RallyNorth.net

LOWELL | It was five minutes before 11 p.m. Saturday night when James Riordan finished his conversation with a reporter, looked around LeLacheur Park and realized there wasn't another member of his Masconomet Regional baseball team in sight.

LOWELL | When Masconomet's Kyle Shepard came to bat with the go-ahead run in scoring position in the eighth inning of Saturday night's Division 2 North final at LeLacheur Park, he was looking to accomplish something no one had ever done.

LYNN | Some would call it "small ball." Others would say it was opportunistic baseball.

In this instance, however, you can simply refer to it as The Danvers High Way.

The Falcons, who have become hardball masters at exploiting their opponents' smallest mistakes and capitalizing to the fullest, did so again last night | and in the process earned the program's biggest win in seven years.

DANVERS | The answer: pressure and losing.

The question: What two things do Danvers High senior right-hander Bobby Dean seem impervious to?

As the calendar turns to June and the stakes in high school baseball circles get greater with each new game, Dean remains as calm and carefree as someone laying on the beach of some remote island. He spun another gem yesterday, fanning 12 Tewksbury hitters in a complete game outing to lead the Falcons to a 3-1 triumph in a Division 2 North quarterfinal contest at the Twi-Field.

DANVERS | It's all about attitude.

And if you play baseball at Danvers High School, that attitude is about believing that no matter the situation, you're going to find a way to win.

DANVERS | By the third trip to the mound for Danvers ace Bobby Dean last the night, Pentucket Regional seemed a bit unimpressed.

Sachem Jordan Silva tattooed a Dean fastball with two outs in the top of the seventh for a game-tying, RBI triple.

For the second time this season, the Danvers High baseball team was forced to watch their arch rivals celebrate on the baseball diamond.

Host Gloucester completed a season sweep of the Falcons last night by taking a 5-3 decision. Danvers head coach Roger Day could only tip his cap to his opponent afterwards.

DANVERS | Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

Bobby Dean, Chris Perry and the other members of the Danvers High baseball team may have no idea who the Talking Heads are | they popularized the above-mentioned lyrics in "Once In a Lifetime" nearly 30 years ago. But when it comes to what they do on the diamond, they certainly know what those words mean.

The Danvers High offense has been sporadic all season, but the Falcons keep piling up the wins, the latest being a 3-2 decision over Swampscott at home Monday night.

Justin Mitchell led off the game with a home run for Swampscott, but Jeff Eldridge's run-scoring double tied in the bottom of the first and Danvers scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth as Chris Perry led off with a single, advanced to second on Greg Ladd's sacrifice bunt and scored on Larry Saggese's two-out, pinch hit single. Danvers boosted its record to 12-2 while Swampscott dropped to 5-9.

The Falcons hiked their record to 7-3, led by Anna Dokina (6-1, 6-4), Kat Pavlow (6-3, 6-1) and Rachel Gershaw (6-0, 6-0) in singles, and Kristen Parker-Alicia Franklin (6-1, 6-0) and Danielle Kurman-Darcey Cherlin (6-3, 6-0) in doubles.