Baseball: Three’s a crowd atop NEC North

The Northeastern Conference’s North Division is officially up for grabs.Coming into play on Monday, Lynn English and Peabody were in a virtual tie for first place, with Beverly sitting one game behind.When the day ended, there was still a tie, but all three teams now had a piece of the top spot.Salem 4, English 0At Salem State, Salem’s Pat Little was brilliant, throwing a three-hitter.”(Little) threw strikes and never let us get going,” English coach Joe Caponigro said. “It was just one of those days.”Little held English (11-2, 9-2) hitless for four innings and allowed three total. Dario Medrano, Raphael Medrano and Andrew Cavanaugh drove in the runs for Salem (4-9).Beverly 11, Peabody 3At Bezemes Field in Peabody, Beverly (12-2, 9-2) trailed 2-0 entering the top of the sixth. But it turned the game around with one swing of Austin Butler’s bat as his 3-run homer put the Panthers ahead for good and prevented Peabody (12-3, 10-2) from assuming sole possession of first place.Beverly scored five runs in the sixth and exploded for six two-out runs in the top of the seventh.”We got all the clutch hits with men on in the late innings,” Beverly coach Dave Wilbur said. “To beat a team like Peabody, you have to play well, and we went over there and did.”Andy Brown had three hits with Mark Theriault and Ethan Trowt having two hits apiece for the Panthers.”I’m shocked,” Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. “We came in fired up and the wheels fell off the wagon in the sixth. But there’s still a lot left at stake.”St. Mary’s 11, Austin Prep 3At Fraser Field, the Spartans (11-4, 10-3 CCL) stayed in a first-place tie with Bishop Fenwick in the CCL Large standings as Joe Kasabuski went the route on the mound and Nick Day belted a homer and drove in four runs.”When we come to play, this team is pretty good,” St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana said. “They played a good, clean game.”Alex Glover was 3-for-4 while Kasabuski was 2-for-3 and Anthony Disciscio was 1-for-2 with an RBI. The Spartan defense turned four double plays in the contest.Swampscott 12, Danvers 2At Swampscott, Hunter Gordon did it all for the Big Blue (7-7, 6-6) as he allowed four hits and struck out seven on the mound and went 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBI at the plate.Casey Collins was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI while Mike Gillis was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Shane Coffey had a two-run homer and Chris Cameron drove in two runs.Danvers (2-11) was eliminated from postseason contention.Saugus 7, Marblehead 1At World Series Park in Saugus, Mike Silva threw his sixth complete game of the season, getting his fourth win, as he allowed one run and struck out four. Silva also was 3-for-3 at the plate with two stolen bases.The Sachems (7-7, 6-5 NEC) broke the game open with a six-run third, highlighted by Ryan Bateman’s 3-run homer. Tyler Calla also had a homer for Saugus.Fenwick 4, Arl. Cath. 3At Peabody, the Crusaders (11-4) stayed atop the CCL/Large standings thanks to a quick start and solid pitching from Tommy Moules. Moules allowed three earned runs and four hits over six innings, striking out seven. Fenwick scored three times in the first on a 2-run double by Dave Ruggiero and an RBI single from Andrew Guido. Dale Crispin was 2-for-3 for Fenwick.Gloucester 9, Winthrop 2At Gloucester, the Fishermen (10-3, 9-2 NEC) clinched a state tournament berth as Taylor Burbine whiffed 10 for the NEC South leaders.