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NORTH ANDOVER — There was no question in Steve Merrick’s mind. He was going five-hole.

Surging during a marathon stretch of games, Central Catholic traveled to Lynn and took down 18th ranked St. Mary's by an emphatic 13-4 decision. The Raiders unleashed a 19-hit barrage led by three hits and three RBIs from Brian Allen. Ryan Sullivan and Andrew Breen also drove in three runs apiece in the victory.

Kerri Salvatore led Amesbury 12 points and Dana Zahoruiko had nine points, but after St. Mary's got off to a quick start the Indians could not catch up. Coach Chris Perry said his team played solid in the second and third quarters.

North Reading blasted St. Mary's in the Division 3 North quarterfinals 25-9, 25-12, 25-15. Kirsten Morrison (9) and Elizabeth Sutera (7) combined for 16 kills for the defending state champions. Alison Friberg chipped in with 20 assists and 22 service points.

LOWELL | When you go deeper into the state tournament and the margin of error shrinks, it's the little things that count.

The St. Mary's of Lynn softball team was more effective than Ipswich High in executing the little things yesterday and the result was a 1-0 Spartans win in the Division 3 North semifinals at Martin Field.

In yesterday's Division 3 North preliminary-round game, Rockport and St. Mary's of Lynn seemed to be mirror images of each other.

Unfortunately for the 15th-seeded Vikings, one team's season had to end and it was the host that fell, 6-5, in eight innings. No. 18 St. Mary's will face No. 2 seed O'Bryant tomorrow.

Beverly baseball coach Dave Wilbur was counting on a pair of his senior pitchers to get the Panthers off on the right foot yesterday afternoon. He had no idea, however, that Jack Leathersich and Nick Colanto would completely shut down St. Mary's of Lynn in the season opener.

LYNN | It's a moment Ipswich sophomore forward Aaron Jessen will never forget. It's also a moment that Tigers' basketball coach Doug Woodworth hopes his team can move on from as quickly as possible.

Ipswich let a 10-point lead melt away in the fourth quarter, then won in dramatic fashion when Jessen's 18-foot jump shot dropped with two seconds remaining for a 69-68 victory over St. Mary's in a Division 4 North first round affair.

When one hears the score 6-1, blowout is the first thing that comes to mind.

That may be true in most cases, but it was not the case in Gloucester's defeat at the hands of St. Mary's of Lynn. The Fishermen skated with St. Mary's for three periods and even outshot their Division 1 counterparts, 25-22. Gloucester, however, could not seem to catch a break in their end of the ice, which resulted in defeat in front of a rowdy crowd yesterday at the Dorothy Talbot Rink.

Ever since St. Mary's of Lynn released this winter's boys hockey schedule, Zak Borowski probably had last night circled with a bright red marker.

Borowski, who is a senior for the Spartans, played his first three years of high school hockey at Gloucester but was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons last February. He transferred to St. Mary's for his senior year.