Streaking Danvers still in hunt for Division 2 state baseball crown

LOWELL?The Danvers bats were working on Saturday and Andrew Olszak tossed a complete game as the Falcons lived up to to their No. 1 seeding and defeated No. 10 Beverly, 11-5, to win the Division 2 North sectional championship at LeLacheur Park.
The win was the 16th in a row for Danvers, which made a 4-0 run through the North bracket to improve to 21-3. The Falcons will face South champion Middleborough (19-4) in the state final at 5 p.m Wednesday at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.
Olszak, the Northeastern Conference MVP, gave up five runs on nine hits against Beverly but pitched better than the line suggests, as he had the Panther hitters frustrated most of the time.
?He?s 12-0 this year for a reason,” said Danvers coach Roger Day. “He mixes his pitches and spots his fastball and it always works for him.”
Olszak also contributed on the offensive side, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Beverly came out swinging, starting with Sean Hanlon, who went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and singled to lead off the game. Nick Cotraro, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple, doubled to put runners on second and third. Frank DiOrio was intentionally walked to load the bases, but the Panthers couldn?t capitalize.
Danvers was able to produce in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff walk and a passed ball put Tim Unczur on second, Olszak helped his own cause with an RBI single to center for the game?s first run.
Beverly responded right away with a three-run second. After a walk and a single, Hanlon lined a two-run double down the left field line. Dave Drinkwater followed with an RBI single to put Beverly up, 3-1.
But Danvers scored four runs in the bottom of the second. Devonn Allen started things off with a walk and a stolen base. The bases were loaded for Unczur, who singled up the middle to score one run. Olszak was up next, and he lined a single to center to tie the game. The bases were still loaded for Matt Andreas, who capitalized on his opportunity with a two-run single to give the Falcons a 5-3 lead.
Beverly only notched one hit in the top of the third, but it was a big one. After two errors and a walk loaded the bases, nine-hole hitter Garrett Desmond, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, blooped a two-run single to left field to tie the game, 5-5.
Danvers retook the lead in the bottom of the third when centerfielder Chris Valles scored on a passed ball.
The bottom of the fourth was an inning Beverly would like to forget. The pitching struggled with four consecutive walks. The Panthers had a tough time in the field as well, recording two errors and making some mistakes on where to throw the ball on stolen bases. By the time the inning was over, the Falcons had increased their lead to 11-5.
?We?ve got a ton of athletes on this team, probably more athletes than baseball players,” Day said. “That?s how we score runs?we get people on base. Since we?re not a great hitting team, we do a good job of pressuring throws and making good baserunning decisions. That?s our strength.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.