St. Mary’s baseball rolls past Whittier and into semis

HAVERHILL – By staying within themselves and allowing the game to come to them, the St. Mary’s baseball team took it to Whittier, 9-1, in a Division 3 North sectional quarterfinal game Monday afternoon.The No. 5 Spartans (15-7) now advance to take on Sullivan Rule qualifier Saugus (7-15) in the semifinals (TBD). No. 6 Whittier, out of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference, concluded a 16-6 campaign.St. Mary’s excelled in all facets of the game, rapping out 13 hits against three Whittier pitchers while playing superb defense behind complete-game winner Matt Turmenne (6 H, 3 K, 0 BB). The senior captain’s stamp was all over this game as he started a stellar 1-6-3 double-play to extricate himself from a second-inning jam and went 3-for-4 with a couple of opposite-field doubles and an RBI.”I thought we did everything well. We pitched, we hit, we ran the bases and played great defense. This was a total team win,” said coach Derek Dana. “Matt’s done it all year for us. He pounded the zone, never got rattled and allowed the defense behind him to make the plays.”Junior right fielder Alex Fiste enjoyed a monster game at the dish, stroking three hits – including a titanic two-run homer to right in the sixth inning – while driving in three runs. He also flashed plenty of leather with five putouts, including back-to-back gems in the fifth inning that took away extra bases each time.Kurtis White (two singles, RBI), Joe Kasper (two hits, double, two RBI), Zach Paone (two RBI) and Zach Conti (two hits) also contributed to the onslaught.”This was against a kid (Whittier sophomore starter Andrew Wells) who has been tough on everyone all season. We were able to put the ball in play and make them play defense. When we hit the ball on the ground and hit line drives, we can be a good offensive team. We did that today,” Dana said.St. Mary’s threatened to break it open in the first inning but Wells induced Turmenne’s inning-ending 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded.Whittier took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when Jordan Britton rapped a leadoff double to right center and scored on Nat Frongillo’s two-out double to the same vicinity. That would be it for the ‘Cats as Turmenne allowed just two hits the rest of the way.St. Mary’s took control with a four-spot in the fourth inning. Turmenne ripped a leadoff double to right and scored when Wells threw away Paone’s sacrifice bunt. Steve Carroll walked but was rubbed out at second on Ryan Barrows’ fielder’s choice that pushed Paone to third. After Barrows swiped second, Fiste delivered Paone with a single to left. Barrows also scored despite stumbling while rounding third on an errant throw by Whittier third baseman George Gouthier. White chased Fiste home with the inning’s final run, singling to right.Kasper singled and scored on Paone’s sacrifice fly to center in the fifth. Fiste blasted his home run and Kasper and Turmenne cracked run-scoring doubles during a four-run sixth, accounting for the 9-1 final.In regards to the semifinal matchup, Dana said, “At this point in the tournament the opponent doesn’t matter. You have to be ready to go because you’re going to get everyone’s ‘A’ game.”