St. Mary’s wins a long-awaited state title

WORCESTER – Brendan O?Neill tossed a complete game shutout on Saturday at Holy Cross to propel the St. Mary?s Spartans to their first state championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988.
?They went out and they did it,” said Spartans coach Derek Dana after the 3-0 victory over Mount Greylock in the Division 3 state final. “Outstanding job from start to finish. We came a long way; at one point in the season we were 5-4. The kids redirected themselves, started paying attention to the little things, and then they really got rolling.”
After that 5-4 start, the Spartans went 15-2, including a 6-0 roll in tourney play to finish the season 20-6.
O?Neill was the star both on the mound and at the plate in the state title game. He drove in the first run in the fourth after Antonio Felix reached on a single.
O?Neill helped the Spartans add some insurance runs in the sixth, driving in Brady McLaughlin with a double after McLaughlin reached on an error. O?Neill later scored on a heads-up play, tagging up on Brent Lozzi?s shallow fly ball to the outfield and moving to third. The Mounties argued that he left second base too soon, and O?Neill took advantage of their confusion, scooting home as the ball was still in play.
The Spartans squandered some good opportunities on the bases early. In the third, Clay Yianacopolus drew a leadoff walk and Donnie Weisse walked with one out. An error loaded the bases with one out, but Yianacopolus was cut down at the plate after a ground ball back to the pitcher, and Weisse was tagged out in a rundown after trying to score on a wild pitch that bounced back quickly to the catcher.
But the missed chances turned out to be inconsequential, as O?Neill settled in and shut down Mount Greylock (21-4) in the late innings.
O?Neill fanned nine batters and allowed just three hits against a Mounties offense that hadn?t scored less than seven runs in any playoff game leading up to Saturday.
?We heard about (their offense), but we didn?t know much about them ? we had no idea,” O?Neill said. “After I started hitting my spots I felt more comfortable and knew it was going to be a good day if we could get a few runs across.”
It was a tough road for the Spartans to reach the top of their division. As the sixth seed in the Division 3 North field, they had to get past some of the best teams in the area, like Arlington Catholic in the North quarterfinals and top seed Austin Prep in the finals.
?It?s awesome. It hasn?t really sunk in yet,” O?Neill said of the win. “After we beat Arlington Catholic, that was a big win and our confidence was sky high.”
After a 10-inning affair against Austin Prep and a last at-bat victory against East Bridgewater in the state semifinals, the 3-0 win in the final was a little less of a nail-biter for the Spartans.
?They came together as a team, we had a lot of tight games, extra-inning games, one-run games, we had to get a couple breaks, but today we got a super clean performance,” said Dana. “It started on the mound with (O?Neill), he?s pitched good games for us all year long, and today was the best of the best.”
The offense did its job against Mount Greylock, whose starter, Ian Brink, allowed just five hits, the least the team has allowed in any playoff game. But the Spartans found ways to score runs.
?(Brink) was excellent, and we were able to get the bat on the ball early and got some confidence, even if they weren?t hits,” said Dana. “We ran ourselves into a couple outs. What we?ve talked about all year, it?s a cliche, but with this group in particular, they really needed to stay together.
?This season they found out the hard way, and they?ve really put that together. Next guy up, next guy up, and that?s what they did today.”Katie Morrison may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KatieMo61.