FILE PHOTO
Corey Bleau, right, and Adrian Espinal were instrumental in Swampscott’s win over Shawsheen Saturday.
By SCOT COOPER
BILLERICA — When the head coach says the only mistake made in a ball game was his — sending a runner home, only to be thrown out — everything else is probably acceptable.
Swampscott coach Jason Calichman was pleased with the pitching, the hitting and the defense in a 9-1 win Saturday afternoon against Shawsheen in the D3 North first round matchup.
Swampscott (14-7) shortstop Adrian Espinal teed off on an 0-2 fastball from Rams starter Alex Tate with one out in the second, and it landed in the trees behind the center-field fence to get things rolling for the No. 10 seed.
Swampscott starter Corey Bleau gave up a run in the second to tie the game, but his team came back with the final eight runs, sending the Blue to quarterfinals against either Austin Prep or Bishop Fenwick Tuesday (4). The location depends on who wins the Austin-Fenwick game, which was postponed until today.
The top six Swampscott batters lit up Tate and his replacement Dan McCrevan, scoring one in the first, three in the third, three in the fifth and a pair in the top of the seventh. The Blue’s 1-6 hitters blasted 12 hits and drove in seven runs between them, scoring one run on an infield error and the other on a wild pitch to make it nine.
Calichman said that his team attacked the Rams in the first inning, didn’t stop until the final out, and his Bleau was on top of his game from the first pitch until the last pitch.
“Our pitching has been outstanding all year, and it was outstanding again today. Corey was great for us, and when we’re swinging the bat, aggressively, like we did today, we are a very tough team to play against,” Calichman said.
Bleau said that he just concentrates on throwing strikes, and waits for his team to get him some runs and make the plays in the field.
“I had a lot of confidence early, when Adrian (Espinal) hit that home run in the first,” Bleau, from Nahant, said. “I was throwing my split-finger (fastball) and my curveball pretty well, lot of strikes, and the guys did their jobs behind me and at the plate.”
Espinal led the way with three RBI, smacking a two-run single in the fifth to go with his solo blast. DH Matt Hubauer knocked in two runs on two singles; Leo Wile drove in a pair with a sacrifice fly in the third and a base hit in the fifth. Bleau helped himself in the third when he plated Hubauer with a smash off the center-field fence.
Espinal, a Northeastern Conference All-Star, said that his team always gets good pitching, and it’s up to the guys with the bats to get it done at the plate.
“Corey was excellent today, he’s been great all year for us,” Espinal said. “We got an early lead, and when this team gets an early lead, with our pitching, we are very tough to beat.”
