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Whittier back on tourney hunt

HAVERHILL — Even before the final out was made, the call from the Whittier Tech sideline rang out, "Who's next?"

Man, how times have changed here in Wildcat Country.

The defending Division 3 North champions — unable to win a game in the postseason before last year's title run — picked up right where they left off last June by ousting North Reading, 4-1.

A year ago, Dillon Ryan and Billy Lafferty strapped the Cats on their backs for a wild ride. Yesterday, sophomore Andrew Wells and junior Brian Vezina picked up the leadership roles for Whittier, which will host St. Mary of Lynn Monday in the sectional quarterfinals at 4 p.m.

"I learned a lot from those guys last year," said Wells, who spaced seven hits and didn't walk a Hornet in the complete-game win. "We came in relaxed. I tried to stay focussed and make the pitches I had to. Yeah, I think we came in expecting to win."

Wells' confidence took a 360-foot dent in the North Reading first when Nick Moscaritolo homered to left.
But the big right-hander, now 6-3, buckled down from there, with help from his errorless defense and a pair of sweet double-play turns by his classmate at second, Nathan Frongillo.

Down 1-0, the Cats got all the offense they would need in the bottom half of the third off of North Reading starter Ryley Warnock.

Leadoff man George Gouthier beat out an infield hit, and after an infield out, Vezina stepped to the plate.
A JV player last year, Vezina has been huge both on the mound and at the plate all season long for the Cats and was there again yesterday.

"It was a fastball down the middle, but I thought I hit it a little toward the fists," said Vezina, whose fly ball to left-center carried over the fence for a two-run homer. "I was surprised when I rounded first and saw the umpire signalling home run."

The lead ballooned to 4-1 in the fifth, again with the rally starting on an infield single, this one by Frongillo.
Vezina laced a ground-rule double to center, moving Frongillo to third with no out.

The gritty Warnock buckled down, getting back-to-back strikeouts then pushing Anthony Licciardello to an 0-2 count.

But Licciardello got one he liked at 0-2, and the sophomore roped a belt-high fastball to right-center, scoring the two easily.

All that was left was for Wells to clean things up, and the sophomore did so without a scare.

Vezina, who went 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his first varsity season, could get the nod Monday against St. Mary's, although Wells' pitch count was only in the 70s yesterday.

He like St. Mary's 7-1 Curtis White, who shut out Pentucket yesterday, might be available to bounce back on three day's rest.