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Once again, Danvers simply finds a way to win

Monday, June, 02 By Phil Stacey
Sports editor

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.

Time and time again over the last decade, the Falcons have proven that adage not only to be accurate, but have done so in a myriad of ways. Saturday night before a festive crowd at the Twi-Field, they added another chapter to their impressive history of coming up clutch when it matters most.

"We never doubt ourselves | and that does great things for your confidence," said senior Jeff Eldridge, who laced the game-winning single over the leap of Pentucket second baseman Sean Milley to give the Falcons a 2-1 triumph over a spunky Sachems squad.

Second-seeded Danvers (18-4), which will host Tewksbury at home this afternoon in today's quarterfinal game (4 p.m.), clung to a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh. But Pentucket would not go away quietly as No. 9 hitter Bobby Disorbo sliced a two-strike single to right-center and leadoff man Jordan Silva followed with a booming triple to right, tying the score at 1-1.

How many teams would have felt the playoff pressure consume them at this time, their polyester uniforms suddenly seeming two sizes too small?

But Danvers, as anyone who follows Eastern Mass. baseball, is the antithesis of the typical, predictable high school baseball team. If it's against the grain, the Falcons are bound to do it (or at least try it).

And when it comes to delivering in the clutch, these Falcons simply have the formula for getting it done more often than not.

"We just always seem to find a way to win," said head coach Roger Day. "It's hard to explain. They just ... find a way."

After Pentucket starter Mike Sloban | who got stronger as the game went along, retiring 14 of 15 Falcons at one point | struck out the first two hitters in the bottom of the seventh, leadoff hitter Jake Korthas stepped to the plate. Looking for a fastball he could get the fat part of his bat on, he got in and drove a pitch the other way down the right-field line for a two-out double.

"Their kid had a lot of confidence in his fastball, so I was waiting for one," said Korthas, who had two of his team's four hits. "I was able to get a solid piece of it to get things started."

A wild pitch moved Korthas to third, so the Sachems intentionally walked Bobby Dean to get to Eldridge instead.

Some would call that sound baseball strategy on Pentucket's part. Eldridge took it as a personal insult.

"I was looking for some revenge," said the 18-year-old, who will continue his career at Bentley next season. "I wanted to make them pay for walking Bobby to get to me.

"When I hit it, I thought (Milley) was going to catch it at first. When I saw it go over his glove, it was a last-second surprise."

Pentucket (11-11) coach Tom L'Italien was right when he said that Sloban, his right-hander, had nothing to hang his head about.

"Mike made a tough pitch ... but (Eldridge) took it the other way and did a nice job," said L'Italien. "Good teams find a way to win."

The hit made a winner out of Dean, who came on in relief on three separate occasions | twice for Eldridge, and again in the seventh for reliever Greg Ladd. Having thrown less than 30 combined pitches, Dean will get the ball again this afternoon against Tewksbury.

"We have to keep our intensity up (today) and be ready to battle," said Korthas. "That's how this team wins. It's how we have to play."

Additional stories:

• Pentucket falls just short of upset