Walpole Ends Barnstable Baseball's Postseason Bid

WALPOLE – Senior righty Jack Donnelly proved to be too much for the hopeful Barnstable High School baseball team Thursday afternoon, as the host Rebels’ ace tossed a complete-game three-hitter for a 2-0, Division 1 South Sectional, first round win.

Barnstable High junior Ryan Bruning took the hard-luck loss Thursday in the opening round of the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional baseball tournament against Walpole.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos

Donnelly, who has already committed to pitch for Southern New Hampshire University, led his sixth-seeded Rebels (13-8) with three strikeouts, walked one, hit one batter and scattered three hits in his complete-game gem.

Barnstable’s Griffin Burke, a junior rightfielder, had two of those hits and broke up Donnelly’s bid for a no-hitter with a double on a 1-1 pitch in the top of the fourth.

But it was not nearly enough as Donnelly stranded five Barnstable baserunners while his Rebel teammates plated two runs – all he would need – with one run in second inning and another for insurance in the fifth.

“Donnelly was pretty darn good,” Barnstable first-year head coach Ryan Kinski said. “He mixed speeds and kept us off-balance.”

Both Walpole runs came unearned against Barnstable starting pitcher Ryan Bruning, a junior righty who finished the season at 4-3. With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, an infield error put James Newman on base and Newman then came home on a Matt Ordway RBI-single for a 1-0 Walpole lead. Bruning escaped the inning with two men on base but the run proved to be critical for the hosts.

Walpole added its second run in the bottom of the fifth inning, again with two outs.

Walpole leadoff man Liam McCabe ripped a two-out double and then came home on an outfield error that made it 2-0 and that would be all Donnelly needed to shut the door on the Red Raiders’ season.

Barnstable finished at 10-11 on the campaign, but the end result was a vast improvement over what initially appeared like a lost cause, as Coach Kinski explained after the loss.

“I was extremely pleased with our progress (this season),” Kinski said. “Making the tournament and playing Walpole extremely well was a tribute to the kids. They could have bailed on the season at 5-9, but they continued to work at practice and play the game the right way.”