Hanlon’s blast leads Beverly into North semifinals

The Beverly baseball team went through a rough patch in the middle of the season but coach Dave Wilbur?s Panthers have put all the pieces together at the most opportune of times.
On Tuesday, the 10th-seeded Panthers stunned No. 15 Boston Latin with five two-out runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, capped by Sean Hanlon?s three-run homer that pushed Beverly to a 7-5 win in the Division 2 North quarterfinals.
The Panthers (13-9) will face No. 3 Masconomet (19-3) on Thursday in the sectional semifinals.
?We?re playing some good ball right now and we have confidence,” Wilbur said. “The kids have hung in there through some tough losses and we hung in again (Tuesday).”
Things started out well for Beverly as it grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Ted Leathersich reached on error and scored on Nick Cotraro?s single.
Nerves, it seemed, got the betters of the Panthers as errors helped the Wolfpack take a 2-1 lead into the third. That?s when Beverly?s Mike Courchene singled and scored on an outfield error in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, 2-2.
Boston Latin (11-11) took the lead back with two runs in the top of the fourth against Panthers starter Anthony Morrissey. David Drinkwater entered in relief to start the fifth and slammed the door on the Wolfpack the rest of the way, working three scoreless innings.
His solid relief work gave the Panthers a chance to rally, which they did in the sixth. Cotraro led off with a walk before back-to-back hit batters loaded the bases with no outs.
Two straight strikeouts followed before Gavin Sparkman singled sharply to the game, 4-4. Hanlon was next up and he blasted a long homer to left to break the tie.?The kids wanted to win so badly that they were putting too much pressure on themselves,” Wilbur said. “When it wasn?t going well, we brought them together and told them to relax and play their game. In the tournament, it?s all about moving on. Style points aren?t important.”