Baseball Roundup: Classical will ride walk-off win into state tournament

With the MIAA Division 2 baseball tournament set to begin on Wednesday, Lynn Classical is hoping to carry over the kind of flare for the dramatic exhibited in its 4-3, walk-off victory over Beverly on Friday night at Fraser Field.
Trailing by two entering the final frame, the Rams roared back, capped by a three-run triple by Brandon Devin, who was named a Northeastern Conference all-star earlier in the day.
?He was stinging the ball all night long, but didn?t see any results until that last at bat,” said Classical coach Mike Zukowski of the Rams? designated hitter. “I guess you could say that he proved he belongs on the all-star team tonight.”
Andrew Moccia got on base the hard way in the seventh, after being hit by a pitch to begin the inning. Walks to Joe Tardiff and NEC-all star Damien Earp set up Devin?s winning knock to right-center.
Classical (14-6, 11-5 Northeastern/Large) broke the ice in the bottom of the first with NEC-all star Tyler Way reaching on a single and stealing second before a pair of balks allowed him to score.
The Panthers responded with three unanswered runs beginning in the fourth. A sacrifice fly from Anthony Morrisey, scoring fellow NEC-all star Ted Leathersich (triple).
Beverly would grab the lead on a Ricky Johnson sacrifice fly in the sixth before expanding its advantage in its final trips, thanks to three errors from the host?s defense.
?We played well in spurts with a five-game and six-game winning streak mixed in,” said Zukowski of the season. “We ran into a couple bumps in the road but we managed to keep a level head the whole way.”
St. Mary?s 8, Lowell Catholic 0
Ryan Borders (3-for-3, 2 runs) and Antonio Felix knocked in two runs each, leading the visiting Spartans to a victory in their regular-season finale.
Matt Costanza earned the victory, yielding just three hits over four innings before turning the ball over to Brendan O?Neill, who allowed three hits the rest of the way.
Coach Derek Dana thinks St. Mary?s (14-6) is in line for a top eight seeding in the upcoming Division 3 North state sectional, after finishing second in the Catholic Central League (8-4).
Danvers 9, Saugus 4
The Falcons wrapped up a stellar regular season with a victory over the host Sachems, led by Corey Crossley (3-for-4, RBI) and Northeastern Conference MVP Andrew Olszak (2-for-4, RBI).
?He?s contributed in so many different ways. In his four years here, (Olszak) has been as special as any player I?ve been fortunate enough to come across,” said Danvers coach Roger Day.
For the Sachems, NEC all-stars Kyle Autillo and Dan Cacciola had two hits apiece along with Jay Cub Lever and Johnny Prentiss.
Swampscott 8, Winthrop 1
A complete-game effort from Northeastern Conference all-star Corey Bleau, featuring eight strikeouts, helped the Big Blue ease past the visiting Vikings.
Fellow all-star Adrian Espinal hit a solo home run in the second before Ryan Cresta tacked on a three-run shot an inning later.
Anthony Ross finished 3-for-4 with a double for Swampscott (13-6, 11-5), which wraps up its regular season Saturday at home against Weston.
Foxborough Charter 6, KIPP 4
Nick Gross pitched a strong game for the Panthers, who rallied from four runs down before succumbing in the bottom of the fifth.
With its regular season wrapped up, KIPP (7-3-1) now moves on to theMassachusetts Charter School Athletic Organization tournament, its first postseason appearance in program history.