BEVERLY — One Northeastern Conference team remains standing in the state tournament as the Beverly Panthers, winners of Division 2 North, will play for the Eastern Mass. Division 2 state championship tonight (6:30) at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. Standing in Beverly’s way is North Attleborough, the South sectional champion.
North Attleborough comes into the game at 21-2, with losses coming to a pair of “Super 8” teams in Franklin and Mansfield. The Rocketeers, the No. 1 seed in Division 2 South, punched their ticket to the state final with a 16-2 win over Oliver Ames last Saturday.
“From what I understand, they’re a big group physically,” Beverly coach Dave Wilbur said of the Rocketeers. “They’re a confident group and they hit the ball very well.”
Beverly, 20-4 this season, cemented its bid in tonight’s final with a 3-1 win over Masconomet for the Division 2 North crown last Saturday. The win gave Beverly its first Division 2 sectional title in program history. The Panthers also defeated Tewksbury (8-2, first round), St. Mary’s (3-2, quarterfinals) and Burlington (5-1, semifinals) in Division 2 North.
“It’s really about how we play,” Wilbur said. “Through this whole tournament it has been about how we’ve played. We have to play fundamentally sound baseball. We have to throw strikes, play solid defense and come up with timely hits.”
The Panthers have kept their normal practice routine for the past three days in preparing for the Rocketeers. The final tweaks in preparation were capped with a light practice Wednesday afternoon at Beverly High. With a routine that has paid dividends throughout the season, the Panthers see no reason to change things now.
“We don’t change anything,” Wilbur said. “We back off a little bit. We had a really light day Monday. Tuesday we had a full practice. We went over bunt defenses, had a good batting practice. Wednesday we had a nice batting practice.
“The kids will be ready to play,” Wilbur added. “The kids will be rested and that’s important. You have to be sharp mentally and the only way you’ll be sharp mentally is if you’re well rested.”
North Attleborough will hand the ball to Maine commit Nick Sinacola, a right-handed senior. The Panthers will counter with NEC co-MVP Spencer Brown, a senior who’ll play college baseball at Northern Essex. Brown led Beverly past Masconomet in Saturday’s win with seven stellar innings and 10 strikeouts.
With a formidable opponent in North Attleborough, Wilbur and the Panthers know tonight’s game will be a battle from start to finish.
“Another key thing in these games is you have to take the other guy’s punch,” Wilbur said. “Very rarely do you dominate a whole game. We were up 2-0 over St. Mary’s and we knew they’d make a run. Same thing with Burlington and Masconomet. There was a point during the Masconomet game when I went out to the mound after they scored a run and our kids were smiling. That’s when I knew we were fine. We have to withstand the adversity. That’s a huge part of the game.
“You have to be able to understand there’s going to be a time during the game the other team makes a run,” Wilbur added. “That’s a big part of these games. You have to understand that, keep your poise and execute as best you can in those pressure situations.”
After back-to-back first round exits in the state tournament over the past two seasons, the Panthers aren’t taking anything for granted this time around. Wilbur has stressed the importance of enjoying the moment to his players, 11 of whom are seniors, and feels they understand the message.
“This is a once in a lifetime experience for these kids,” Wilbur said. “I want them to enjoy it. I want them to feel good about the experience. These are great memories for them.They kid each other about who’s talking to who and what they’re going to say. It’s fun and we want it to be fun. They’ve earned that.
Wilbur added, “We’re hoping to represent the North Shore well and hopefully we can bring this thing home to Beverly High.”
