CANTON -- Here's literally the only bad part of being great. When you're just very good it can feel like a letdown.
That was issue with Canton High baseball standout Andrew Middleton on Monday. The 6-1 junior left-hander ran his record to 3-0 and put up good numbers in a 5-3 Senior Day win over Sharon -- six innings, five hits, three runs, eight strikeouts, three walks.
It was solid. Just not as dazzling as his first two starts -- a 16-strikeoutperfect game vs. Attleboro in his varsity debut and a one-hit shutout (again with 16 K's) vs. Stoughton.
"I just tried to look at it as another start," said Middleton, who had a three-hit shutout with two outs in the sixth before faltering and allowing three runs. "It wasn't anything special. I didn't have everything today, but I had enough to get me the win."
Again, some perspective is in order.
VOTE FOR MIDDLETON FOR POTW:: 16 Ks, 5 for 5 at the dish, a dynamite debut: Vote for the Baseball Player of the Week
"It's a good (pitching) line for anybody else," Canton coach Ben Shuffain noted. "When you have the first two games like he had, this seems like a down game, but it's not. He went six innings, five hits, three runs. Great game. He battled through some soreness in his arm that last inning. I went out there (to the mound) to see if he could finish it, and he said yes. So that was good."
Middleton didn't make the varsity roster for Canton as a freshman in 2019. Losing the 2020 high school season to the pandemic wasn't ideal, but he said he made the most of his down time by working with the Foxboro-based GBG Hawks club program.
"GBG did a really good job of getting us a program through Driveline Baseball called TRAQ," Middleton said. "I was keeping up with those (regimens) and long-tossing in my driveway because my catcher (senior Sawyer Julier-Albert) is my neighbor, so I played catch with him."
More: H.S. BASEBALL: Top 10 rankings
While spring coaches in every sport are dealing with the unknown early this season -- relying on seniors who might have been role players as sophomores in 2019, and juniors who could have been on JV the last time there was a season -- Shuffain said he sort of knew what he had with Middleton.
Although nothing could have prepared him for the perfect debut.
"First perfect game I've been a part of," Shuffain said. "It was pretty incredible. It was one of those games where you're on the edge of your seat like you're watching a scary movie. You're just waiting for something (bad) to happen. Kids made good plays. The field was a mess from rain for a few days and our left fielder fell down on the last play of the game but then he got up and made the catch.
"His second game I actually thought he was better. He walked the first kid of the game, they went for a sacrifice bunt and he didn't get to the ball in time, so the kid was safe at first. And that was it. That was the only hit and the only two baserunners of the game."
Middleton called the perfect game "surreal," noting, "Everything was working well for me. It felt like a dream. (After that) it feels like another day of baseball -- go out there and compete."
More: MIAA board delays plan to suspend Super 8 tournaments in hockey, baseball
That was easier said than done Monday as Middleton acknowledged that his fastball, which tops out at 86 mph "wasn't where it needed to be today." His nasty changeup also wasn't behaving. "I had trouble locating it," he said. "They weren't biting on it the way they normally do. When it's on, it's on."
The curve, though, was working, and he started to rely on it more the second time through the order, including in his first jam -- a bases-loaded, one-out predicament in the third. Facing Sharon cleanup hitter Justin Brown, he started him off with a pair of called strikes on curves before getting him to swing through a high fastball.
"I had confidence in my curveball today," said Middleton, who caught Ryan Baker looking on a 2-2 fastball on the inside corner to end the threat. "They weretiming up my fastball, and after the first time through (the order) I realized I had to start mixing more breaking pitches in so I could keep them off balance."
"He knows he can throw (the curveball) for a strike. He also knows he can throw it in the dirt and make them chase," saidJulier-Albert. "He makes it easy to catch for him. He throws strikes. It's never too hard being back there when he's throwing."
Shuffain said he actually enjoyed seeing Middleton run into a bit of trouble in this one, figuring adversity will steel him for later in the season.
More: H.S. ROUNDUP: Archbishop Williams baseball out-slugs Spellman on road
"I love it," the coach said. "When he walked the first guy in the Stoughton game, I was happy. This is what he needs; he needs to struggle and be able to come back because he's not going to have a perfect game every game."
Thanks in part to Middleton, Canton is off to a 5-0 start. Middleton wants to make the most of his junior campaign because it will be his last one with the Bulldogs. He plans to transfer to Dexter Southfield School in Brookline next fall and repeat his junior year, the better to build up his body for what he hopes will be a college career.
"Yeah, it was a tough choice," he said. "It was hard to leave all my friends and my teammates. But I realized how big an opportunity it was for me."
Going out on top with Canton would be ideal.
"We have depth," Middleton said of the Bulldogs' prospects. "We have a lot of people who can swing the bat and a lot of good arms. We're solid in the field. We could really do some damage this year."
Against Sharon, the Bulldogs got two hits each from center fielder Cam Sanchez, third baseman Matt Chafin and shortstop Steve Burbank, the first three hitters in the order. Nate Hewitt had a timely sacrifice fly in the sixth after Sharon had narrowed the score to 4-3, and Andrew Butler preserved Middleton's perfect record by pitchinga scoreless seventh for the save.
Even if Middleton doesn't have his A-plus game, Canton appears to be hard to beat.
"I'm having a blast," Shuffainsaid. "I coached football before this (in Fall 2), and I thought, I need some time off between sports. And then after the first week (of baseball) I was like, nope, don't need any time off. This is great. I'm loving it."
View post:
H.S. BASEBALL: Andrew Middleton's blazing start has Canton riding high at 5-0 - The Patriot Ledger
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero