SWAMPSCOTT — You might say, the postgame hot dogs and hamburgers tasted a little better than usual at Frank DeFelice Diamond Saturday afternoon. That was because a shutout victory in the state tournament was in the books.
“Survive and advance, as they say,” said coach Joe Caponigro, whose No. 28 Big Blue took care of No. 37 Boston Latin Academy, 4-0, ahead of the victory cookout.
The win set up a date with No. 6 Tantasqua Regional in Sunday’s Round of 32, but that would be it. Swampscott fell, 2-0, despite strong pitching from Jamison Ford, bringing its final regular season record to 12-10.
But with nine freshmen on the varsity roster, you could say it was a strong spring – especially Saturday. Right-hander Jack Spear – who also slings it at Blocksidge Field as a starting quarterback – punched out nine Latin batters.
“Jack Spear was terrific, as he’s been all year,” Caponigro said. “That’s his fourth win. … Any time he goes to the mound, you have a chance to win.”
He went the distance, allowing just four hits – all singles.
“I thought it was a great game and their pitcher was tough,” said Latin coach Justin Curley.
Curley’s Dragons played well until the sixth inning, conceding just one Swampscott run, brought in by Frank Pappalardo to score Chase Groothuis in the fourth (1-0).
Like most in state tournament play, Curley said he didn’t know much about the opponent.
“Not a ton,” he said. “I know they’re in a good league (Northeastern Conference) and always well-coached. I don’t know if we had any common opponents, but we battled.”
Battled, indeed, especially starting pitcher Jack Shapiro, who racked up six strikeouts before being relieved in the sixth.
“He had a good breaking ball and they must’ve done their scouting report,” Caponigro said. “There were a lot of breaking balls and they had a lot of success. Hats off to him.”
If the Big Blue were knocking on the door through five innings, they kicked it in by the sixth. Jason Bouffard and Pappalardo picked up RBI, while Ford tapped home to make it 4-0. Other key plays included a Michael Collins bunt single to load the bases, as well as Groothuis’ hard-hit double to get the rally started.
“Chase at third base, that was a big hit, leading off the sixth inning with that gap,” Caponigro said. “He’s been playing well for us all year.”
And not once, but twice, did catcher Collins gun down opponents trying to steal second base.
“He’s terrific… he’s very good,” Caponigro said. “He hits very well and he’s an on-base machine.”
From there, a few Latin errors haunted the visitors, and Spear delivered the final scare in the seventh to polish off his complete game.
“We just left a few too many guys on base,” said Curley, whose Dragons checked out at 13-10. “We were on the younger side [with] only one senior on the roster. We return everyone [next season] except for two.”
Despite Swampscott’s season in the rearview, it came with 12 victories, a state tournament win, and an NEC All-Star in Nick Berube.
“I tell them: throw strikes, make average plays, hit just a little bit, and you’ll be OK,” Caponigro said.
