MIAA Roundup: Pitching change helps Prep get past Newton South

Veteran St. John’s Prep coach Pat Yanchus took a calculated risk late in the third-seeded Eagles’ 5-2 Div. 1 North Sectional first-round win against No. 19 Newton South Sunday afternoon at Danvers and it paid off in a big way.When starting pitcher Rob DiFranco ran into trouble in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with no outs, Yanchus turned the ball over to junior Jack Kresovec, who had precisely one appearance all season. Kresovec minimized the damage, yielding a single run on an infield out, then set the visitors down in order in the ninth, punctuating his performance with a game-ending strikeout.”Jack throws strikes and has been pitching well in practices and scrimmages. It’s nice to have another option. And Rob pitched very well until the eighth,” said Yanchus of DeFranco, who improved to 6-1, allowing five hits while striking out six.The Eagles’ all-junior infield excelled, recording 13 assists in a flawless performance, anchored by Tyler Noe (five assists).South grabbed a 1-0 lead on a solo home run in the top of the second but the Eagles countered with three in the third. Noe singled, stole second and scored on Tommy Buonopane’s double. Anthony Capuano delivered Buonopane with a base hit and eventually scored on Owen Lynch’s groundout.St. John’s created space in the fifth when Andrew Donahue stroked a two-out, two-run bases-loaded single. Buonopane finished with two of the Eagles’ eight hits.St. John’s gets the opportunity to sweep the city of Newton this afternoon when it takes on No. 22 Newton North (12-10), a 5-4 winner against Billerica yesterday.BOYS TENNISMelrose 4, St. Mary’s 1At Lynn, the Spartans (10-8) bowed in their first-ever post-season home match to the Sullivan Rule qualifiers out of the Middlesex League in Div. 3 North action. The first doubles team of Dennis Bertocchi and Chris Blaise won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 for the Spartans’ lone point.”It was a good high school match, a close match, but they were very strong at No. 1 and No. 2 (singles),” said coach John Wynne, who cited his seniors Grant McKinnon, John Skouras and Bertocchi for their strong seasons. “Overall I felt we played well all year and were thrilled to get our first tournament home match.”Cambridge 5, Lynn Classical 0At Cambridge, the No. 12 Rams bowed out in Div. 2 North action, finishing their season at 10-8. Classical returns its lineup intact next season.”We played really hard today and hit a lot of good shots but came up against a really good team. We’re really excited about next season. They’re all coming back and like I told the kids after today’s match, this is just the beginning,” said coach Chris Hayward.Winchester 5, Beverly 0At Winchester, the No. 17 Panthers ran into a perennial Middlesex League powerhouse Saturday and won just a single game, dropping four matches at 0-and-0. The top-seeded Sachems are gunning for their sixth Div. 2 State title in the past seven years. Beverly finished 10-10.GIRLS TENNISIn Div. 1 North, No. 11 Peabody’s first-round match at No. 6 Andover was postponed for a second straight day and will be played Tuesday at 3:30.BOYS LACROSSELincoln-Sudbury 12, St. John’s Prep 6At L-S, the No. 4 Warriors out of the Dual County League doubled up the No. 13 Eagles in Div. 1 East action, capping a 10-10 campaign for St. John’s. L-S won a regular-season meeting between the teams in May, 8-6.