A season of polls and predictions came to a head Saturday when five state champions were crowned in Massachusetts.
The biggest takeaway after a day of game-winning home runs, clutch plays and pig piles on the mound: State championship day is just different.
How else do you explain a heavily favored, top-seeded, undefeated Austin Prep squad needing an inside-the-park home run from a senior NOT planning to play college baseball to secure its 2-1 win over No. 10 Newburyport in the D3 final? How do you explain the No. 1 seed in D1 -- with a lineup loaded with future college bats -- getting shut down by a 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior pitcher?
Championship day is always different, and the 2022 slate of games lived up to that script. Here's a look at how Taunton, Milton and Austin Prep cemented their championship runs.