LYNN — When it’s not your day, it’s not your day — such was the case for No. 1 St. Mary’s, which fell to No. 16 Apponequet Regional, 8-3, Wednesday evening at Fraser Field.
One big inning from the Lakers was the difference in the Division 3 showdown. Apponequet scored five runs in the fourth inning, flipping a 3-1 St. Mary’s lead into a 6-3 advantage.
In the top of the fifth, with two men on, Apponequet lofted a pop fly into shallow left field near the foul line. Shortstop Michael DeMaino sprinted and dove for the ball. DeMaino bobbled it as he came down, but appeared to trap the ball against his chest and secure the catch. St. Mary’s, assuming the ball was caught, threw to second and first for what could have been a triple play.
However, after all three umpires gathered for a few minutes to discuss the call, they ultimately ruled the ball was dropped, leaving the bases loaded with no outs.
St. Mary’s Coach Derek Dana shared what one of the umpires told him.
“He had the ball hitting the ground, then the hand, and I told him I had it otherwise — as did a lot of other people,” Dana said. “I said it’s a state tournament game and we had to get that call right. I have to be honest, though. Did it help them? Sure. But that didn’t kill the game because we were able to keep it as small as we could. We gave up hits to guys lower in the order and fumbled the ball around.”
After falling behind, the Spartans couldn’t string together hits — an issue that plagued them for stretches this spring.
“The biggest thing — and the message all year — has been that you’ve got to compete in the batter’s box and come up big with runners on,” Dana said. “We had several opportunities with the bases loaded and guys on in the first three innings. We could have made a big difference.”
St. Mary’s first run came in the bottom of the first when Kyle Doney ripped a triple to center field, scoring DeMaino to tie the game (1-1).
The Spartans added two more in the third inning when Shea Newhall hit a two-run single to center field (3-1).
After reaching the state finals last season, expectations were high for this year’s squad. But for seniors Josh Doney, Cam McGonagle, Jared Paone, Jaiden Driscoll, Jack Zimmerman, and Newhall, it was the last time they cleaned out the dugout at Fraser Field.
“I thanked the team. These seniors had a good three-year run,” Dana said. “We set some goals this year that we accomplished: getting the No. 1 seed, winning both city tournaments. We got a lot out of them and they put a lot of work into this season. But I was also honest with them and told them today, we didn’t really play well in any facet of the game. We had chances to blow it open, we had defensive miscues, and we gave up hits we haven’t all year.”
Apponequet advances to face the winner of No. 8 Weston-No. 9 North Reading.
