By the time the St. Mary’s baseball team throws the first pitch of its Division 2 North first round game this coming Monday, it will have been two full years since the Spartans hoisted the Div. 2 state championship trophy after taking down Hopkinton on June 22, 2019.
Now, after a lost season and a largely new group of faces, the Spartans are finally ready to defend their state title.
“This group of seniors lost their junior year and they’re giving it everything they have this year, but they never really got to experience that feeling of having everyone gunning for you as the team to beat last year,” said St. Mary’s Coach Derek Dana. “It’s definitely a different dynamic this year because we have freshmen and sophomores who are stepping up and playing in key spots as well. But we’re feeling pretty good for the most part going into the tournament — we just need to clean up a few things and we’ll take it from there.”
St. Mary’s enters this year’s tournament with the No. 6 seed after going 15-6 and finishing as CCL Cup runner-up to Austin Prep. The Spartans will have a preliminary-round bye to start off the tournament, then they’ll host the winner of No. 11 Greater Lowell and No. 22 Burlington Monday afternoon (4) at Fraser Field.
Elsewhere in Division 2 North, Marblehead earned the No. 5 seed with a 13-4 record and a share of the Northeastern Conference South Division title — good enough to get a preliminary-round bye. The Magicians, who have a depth of pitching talent that could come in handy with the new pitch count rules in effect this year, will host the winner of No. 12 Whittier Tech and No. 21 Belmont Monday (4) at Seaside Park.
The Division 1 North bracket boasts five area teams, with the No. 3 Lynn English Bulldogs leading the way. English went 7-2 and won the Greater Boston League title to earn the three seed and a preliminary-round bye. The Bulldogs will go up against a familiar foe in the first round, however, as they will host the winner of No. 14 Peabody and No. 19 Lynn Classical Monday night (7) at Fraser Field.
Just behind English is No. 4 St. John’s Prep, which closed out the regular season at 10-3 and earned a preliminary-round bye. The Eagles will take on the winner of No. 13 Chelmsford and No. 20 Malden Monday (4) at Pete Frates Field.
Revere slots in as the No. 7 seed after going 6-3 in a shortened GBL season, earning a preliminary-round bye. The Patriots will host the winner of No. 10 Lexington and No. 23 Newton South Monday afternoon (4) at Revere High.
Peabody and Classical slotted in at No. 14 and No. 19, respectively, and the two teams will face off in the preliminary round Friday (4) for a chance to take on English in the next round.
Four local teams grabbed a spot in the Division 3 North bracket, with the highest seed going to No. 14 Swampscott. The Big Blue went 7-7 in a tough Northeastern Conference, with a number of their losses coming by two runs or less. The story was similar for Saugus this year, as the Sachems went 5-9 and earned the No. 19 seed. Swampscott and Saugus will play in the preliminary round Friday afternoon (4) at Forest Avenue Park, with the winner moving on to face No. 3 Boston Latin Monday.
The other two local teams in the Division 3 North bracket will also face off against each other, with No. 15 Lynnfield (7-8) hosting No. 18 Bishop Fenwick (8-11) in the preliminary round Friday afternoon (4) at Lynnfield High. The game, which is a rematch of the 2019 Division 3 North Final (won by Fenwick), will decide who moves on to face No. 2 Brighton in the next round Monday.
The Winthrop baseball team is the only local squad in the Division 4 North bracket, earning the No. 9 seed after going 5-12 during the regular season. The Vikings will travel to No. 8 Georgetown for a first-round game Monday afternoon (4), with the winner moving on to face No. 1 Snowden Wednesday.
