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NORTH ANDOVER — On a day which Central Catholic pounded 14 hits and scored 14 runs, it was Jack Silk’s hot glove at third base — in the second inning! — that weighed most on the outcome yesterday. The Raiders, down 4-0 early, went on to crunch Andover, 14-7, and complete a perfect 8-0 run through the Merrimack Valley Conference large division. The victory most likely keeps Central alive in the Super 8 discussion at 16-3 with a noon date here against North Attleboro today. “That one play changed the game and potentially our whole season,” said senior Connor Simpson. “It changed the whole momentum of the game. We were a little sluggish. That play totally changed the attitude in this dugout.” Andover’s Gabe Hernandez scalded a two-hopper down the third-base line with men on first and second and one out. Silk went horizontal to the line and somehow gloved the missile, got up, stepped on the bag and fired to first for the inning-ending double play. “Honestly, he couldn’t have hit it harder, I just laid out, found it in my glove and made a play,” said Silk, admitting that good fortune was on his and the Raiders’ side. “It’s a rough infield over there. There’s a lot of dust. But it was big.” Instead of Andover padding its 4-3 advantage, Central leaped to life and unleashed a five-run flurry of its own. At 8-4, the game felt different, and it was. “They’re a very good team, and at different times all year, they just seem to have a different kid step up,” said Andover coach Dan Grams. “Today, it was the third baseman making that play. It changed the game. Plus, they had a lot of guys hit the ball today.” With both scheduled starters — Andover’s Dan Amidon and Central’s Mike Mercuri — used up in Wednesday’s washout, you knew runs would be scored. Each team trotted out a freshman on the hill, and the hitters had their way. Andover, which finishes the regular season at 11-9, showed its mettle with a 3-run rally in the fourth keyed by Amidon’s two-run single. But again the Raider defense turned two with Simpson, the Raider reliever, inducing a grounder to Cam Devanney. “That was big,” said Simpson, who earned an enormous three-inning save, retiring seven of the final eight hitters he faced. “We were able to keep the lead and pile it back up in our half of the inning. We battled. We battle all the time.” Indeed, Central plated three in the sixth and three more in the seventh to ice it. “Obviously, the Super 8 is our goal,” said Silk. “It’s on our minds, but all we can do about it is win (today).” For Andover, Amidon, Quinn McCarthy and EJ Perry IV all had two hits apiece in the loss.   SIX-PACK PRODUCTION Each of the top six hitters in the Central lineup had at least two hits in yesterday’s 14-7 win over Andover. Connor Simpson: 2 for 4, 1 run, 1 RBI Mike Mercuri: 2 for 4, 2 runs, 1 RBI Cam Devanney: 2 for 3, 1 BB, 3 runs, 2 RBIs Jon Panaro: 2 for 4, 2 runs, 1 RBI Mike Goglia: 2 for 4, 3 runs, 1 RBI Kyle Coolidge: 2 for 4, 1 run

Central Catholic 14, Andover 7 Andover (7): Chris Nicholas cf 4-1-2, Quinn McCarthy 2b 4-1-2, Gabe Hernandez ss 4-1-1, Tim Kalantzakos rf 4-1-1, Nick McNulty lf 3-2-0, EJ Perry IV c 3-1-2, Dan Amidon dh 4-0-2, Dan Gemmell 1b 4-0-0, Daniel Walsh 3b 2-0-1, Cedric Gillette p 0-0-0, Max Krinsky p 0-0-0, Totals 32-7-11 Central (14): Connor Simpson cf/p 4-1-2, Mike Mercuri lf 4-2-2, Cam Devanney ss 3-3-2, Jon Panaro 2b 4-2-2, Mike Goglia rf 4-3-2, Kyle Coolidge dh 4-0-2, Jack Silk 3b 4-1-1, Steven Hajjar 1b/p 3-1-1, Jared Ferris c 2-0-0, Sam Lara 1b 0-0-0, Johandy Gonzalez cf 0-0-0, Totals 32-14-14 RBI: A — Hernandez, McNulty, Perry IV, Amidon 2; CC — Simpson, Mercuri, Devanney 2, Panaro, Goglia, Silk, Ferris WP: Hajjar; LP: Gillette; S: Simpson Andover (11-9):     4 0 0 0 3 0 0 —  7 Central Catholic (16-3):     3 5 0 0 3 3 0 — 14

The Central Catholic baseball team beat Billerica 10-2 yesterday to claim its second MVC Large title in three years. Sam Lara went 5.2 innings while allowing just one unearned run on three hits with seven strikeouts to pick up the win, and Cam Devanney went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Pinch-hitter Kyle Coolidge doubled in Mike Goglia (walk) to give Central Catholic a 2-1 lead over Lawrence in the seventh. Elvis Peralta lashed a leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh off Mike Mercuri and went to third on a passed ball. But Mercuri got a strikeout, and after a hit batter, a 4-6-3 double-play for the save. The Raiders turned three double plays and Goglia pegged a runner out at the plate in fifth.

With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no out in the top of the seventh, Sam Lara got a strikeout, a fly out and a ground out to earn the save in Central Catholic's 6-3 win over Lowell.

Mike Goglia, out a week with the flu, returned with two hits, including  a two-run triple, as Central Catholic clipped Methuen 5-2.

ANDOVER — If this were a boys basketball game, with the prerequisite 2,000 screaming fans and exuberant student sections, they'd be talking about this Central Catholic-Andover High game for a long time. 

Dominic Keegan did it all for Central Catholic in an 8-1 victory over Dracut Monday, throwing a nifty two-hitter, striking out six without walking a batter, and was 2 for 3 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs.

Mike Mercuri fired a 3-hitter and fanned seven and Central Catholic beat Chelmsford 3-2. The Raiders scored all three runs in the sixth with Steven Hajjar's two-out RBI single plating fellow frosh Dom Keegan on tie it. Jack Silk's bloop single scored pinch-runner Nick Warden with the game winner.