Lynn well represented in MIAA state baseball tournament

Quite a few Lynn baseball teams will play in the MIAA state tournament, as English, Classical and St. Mary’s earned bids in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 North.English (21st seed) will travel to Waltham (12 seed) Thursday in a Division 1 North preliminary at 6 p.m. English coach Joe Caponigro believes defense will be the key.”I believe if my team can play solid defense and limit the extra outs to the opposition, my team will be in good shape,” Caponigro said.English will be relying on ace pitcher Ben Bowden. English lost to Newton South, 17-12, in the preliminary round last year. English finished the season 10-10.Classical (6 seed) will host Wilmington (11 seed) at Fraser Field Thursday in a Division 2 North preliminary matchup at 4 p.m. Classical coach Mike Zukowski has high hopes for the tournament.”I am very proud of my team this year. My team had its ups and downs, but they are better because of it,” Zukowski said.Classical’s Kyle Gauthier and Jorge Perez will be key players for the Rams. Classical finished 13-7.St. Mary’s (9 seed) will square off against Pentucket (8 seed) for the second straight year in the Division 3 North first round at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans got the better of Pentucket last year (11-2). St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana believes offense is the key.”My team has to win more battles at the plate point-blank. If my team can do that, they will be fine,” Dana said.St. Mary’s finished the season 11-9.DIVISION 3 NORTHLynnfield (1 seed) will host the winner of the game between Stoneham (16 seed) and Madison Park (17 seed) in the Division 3 North first round Saturday at 4. Lynnfield lost in the second round last year to Fenwick 9-8, but Lynnfield coach John O’Brien is very optimistic.”My team really had a great season and it was due to great pitching and defense. I feel those are the two most important components in tournament play,” O’Brien said.Lynnfield finished the season 17-3.Saugus (18 seed) will be on the road against Brighton (15 seed) Thursday in a Division 3 North preliminary game at 3.Swampscott (6 seed) will host Austin Prep (11 seed) in the Division 3 North first round Thursday at 3.Fenwick (12 seed) will hit the road against Newburyport (5 seed) Thursday in the Division 3 North first round.DIVISION 1 NORTHSt. John’s Prep (3 seed) will take on the winner of either Haverhill (14 seed) or Newton South (19 seed) Saturday in the Division 1 North first round at 4. Eagles coach Pat Yanchus is excited for the tournament to start.”My team will be ready to play Saturday. My team will need a collective team effort game in and game out to be successful,” Yanchus said.St. John’s finished the season 15-5.Peabody (5 seed) will host the winner of either English (21 seed) or Waltham (12 seed) Saturday in a Division 1 North first-round game at 4.DIVISION 2 NORTHMarblehead (9 seed) will face Arlington (8 seed) at Arlington Thursday in the Division 2 North first round at 4.Danvers (2 seed) will host Woburn (15 seed) in the Division 2 North first round Thursday at 4.