HYANNIS — The Saint John Paul II baseball team has only played in two postseason games, but they showed no signs last night of slowing down any time soon.
St. John Paul II’s Blake Waters tags out Marian High School’s Zach MacGregor who was subsequently ejected from the game after arguing the call.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
The Lions’ offense exploded for 20 hits at McKeon Park on Monday evening and pushed across 17 runs as St. John Paul II won its second consecutive postseason game in just six innings via the 15-run mercy rule — this time in a 17-2 victory over Marian in the Div. 3 South Sectional quarterfinals.
For the third consecutive season, the Lions will play in the sectional semifinal game, this time against #13 seed Monomoy (13-7) at a time and date to be determined. The location is also to be announced, but it will be played at a neutral site.
After the game, Lions’ head coach Mark Santos said he believes his young team is playing their best ball of the season.
“I think we’ve kind of jelled and we are a young team but have gotten better as the season has gone on. I think that Barnstable loss was a good thing for us, you want to win them all but that forced us to go back to basics and we’ve been working hard on that stuff.”
There is no question as to who the Lions’ staff ace is in Joe Oriola, but question marks began to circulate as to who the No. 2 pitcher is prior to Monday night’s game. Blake Waters certainly made his case last night, however, as he held Marian to just two runs on six hits in five innings of work. Waters had complete command of his curveball throughout the game and he struck out seven by living low in the zone.
“I felt really good, my arm was feeling nice,” Waters said. “When I was in warm-ups, I knew it was going to be a good day because my arm hasn’t felt that good all season.”
Blake Waters went five solid innings for the Lions and notched the victory.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
“He’s a strike thrower and when his curveball is on it’s tough because that can be pretty nasty,” Santos added. “He mixes his pitches well and hits his spots well and after that first inning, I knew he would be good.”
His offense supplied plenty of run support, led by Kevin Marsh’s 4-for-4 performance at the plate that included two doubles and three runs scored. Waters helped his own cause by going 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and a triple.
The first four Lions reached base to open the game as St. John Paul II pushed across two runs in the first and four more in the second to take a 6-0 lead into the third inning.
Bobby Higgins (3-for-5, two runs scored) and Waters both scored twice in the first and second inning, paving the way for the early lead.
Marian scored their only runs of the game in the third on a two-run double from Zach MacGregor that one-hopped the wall in right-center. MacGregor was thrown out at the plate during the next at bat trying to score from second on a dribbler, but Waters wisely covered the plate and applied the tag, ending the inning on a 2-3-1 double play. Things turned worse for Marian on that play as MacGregor, the starting pitcher and three-hitter, was ejected for arguing the call that ended the inning.
“Teams can react one way or another you don’t know which way it will be go,” Santos explained.
Declan Walsh took over on the mound, and initially succeeded in quieting the Lions’ bat until St. John Paul II across six more runs in the fifth inning.
The Lions Eric Del Rosso came in to close out St. John Paul II’s semifinals victory.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Marsh, Oriola and Jonny Warden began the scoring onslaught with consecutive doubles. The hitting parade continued as the Lions strung together four more hits to take a 15-2 lead.
Needing just two runs to end the game in the sixth, Eric Del Rosso doubled down the left field line to drive in Oriola from third to end the game via the mercy rule for the second time this postseason.
“Words can’t describe it but it’s the crowd and the lights go on and it’s tournament time so to come out and be loose is great,” Santos said. “I think getting through the first round is the toughest because you don’t now what to expect and how the kids will react and the kids came out loose today.”
— Story by Capecod.com Contributing Sportswriter Phil Garceau. Follow him on Twitter @pcgarceau. Edited by Capecod.com Sports Editor Sean Walsh.
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