship, so for us it’s next pitch, next at-bat, next inning. We can’t look past the future. The opponent is the opponent, and we’ll play it straight up.”

As the host of the state tournament getting an automatic bid, Post 397 is embracing the underdog role.

“It feels great (giving Needham their first loss), especially since we are kind of the underdog going into the tournament,” Mitchell said. “All week we have been practicing hard, and it feels good to get the win.”

—Contact Ethan Winter at sports@telegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'They did the job, which was great': Host Shrewsbury strikes late, stuns Needham in American Legion state tourney at Fitton Field