BOSTON — After winning the MIAA Division 2 state championship in 2019 and being forced to miss the 2020 season due to the pandemic, the St. Mary’s High School baseball team successfully defended its title this year, defeating Hopkinton in the championship game last month.
On Monday, the Spartans were invited to visit Gov. Charlie Baker at the State House, where the team received a citation honoring their achievement and presented the governor with a St. Mary’s baseball jersey.
After starting the 2021 season 6-5, St. Mary’s won 14 of its last 15 games, including five in the MIAA tournament. Dating back to 2019, the Spartans have won their last nine state tournament games.
St. Mary’s was led by junior pitcher Aiven Cabral, who went 8-0 with a 0.54 ERA and two saves. Cabral, who has a career record of 14-0, was named Item Player of the Year, as well as Boston Globe All-Scholastic and Boston Herald Div. 2 Player of the Year.
This was the fifth state championship for the St. Mary’s baseball program, which also won it in 1987, 1988 and 2015. St. Mary’s head coach Derek Dana and assistant coach Tim Fila played on the ’87 and ’88 championship teams.
The title also kept an impressive streak alive for the school’s athletic program, as St. Mary’s has won at least one state championship for 14 straight years — despite the MIAA having no spring tournaments in 2020 and no fall or winter tournaments this year.
