Eagles go extra mile
Walk off against Tigers in 12th
Well, this was not quite how BC High drew it up.
Trailing 5-1 going into the top of the ninth, No. 8 Newton North rallied for four runs to tie the game. And though Brendan Mignone allowed the tying run in relief, he finished the ninth and then shut the door for another three innings, giving Brendan McDonald the opportunity to deliver a walkoff single in the the 12th inning to push No. 1 BC High past the Tigers, 6-5.
Eagles coach Norm Walsh said Mignone was unquestionably the player of the game.
“(Brendan) settled down, did not let the situations bother him, and pounded the sound,” Walsh said. “It was very frustrating that we could not put them away. We had multiple opportunities early in the game and could not do it.”
The Tigers started the ninth-inning rally by stringing together three hits, the last one from Michael Butera to cut the lead to 5-2. After a hit batsman loaded the bases, Dante Taylor produced a two-run single. Newton North then tied the game when the following batter, Will Sylvia, laid down a bunt but Mignone’s throw went down the right field, allowing Chris Quigley to score and tie the game.
Newton North had a chance to take the lead with the bases loaded and no outs. But Mignone induced a line-out to first, a shallow fly-out to right, and a fly-out to center field to retire the side.
From then on, Mignone retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced. BC High eventually loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 12th, and McDonald ripped a single over the right fielder’s head to win the game.
Braintree 10, St. John’s Prep 4 — Scott Creedon and No. 6 Braintree sent a gentle reminder that the defending champion Wamps are still the rightful owners of the Super 8 crown until someone takes it from them.
Creedon threw a complete game, scattering 11 hits and striking out nine, while the Braintree offense, led by two home runs from Justin Files, broke out in a big way in leading the Wamps past No. 3 St. John’s Prep in Danvers.
Files opened the scoring with a solo home run off Prep starter Brendan Powicki in the first inning, and after the Eagles retook the lead in the home half of the first on a tworun home run by Jacob Yish, Braintree exploded for five runs in the third. Alex Kennedy doubled with one out, and after a pitch hit Steve DiMartino and Mitch Baker walked to load the bases, Kennedy scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, 2-2.
An RBI single from Sean Casey made it 3-2, a tworun double by Joe Vannelli got it to 5-2 and a squeeze bunt from Jack Andrews put the Wamps in control at 6-2.
Creedon closed out his outing by striking out eight of the final 15 batters he faced.
Xaverian 6, Pope Francis 0— Blake DeCarr admitted he didn’t get much sleep prior to Xaverian’s opening-round contest against Pope Francis in Westwood. Given his performance, the right-hander should be able to rest easier now.
DeCarr tossed a complete-shutout, scattering six hits, striking out five and walking none on 111 pitches to lead No. 4 Xaverian over No. 5 Pope Francis.
“He’s our best player,” Xaverian coach Gerry Lambert said of DeCarr, “and he led the way today as a captain and as an offensive and pitching leader. He was the story. He pitched great.”
DeCarr got the Hawks going early, starting the game with a 1-2-3 inning before opening the scoring in the bottom half of the frame with double to left to plate Bryan Hart.
It was the start of a fourrun first for Xaverian off Pope Francis’ Cam Niemic (71⁄ innings, 10 hits, three earned runs).
DeCarr cruised through the Cardinals lineup, getting strong defensive play behind him, especially from Hart at shortstop and Zack Sette at first base.
St. John’s 12, Plymouth North 9 — No. 2 St. John’s of Shrewsbury scored nine runs in the first two innings to topple No. 7 Plymouth North (16-5) in their firstround matchup.
Matt Stansky pitched six innings with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts for the win.
After the Eagles opened the scoring with three runs in the first inning, St. John’s responded with a pair of two-out, two-run singles by Sean Burke and Jack Fields to take a 4-3 lead. An RBI single from Christian Jordan made it 5-3.
The Pioneers continued the hitting barrage in the second inning with four straight hits to knock out Eagles starter Colin Nicklas before he could register an out. Reliever Curtis Bennett gave up a two-run double to Jack Gardner to make it 9-3 before closing down St. John’s, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.