LOWELL— Make room for another state championship banner on Tremont Street.
Behind seven masterful innings from ace Bobby Alcock and ounces of timely hitting in the form of two RBI singles, the St. Mary’s baseball team blanked Hopkinton 2-0 in the Division 2 state final Saturday at Alumni Field.
St. Mary’s last won the state championship in 2015, back when the Spartans were in Division 3. They opted up to Division 2 in 2018.
Alcock struck out eight and allowed just one hit. He finished the postseason with 22 shutout innings over three starts.
“Bobby just pounded the strike zone,” St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana, who won two Division 3 state titles at St. Mary’s as a player (1987, 1988) and coached the Spartans’ 2015 team, said. “When we needed to make a play behind him, we made the play behind him.”
Colin Reddy and Kory Ouellette scored a run apiece on RBI singles from Jared Coppola and Lee Pacheco.
St. Mary’s offense made things tough on itself in this one. The Spartans ran themselves out of four promising innings with mistakes on the basepaths. They were picked off three times and thrown out on two steal attempts.
Luckily for the Spartans, their defense returned the favor. Hopkinton ran into four outs of its own on the bases.
Alcock sent the Hillers down 1-2-3 in a quick top of the first. Reddy walked to lead the bottom of the first but was picked off at first base. Coppola laced a 2-out single to no avail. The next few innings were highlighted by base running miscues. St. Mary’s kept Hopkinton scoreless by ending the top of the second on a pick off and throwing out a runner attempting to steal in the top of the third. Pacheco singled to start the bottom of the second but was thrown out stealing second base after a strikeout and a fly out.
Richie Pagliuca walked with one out in the bottom of the third and advanced to third base on an errant pick off attempt. St. Mary’s opted for a suicide squeeze and it backfired, with Pagliuca picked off at third and Reddy striking out to end the frame.
St. Mary’s finally found the board in the fourth. Kyle Ouellette led with a walk and took second base on a passed ball. Pinch-runner Kory Ouellette advanced to third base on John Mulready’s fly out to right field. Pacheco (2-for-2, RBI) followed with a clutch RBI single, plating Kory Ouellette for a 1-0 Spartans lead.
“We knew they had three good pitchers and it was probably going to be a 1-run game,” Dana said. “Fortunately it turned into a 2-run game. But we told them, ‘you have to stay patient.’ We had to put the ball in play. We were able to execute well enough to get the runs for the win.”
Alcock retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings. He worked around a 1-out walk in the sixth with a pick off and two strikeouts.
The Spartans tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Reddy was hit by a pitch to start the rally. He took second base on a wild pitch and third base on Kyle Ouellette’s groundout. In stepped No. 3 hitter Coppola (2-for-3, RBI), who roped a RBI single to score Reddy. Hopkinton avoided further damage with a 6-4-3 double play.
“Jared doesn’t let the moment get too big,” Dana said. “He executes. That was huge. We needed that breathing room.”
A leadoff walk gave Hopkinton hope in the seventh. Alcock iced the victory with two punchouts and a fielder’s choice.
St. Mary’s finishes the season 19-5.
