BROCKTON — There are games where you have to credit your opponent for beating you fair and square. Then there are games where you make costly mistakes and you beat yourself.
The latter was the feeling the No. 3 St. John’s Prep baseball team walked away with after Saturday morning’s 7-6 loss to No. 7 Franklin in the Division 1A “Super 8” winners’ bracket at Campanelli Stadium. St. John’s committed key errors, including a dropped pop-fly in the fifth inning, and the miscues hurt the Eagles.
“We beat ourselves,” Eagles coach Dan Letarte said. “It came down to some things that we should’ve executed and we didn’t.”
With the loss, St. John’s falls into the losers’ bracket and draws a must-win clash against No. 8 Walpole Tuesday afternoon (4) in Brockton. St. John’s defeated Walpole, 7-2, during the regular season. A win keeps St. John’s alive in the tournament while a loss ends the Eagles season.
“We beat them earlier in the year and they’re good,” Letarte said. “We faced their No. 3 pitcher but they’re coming back with their ace Tuesday. It’s going to be a tough game. We just have to take it one at-bat at a time. We’re not going to score eight or nine runs, we’ll have to scratch them.”
Eagles starting pitcher Sean Letarte didn’t piece together his best effort but managed to keep St. John’s close in his 3-plus innings of work. Letarte allowed three earned runs on three hits and walked three. Matt Relihan pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief, Garrett Siegel tossed 1 1/3 and Kevin Dewing logged Franklin’s out.
“Sean was off today,” Letarte said. “I didn’t like that two spot in the first inning. He settled down a little bit after that. We were looking to get four innings out of him. Relihan came in and he pitched very well.”
The Panthers made the most of a pair of walks in the first inning to crawl out to an early lead on a two-RBI single from Cooper Ross. Michael Yarin (4-for-5, three RBI) got St. John’s on the board in the bottom half with a RBI single, plating Alex Lane (1-for-5, two RBI) who reached on an error.
Down 2-1, the Eagles claimed the lead in the bottom of the third with a three-run rally. St. John’s loaded the bases with Sean Lang (walk), Josh Cerretani (fielder’s choice) and Tyler MacGregor (walk) each reaching. Lane followed with a two-RBI single to give St. John’s a 3-2 lead. Jacob Bolger (2-for-5, RBI) added a sac-fly to boost the lead to 4-2.
Steven Luttazi hit a solo home-run to start the top of the fourth, slimming Franklin’s deficit to 4-3.
The Panthers tied the game in the fifth, with help from a huge St. John’s miscue. With one out and a Franklin runner on second, Relihan induced a pop-fly. However, miscommunication from St. John’s part led to a dropped ball and Franklin had runners on first and third. Jack Nally made the Eagles pay with a sac-fly, tying the game at 4-4.
“They jumped on our mistakes and they scored,” Letarte said. “They’re a good hitting team.
“They weren’t hitting the ball too well during the year but those kids, up and down, they pop the baseball,” Letarte added. “They came ready to play.”
Scott Elliot’s three-RBI triple placed Franklin ahead, 7-4, in the eighth. Max Freedman doubled and William Potdevin singled in the bottom of the eighth but Franklin escaped the threat.
Showing no quit, Yarin hit a two-run homer in bottom of the ninth but the Eagles fell one run short in the 7-6 loss.
“I was hoping we’d get another guy on base for Yarin,” Letarte said. “I had a feeling he was going to hit one out and he did. He said, ‘get me the bases loaded coach, I’ll hit one out of here.’ I knew he would. It’s his third year in the ‘Super 8.’ I just wish we had another guy on base.”
