LYNN — There isn’t much that needs to be said about what’s at stake for the St. Mary’s baseball team Saturday in the Division 2 state final. The Spartans are one win away from reaching their ultimate goal of bringing a state title to Tremont Street- the program’s first since 2015.
But the Spartans know it won’t be easy. Standing in their way is South sectional champion Hopkinton, an opponent St. Mary’s isn’t taking lightly.
“We’ve tried to get as much information on Hopkinton as we can,” Spartans coach Derek Dana said. “I’ve told the kids from the start that we respect our opponent but our concern is on how we play. If we come ready to play, we can play with anybody.
“The kids are staying focused,” Dana said. “They’re practicing hard and making sure everyone’s ready to go. We have a great opportunity in front of us.”
Through its run to the state final, St. Mary’s has been pushed to the brink. It took the Spartans eight innings to defeat Belmont 1-0 in the Division 2 North quarterfinal. Kory Ouellette entered the game as a pinch-runner and scored the winning run on a passed ball. In the semifinal, Greater Lowell gave St. Mary’s everything it had before falling short, 2-1. Bobby Alcock tossed seven shutout innings and recorded his 300th career strikeout in a 5-0 win over Woburn for the Division 2 North title. Coppola knocked in two RBI, while John Mulready and Lee Pacheco cashed in on Woburn errors.
“I give the kids credit,” Dana, who won two Division 3 state championships (1987, 1988) as a player for longtime Spartans coach Jim Tgettis, said. “They came in focused from last year. We saw how special the state tournament is. The further you go, the better it feels. I think these guys knew that from the beginning.”
St. Mary’s expects another wire-to-wire battle from Hopkinton. The Hillers, the top seed in Division 2 South, defeated Milton, Stoughton and Westwood en route to their sectional title.
“We have to take care of the little things,” Dana said. “We have to do more than they can. We have to make pitches, come up with timely hits, back up the bases, run the bases well. In the tournament a lot of times it comes down to one or two plays. We have to make sure we’re on the right side of those.”
Pitching, undoubtedly, has carried the Spartans during the postseason. Alcock blanked Belmont and Woburn, and has struck out 15 over 15 innings. Aiven Cabral gave the Spartans a solid start in the win over Greater Lowell and Jared Coppola provided the relief.
“It starts with pitching,” Dana said. “Our guys have been pounding the strike zone, keeping the ball down. It gets followed up with good team defense. We got timely hitting the first few games and we got some breathing room against Woburn. To get it done you need to play total team baseball.
“We have everyone on full rest,” Dana said. “We’re ready to go. Everyone’s available and that’s a good thing.”
Offensively, the Spartans underwent their struggles early on in the regular season. But, like the 2015 team that won the Division 3 state title, the bats found their footing when they had to.
“The seniors have done a great job getting it done on the field,” Dana said. “We have a great group of juniors. It took a little bit but the lineup has been solidified. That was kind of the thing in 2015. It took a bit for the lineup to be solidified. We put it together and we played consistent baseball. Now we have one more.”
The Spartans hope to continue what has been a banner year for St. Mary’s athletics. The school’s golf team repeated as the Division 3 state champion during the fall. The football, boys soccer and girls basketball teams also reached their respective state finals.
“I think a lot of it starts with the school itself,” Dana said, “and the leadership that’s in place. (Athletic director) Jeff Newhall certainly does an outstanding job, as do all the other coaches. I think they do a good job of understanding what a student-athlete is. They’re there to encourage and support the student-athletes.”
Dana said his final message to the Spartans honed in on keeping their eyes on the prize while playing as a unit.
“We need to be focused for every pitch, until the last out,” Dana said. “We have to finish the game. As long as the scoreboard’s still on, anybody has a chance. We tell the kids to start fast, play hard and finish.
“I learned from Coach Tgettis,” Dana said. “We stay together, play together, we go out and try to win together.”
First pitch for Satruday’s game is scheduled for noon at Lowell’s Alumni Field.
