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North Reading Hornets Baseball '08

Thu, Jun 05, 2008 03:00 PM @ Neutral Location
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Final
Playoff Game Division 3 North - Semifinals
North Reading 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4
Austin Prep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Austin prep dazzled by Hornets junior

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Friday, June, 06 By Eric Peterson
Staff writer

At long last, North Reading got a breather.

The top-seeded Hornets shut out No. 12 Austin Prep, 4-0, in the semifinals of the Division 3 North sectionals at Fraser Field.

This came after a comeback first-round victory over Swampscott and a 10-9 thriller over Georgetown in the quarterfinals in which the Hornets scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

North Reading coach Frank Carey was pleased to see his team back in dominant form.

"This is how we played for 19 games. Against St. Mary's (regular-season finale), Swampscott and Georgetown we played sloppy, but this is how we've been playing. This is the way the team is capable of playing," said Carey. "And it all starts with pitching."

Kevin Singer went the complete game, throwing 45 strikes on 61 pitches with no walks. He allowed only three hits and struck out six.

"That was the most incredible game ever pitched in North Reading baseball history and I mean that," said Carey. "From a pitch count, that is the most incredible game that I have ever seen in terms of efficiency. I've had no-hitters and perfect games but that was phenomenal."

The Hornets started the game off strong as Darren Hartwell reached on an infield single and Zach Hastings followed with an RBI double to deep right field.

The Cougars threatened with a couple of baserunners in the second but Singer countered with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

North Reading added two more runs in the bottom half of the inning when Mark Bokuniewicz laced a single down the third-baseline to drive in Tim McAuliffe and Matt Barretto.

The Hornets scored an insurance run in the sixth when a series of errors allowed Singer to cross the plate.

Whether on the basepath or on the mound, the pressure of a sectional semifinal game never seemed to bother Singer.

"I actually think I perform better under pressure. Pitching in this game was big for me and I wanted to win it," said the junior, a Cape Ann League All-Star.

Austin's Ray Acciavatti pitched well against his hometown team, scattering six hits in the complete-game effort.

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