Braintee takes swing at 3 in row
FRANKLIN — The Bay State Conference had plenty of reason to celebrate.
The Merrimack Valley Conference had plenty of reason to gripe.
Two-time defending state champion Braintree and Newton North were selected to compete in the Super Eight tournament for the fourth straight season. The Wamps earned the fifth-seed and will travel to No. 4 BC High tomorrow in a rematch of a regular-season game won by Braintree, 7-2.
“I think this year more than previous years, there was three clear-cut favorites but after that it was pretty wide open,” said Braintree coach Bill O’Connell. “We were just fortunate that the committee thought that we did enough to be one of the last five teams.”
Despite a 14-8 record, the Tigers made the field as the seventh-seed and will travel to second-seed St. John’s Prep. The teams met during the season with the Eagles winning, 7-5.
Central Catholic is the first Merrimack Valley Conference team since Lowell in 2014 to qualify for the Super Eight. The third-seeded Raiders will face No. 6 Xaverian, which won six straight games to end the season.
One of the surprises was the fact neither Methuen nor Andover made the field. Both teams received enough votes to make it to the second round before getting eliminated.
“It’s very disappointing. I feel badly for our seniors,” said Methuen coach Bill Blackwell. “We thought it would have been a great opportunity for them to play in the Super Eight. Now we have to get them ready for the Division 1 North tournament.”
St. John’s (Shrewsbury) earned the top seed and will face No. 8 Belmont. The Marauders were just the second Division 2 team to make the field.
“I’m very happy for the seniors, they’ve earned it,” Belmont coach Jim Brown said.
The only team not making it into the second round was Lynn Classical. The Northeastern Conference champions went 19-1, but only mustered two of the nine votes.