Central aces Lowell test

SCHOOLS

Both No.1 Central Catholic and No. 6 Lowell played their ace cards right off the bat yesterday at Merrimack College, but it was top-ranked Central that slapped down a second ace late to take the high stakes Merrimack Valley Conference baseball showdown, 3-2.

Central took a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning, when Lowell’s Keith Lynch led off with a home run off starter Steve Hajjar (4-0, 5 innings, five hits, nine strikeouts) and Henry Funaro followed with a triple. Enter Sam Lara.

“Steve threw a heck of a game for us and I wanted to get this for him,” Lara said after his first relief appearance of the year. “That was a big win for us because they had the momentum going and I wanted to put an end to that.”

Mission accomplished. With the tying run 90 feet away, the hard-throwing St. John’s-bound Lara fanned the first two batters he faced and then got the final out on a routine comebacker.

Lowell (9-3) threatened in the seventh as well, putting two on with two outs, before Central turned a nifty 6-4-3 double play to complete the season sweep of its league rival.

“That is one quality opponent and they go home run, triple and we leave the guy at third base,” marveled Central coach Marc Pelletier of Lara’s heroics.

Central (11-2) got to Funaro (52⁄ six hits, seven K’s) for a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and added an insurance run in the third on Mike Pierro’s sacrifice fly.

Josh Becker struck out 14 for Burlington (7-6) in a 3-0 shutout of Watertown in Middlesex League action. . . . Brendan Dudman went 4-for-5 with two RBI as Stoneham (3-9) knocked off Wakefield 6-4 in 10 innings.

Matt Collins crushed a three-run homer as Beverly (10-3) clinched its 14th consecutive trip to the state tournament with a 5-1 victory over Medford in the Northeastern Conference. . . . Devin Curley tossed a complete game and fanned seven in an 11-5 win for Lynn English (5-8) over Salem.

Arthur Correira struck out 11 to propel DightonRehoboth (11-2) to a 7-2 nonleague win over Bishop Feehan.

Softball

Bryana Michitson struck out 13, including her 600th career punchout, to lead Haverhill (8-5) to an 8-5 Merrimack Valley Conference win over Lawrence.

In the South Coast Conference, Riley Burgess spun a two-hitter, helping Case (6-7) to an 8-0 shutout of New Bedford.

In the Northeastern Conference, Emma DeJoie went 2-for-3 with an RBI as Lynn Classical (10-1) edged Danvers, 2-1.

Shaina Jewett-Wolf had three RBI for Boston Latin (3-7) in a 7-5 win over Lincoln