Fallon gets Milton on track
On the first pitch he saw, Milton’s Jimmy Fallon cranked a fastball deep to left-center field, slid into third base, and emphatically yelled toward his dugout. Fallon’s triple started a three-run first inning and set the tone for the top-seeded Wildcats, who added three more runs in the fourth and used stellar pitching from sophomore lefthander Scott Longo to secure a 9-3 win at home over 17thseeded Norwood and star pitcher Jack Cropper Wednesday in a second-round matchup in the Division 2 baseball tournament.
Defending state champion Milton (19-3) advances to play Plymouth North, 4-1 winners over Holliston, in a state quarterfinal on Saturday.
“We all know Jack is a great pitcher and I saw a fastball right near the plate and I knew it was the pitch I had to turn on,” said Fallon. “I know a lot of people were doubting us today, but we had a lot of confidence and we did what we did.”
After Fallon’s triple with one out, Longo followed with an RBI double to right. Jack Finnegan hit a single to left before a fielder’s choice, wild pitch, and basesloaded walk made it 3-0.
Milton added three runs in the fourth when Fallon registered an RBI groundout and Finnegan grounded a run-scoring infield single to short, extending the lead to 7-0 and chasing Cropper from the game.
Division 1 State
BC High 4, St. John’s Prep 3 — An overturned interference call gave the No. 7 Eagles (14-8) an opportunity, and they cashed in. Wyatt Miller scored on the play, a fifth-inning grounder off the bat of Cole Bohane that changed from an inning-ending double play on an interference call to the go-ahead fielder’s choice. Andrew Manning followed with an RBI triple before Liam Kinneen closed it on the mound to send BC High to the quarterfinals.
Bridgewater-Raynham 1, Weymouth 0 — The No. 9 Trojans (18-4) earned a date with No. 1 Franklin in the state quarterfinals. Cam Morrison had an RBI single, and Evan Samsel and Luke Barry combined on the shutout as Bridgewater-Raynham beat No. 8 Weymouth (18-6) in the second round.
Franklin 5, Walpole 2 — On the brink being upset by No. 17 Walpole, No. 1 Franklin got five unanswered runs in Division a second-round win. Walpole (13-9) scored in each of the first two innings at Franklin (21-3) before the Panthers got consecutive RBI singles from Eisig Chin, Henry DiGiorgio, Ben Jarosz, and Luke Sidwell.
Division 2
State King Philip 4, North Attleborough 3 — Nate Pennini pitched 5„ innings in relief as the thirdranked Warriors (15-7) took a second-round win in 11 innings. Drew Herlin drove home a pair.
Mansfield 6, Leominster 2 — Jake Maydak hurled a complete game and Matthew DeShiro hit a two-run home run, propelling the 15th-seeded Hornets (16-8) to a second-round upset of No. 2 Leominster (18-2). Mansfield will face No. 10 St. Mary’s (15-7) in the quarterfinals.
Plymouth North 4, Holliston 1 — Cody Quinn spun a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts, powering the ninth-seeded Eagles (17-7) to a second-round win.
St. Mary’s 4, Reading 0 — Tommy Falasca spun a completegame shutout for the 10th-seeded Spartans (15-7) over No. 26 Reading (15-7). Falasca allowed five hits and fanned five. Jaiden Driscoll had an RBI single and Josh Doney a two-run double.
Division 3 State
Bishop Stang 2, North Reading 0 — Matt Burt tossed a completegame shutout, powering the third-ranked Spartans (15-5) to a second-round win. Cam Letourneau and Brock Winslow had RBI hits for Stang.
Division 4 State
English High 12, Clinton 2 — Jeff Soto reached base four times and hit an inside-the-park home run as the No. 2 Blue & Blue (22-0) defeated No. 18 Clinton to advance to the quarterfinals. Soto walked to lead off the first and scored on a two-run single by Braylin Gonzalez. Soto had an RBI single in the third before drilling a ball to deep center in the fifth for a two-run inside-the-park homer.
Lowell Catholic 2, Bellingham 1 — Seamus Scott’s complete game led the 16th-seeded Crusaders (14-8) to a second-round victory.