Baseball: English’s Bowden shuts down Beverly offense late

The English baseball team was clinging to a one-run lead at Beverly for the majority of the game. Bulldog star pitcher Ben Bowden quieted the Panther offense late in the game and preserved that one-run lead in a 5-4 victory at Beverly Wednesday.The Bulldogs had a 2-1 lead through three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers struck for three runs to take the lead 4-2. English (2-2) answered right away in the top of the fifth. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the frame, with catcher Drew Gentile hitting the game-winning RBI double, which scored Matt Merritt. English starter Bowden was able to take care of the rest. Bowden held the Beverly offense silent for the final three innings (7 innings, 4 runs, 1 earned run, 8 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts).”This was a very good high school baseball game,” said English coach Joe Caponigro. “Bowden was once again terrific, and we really needed him to be against a team as talented as Beverly.”Anthony Delacruz led the charge for the Bulldog offense (2 hits, run scored, RBI).Lowell Catholic 7, St. Mary’s 3At Fraser Field, the Spartans trailed 4-2 through four innings, but Lowell scored three runs in the top of the sixth, which was too much for St. Mary’s to overcome.Click here for a photo gallery.St. Mary’s walked 10 batters, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Spartan duo of Ryan Madden (2-4, double, RBI, 2 stolen bases) and Justin O’Blenes (2-4) led the way. St. Mary’s is now 3-2.Revere 12, Salem 3At Salem State, the game was tied 2-2 at the end of the fourth inning. Revere exploded for a seven-run top of the fifth to sprint away from Salem. Leading the charge for the Patriots was John Papasodora (4-5, 4 RBI).”We did a lot of the little things today and executed them perfectly,” said Revere coach Nick Faggas. “We played very good fundamental ball today and it was nice to see. We are taking baby steps but we are on the upswing right now, which is great.”Noah Jaynes had a strong performance on the mound for Revere (5 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 strikeouts). Revere has now won two in a row (2-3).Fenwick 4, Austin Prep 0At Fenwick, senior Andrew Lessard hurled a complete-game shutout, giving up four hits, walking two and hitting a batter. Gianni Esposito scored a run and knocked one in for the 4-1 Crusaders. The game lasted only one hour and 20 minutes.St. John’s 12, Hopkinton 2St. John’s 6, Hopkinton 1At St. John’s, the Eagles had no problems scoring in the first game of the doubleheader. St. John’s scored two runs in both the first and second innings, and scored eight runs in the third. Brendan Bingel had another solid performance on the hill (4 innings, 7 strikeouts, 1 unearned run, 1 hit). Bingel also helped himself out at the dish (2 hits, 2 RBI). The trio of Nick Pargolli (2 hits, 3 RBI), Paul Crehan (3 hits, RBI) and Alex Moore (2 hits, RBI) provided the St. John’s offense.The second game was tighter, as the Eagles led 2-1 through four innings. St. John’s scored four runs in the top of the fifth to provide breathing room. Keith Leavitt hit a two-run double and Alex Moore hit a two-run single in the frame. St. John’s improved to 7-1.North Reading 19, Tech 5At North Reading, Tech trailed 10-0 at the end of the first inning. The Tigers fought back and cut the lead in half (10-5), but the was the closest they would get. Luis Falcon had a strong day on the mound in a relief appearance (4 innings, 2 earned runs). Tech is now 1-3.