Grand finale for English in Clancy

LYNN – The 30th and final Nipper Clancy Memorial Day Tournament title game will go down as one of the more memorable in its history thanks to a performance for the ages from English sophomore Ben Bowden at Fraser Field on Monday.Click here for a photo gallery.The southpaw put the clamps on North Reading, holding the Hornets to one run on seven hits, while going 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored as he propelled the Bulldogs to a 7-1 win that clinched an improbable state tourney berth.”Ben is quite a talent, obviously,” English coach Joe Caponigro said. “He beat Salem, Classical and now North Reading to get us here. He’s a star.”The Bulldogs (10-10) came into the weekend off wins against Revere, Salem and Classical and then beat St. Mary’s, 5-1, on Sunday to reach the finals. But not even the best of screenwriters could have scripted the finale English had in store Monday.”We battled so hard to get here,” Bowden said. “And we’ve worked so hard. (North Reading) can hit the ball hard but I got into a nice groove.”North Reading (11-9) had blown past Classical, 10-3, in the first semifinal on Sunday. But the Hornets had no answer for the motivated Bulldogs on Monday.”We made a couple of mental mistakes but English hit the ball really well,” North Reading coach Frank Carey said. “They certainly were motivated (Monday) to get in.”English didn’t waste much time in getting started as Matt Merritt walked with one out. Junior Santos followed with a single and Bowden delivered Merritt home with a double and Santos raced home when the ball was misplayed. Edinson Purcel made it 3-0 when he doubled home Bowden with two outs.North Reading got a run back in the bottom of the first when Ben Harrow doubled and scored on Kyle Boucher’s two-out single.It stayed 3-1 into the fourth, when English’s offense got going again.Melvin Cabrera led off with a double and senior Eddie Martinez followed with a single that made it 4-1. Martinez was sacrificed to third and scored on Randale Lora’s sacrifice fly to center.Bowden, by this time, was well into his rhythm as he worked out of a couple of jams thanks to solid defense behind him.English would close the scoring in the fifth as Santos singled, stole second and scored on Bowden’s single to center. Martinez singled home the game’s final run with two outs.All that was left was for Bowden to shut the door and he did, striking out the side in the seventh to finish with a flourish.”It means a lot to us to win the final Clancy tournament,” Caponigro said. “And to clinch a state tournament spot to boot is pretty special.In the consolation game, St. Mary’s pounded out 16 hits and used an eight-run third-inning barrage to pull away to a 12-4 win over Classical.Joe Kasper was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for the Spartans. Kurtis White drove in three runs while Matt Turmenne was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the third inning.Classical (10-10) saw Kyle Gauthier go 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Wilfredo Feliz was 1-for-1 with a run scored and an RBI.FIRST ROUNDN. Reading 10, Classical 3Led by sophomore Ryley Warnock, North Reading defeated the Rams and advanced to the tournament championship.Warnock went the distance to earn the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over seven innings. He struck out 10 and walked one. He also tripled, doubled, and singled twice, going 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI out of the leadoff spot.Junior Kyle Boucher had two hits, three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases for the Hornets, while seniors Nick Moscaritolo and Brandon Currier each had two hits and two runs scored apiece.Classical starter Jorge Perez was touched for eight runs on 12 hits while striking out six. Classical junior John Finnigan had a two-run single in the third to score sophomore Kyle Gauthier and junior Huebert Segura. Finnigan would reach on an error and score the Rams’ third and final run in the sixth.English 5, St. Mary’s 1English defeated St. Mary’s due in part to a stellar pi