LYNN — After battling through an intense pitchers’ duel over the first five innings, the St. Mary’s baseball team exploded for four runs in the top of the sixth to knock off Catholic Central League foe Bishop Stang by a score of 4-0 in a CCL Cup semifinal game Sunday afternoon at Fraser Field. With the win, the Spartans have punched their ticket to the CCL Cup Final on Tuesday.
The star of the day for St. Mary’s was junior pitcher Aiven Cabral, who truly showed why he has been the Spartans’ ace since Opening Day. Cabral tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits while striking out 15 batters and walking only two.
On the offensive side of the ball, it was Colby Magliozzi who came up with the game-breaking hit in the top of the sixth. Magliozzi went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI in the win, while Lucas Fritz went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Terence Moynihan went 2-for-3 with a double, while Dante D’Ambrosio (1-for-1) and Tad Giardina (1-for-3) each added a hit.
The Spartans threatened early in this one, getting a two-out double from Moynihan in the top of the first to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. But Stang pitcher Hayden Duke — who pitched a great game of his own until the sixth inning — stood tall on the mound and struck out Giardina to escape the inning unharmed.
In the top of the fourth, two walks, a stolen base and a groundout put runners on second and third with two outs for St. Mary’s. But once again, Duke held strong and got a strikeout to get out of the inning.
Cabral didn’t face any real threat until the bottom of the fifth, when a walk, a stolen base and a groundout put a man on third base with one out for Stang. But Cabral stood up to the challenge, striking out the next two batters to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Then came the big inning for St. Mary’s. It started with two quick outs, but then Moynihan singled to keep the inning alive. Giardina followed with a single of his own to put runners on first and second, then Magliozzi stepped in and laced a two-run double to center field to give St. Mary’s a 2-0 lead. A single and a double steal brought home Magliozzi, then Fritz capped off the Spartans’ scoring with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Cabral did the rest from there, moving 1-2-3 through the bottom of the sixth before shutting things down in the seventh to seal the victory.
St. Mary’s (15-5) will take on Austin Prep in the CCL Cup Final Tuesday (TBD).
