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Central Catholic beat Malden Catholic, 10-2, in the North prelims. Nathan Kearney had three hits and Matt Maloney and Kyle Espinola added two each.

Ryan Cloutier allowed just five hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out nine in a complete game, leading Central Catholic to a 9-0 win over Methuen. Andrew Hayes and Tyler Normandie each drove in two runs for the winners.

The defending North Shore Baseball League champion Kingston Night Owls opened their season with a 6-3 win over The Freedom. Jeff Williams got the win and Sean Callahan got the save and Kyle O'Neil led the offense with two hits and two RBIs. Andrew Thibault also had two hits and Nick Skafas shined defensively behind the plate, throwing out one runner and picking off another.  

Matt Maloney had two doubles and three RBIs among his three hits and Kyle Espinola had three hits, two RBIs and scored twice as Central Catholic defeated Lowell 10-4.

Tyler Normandie pitched the final three innings for the win and had an RBI and George Chaya had four hits as Central Catholic finally slipped past Haverhill, 2-1, in 14 innings. Elijah Moses had three hits and pitched well for the Hillies.

In Central Catholic's 6-1 win over Tewksbury, George Chaya had three hits and two RBIs, Mike Dieli scored twice and Frankie Melendez threw five innings of 3-hit ball for the win.

UMass Lowell recruit Brendan Holland scattered four hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks as North Andover blanked Central Catholic, 6-0. Nick Ankiewicz had two hits, four RBIs and a run while Sean Corliss added two hits, a run and a walk for the 6-0 Knights.

HAVERHILL — North Andover edged Central Catholic, 6-4, in a Merrimack Valley Conference showdown played Thursday afternoon at Northern Essex.

The Knights improved to 5-0 and the Raiders fell to 5-2.

Sophomore Francisco Melendez fired a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and three walks as Central blanked Billerica, 4-0. Kyle Espinola had three hits and Charlie Antonopoulos two RBIs.

Starter Ryan Cloutier (7 strikeouts) and Tyler Normandie combined to scatter six hits over seven innings and Central Catholic shook off Thursday's comeback loss to beat Andover 2-1. George Chaya had two hits for the Raiders.