DANVERS — The St. John’s Prep baseball team will take the diamond at Fenway Park Saturday morning (10:30) when the Eagles play Catholic Conference foe Xaverian prior to Boston College’s 7th Annual ALS Awareness game.
St. John’s comes into the game at 2-2, splitting their first four games of the season. The Eagles defeated Haverhill on the road in a 5-0 shutout victory earlier this week. Joe Muzio collected two RBI and Mike Yarin logged two extra-base hits. Garrett Siegel picked up the win on the mound.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Eagles coach Dan Letarte said. “Our pitchers have a 0.50 ERA this season, so the pitching has definitely been there. The hitters are really starting to come around. I feel we’re moving in the right direction.”
With a conference win on the line Saturday, the Eagles will have to bring their A game to cap their Fenway memories with a win.
“It’s an important league game,” Letarte said. “The winner that comes out of that is in better shape in the league. The losing team faces a little bit of an uphill battles. The key here is we need to execute. Hopefully the butterflies will leave early.”
St. John’s will hand the ball to Jake Sanderson. A senior right-hander, Sanderson’s 0-1 this spring with a 0.74 ERA. Letarte knows the Hawks have speed on their side, meaning the key for the Eagles will be keeping Xaverian off the bases.
“Xaverian has a great pitching staff, good hitting and they have speed,” Letarte said. “It’s a typical Catholic Conference game. They have a lot of team speed so we have to keep their runners off the bases.”
Tickets for the single-admission doubleheader are $10. The St. John’s-Xaverian game will be followed by an Athletic Coast Conference game between Boston College and Florida State, scheduled for 3 p.m. Tickets for the single-admission doubleheader are on sale now at redsox.com/alsgame. There is no rain date.
All proceeds from the two games will benefit the Peter Frates Home Health Initiative. Pete Frates, a 2003 St. John’s graduate who played baseball at both the Prep and Boston College, has been living with ALS for six years. Frates is a native of Beverly.
“We’re just proud the back of our jerseys will say ‘Frates,'” Letarte said. “They’re already up to over $260 million raised for ALS research. We’re excited to keep that going at St. John’s Prep. there’s definitely a goal to this. That’s the most important thing over baseball.
“The kids are very excited,” Letarte added. “We couldn’t think about it much until after we beat Haverhill. It should be a fun and exciting event. Families are excited about it. It’s something that these kids and their families will cherish forever. It’s always something they’ll look back on. We’re thankful for it. It’s an ALS benefit for Pete Frates, who played for our program. It’s a great day for a great cause.”
St. John’s plays two games against top-notch competition Saturday. After the morning game at Fenway, the Eagles will commute to Catholic Memorial for an evening (5) tilt against Walpole.
