RallyNorth.net

Thu, May 29, 2008 04:00 PM @ Rockport

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
Playoff Game North Division 3 - Preliminary Round
St. Mary's Lynn	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	6
Rockport	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	5

Vikings lose heartbreaker in eight innings

Friday, May, 30 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

In yesterday's Division 3 North preliminary-round game, Rockport and St. Mary's of Lynn seemed to be mirror images of each other.

Unfortunately for the 15th-seeded Vikings, one team's season had to end and it was the host that fell, 6-5, in eight innings. No. 18 St. Mary's will face No. 2 seed O'Bryant tomorrow.

"They gave us everything we could handle," admitted St. Mary's head coach Derek Dana afterwards. "We've been talking about it for a long time, 'the pressure's going to be there throughout the year. If you just keep playing, you can finish what you started.' We already learned our lesson at North Reading, they came all the way back on us."   

Rockport senior pitcher Derek Osmond (7 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, walk, 6 strikeouts) and St. Mary's pitcher Nick Conti (7 innings, 5 runs, 2 earned, 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts) both left the game before the eighth inning and handed it over to relievers.

Neither ace had his best stuff but they still went seven innings and each squad battled back from deficits with timely hits. The one real difference between the teams was that the Spartans (12-9) pushed across a run in the eighth off Rockport senior Matt Hendy while the Vikings (10-9) ended the game by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play against Ryan Belibeau.

"Osmond did a great job, he had a gutsy performance," said Rockport head coach John Parisi. "He put us up 5-3 and then made one mistake and left a pitch up, which they used to drive two runs in with two outs and two strikes. We were down 3-0 so the kids showed guts, they could have gone into a shell but they fought back."

With one out in the top of the eighth, Spartans right fielder Angel Rodriguez's pop fly fell in for a double. He later scored what turned out to be the winning run on an RBI ground out by first baseman Chris Kefalas.

In the home half of the eighth, Rockport seemed to have something cooking when sophomore second baseman  Pat Frithsen hit a single with one out. However, classmate Andreas Contreras grounded into his second double play of the game. This one was all the more painful since it was the last out and he just barely missed reaching first base before the throw was caught.

St. Mary's scored three times in the second inning. Rodriguez singled and stole second with one out before scoring on a Kefalas ground out. Center fielder Anthony Struppa provided the big hit in the inning, coming through with a two-strike, two-out base hit that scored two.

"When you're facing a team's ace, you have to find a way to get him in the stretch," noted Dana. "We had some good swings on the ball, a couple things fell in. Then Osmond went back to the windup and shut us down for a while."

The Vikings quickly responded as St. Mary's defense made two critical errors in the bottom of the second, leading to three runs. Senior left fielder Cory Emerson (2 for 4, run) doubled, sophomore center fielder Michael Emerson followed with a walk then junior first baseman Dave Campbell reached on a fielder's choice as Emerson avoided a tag at third base. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Frithsen's grounder to short was bobbled, allowing Emerson to score. With two outs, senior Isaac Dann's ground ball wasn't handled cleanly by the third baseman and Michael Emerson scored. Finally, Osmond's (3 hits, 2 RBIs) RBI single brought home Frithsen with the tying run.

Rockport jumped ahead by two in the fourth inning thanks to Contreras' RBI double (which scored Campbell) and another Osmond RBI single which brought home Contreras.

Parisi was pleased to see Contreras rewarded with an important hit since he'd been unlucky at the plate recently.

"That RBI double was huge. Andreas has been hitting the ball so well but it's been right at people. This time he found a gap and he had some great baserunning to later score, he didn't run into an out."

The Spartans tied it in the fifth when designated hitter Tade Ogunbona knocked in two with an RBI double to right that landed in the woods.

From there, Conti and Osmond took turns getting out of jams for the next two innings. With two outs in the sixth, Osmond struck out left fielder John McDonnell with a runner on second. In the seventh, Osmond retired Conti with two outs and runners on first and second.

It all seemed to be lining up perfectly for a walk-off win by Rockport. The top of the order was coming up and lead-off hitter Osmond reached on an error. Hendy sacrificed Osmond to second then St. Mary's elected to intentionally walk senior catcher Eric Juncker. The gamble paid off as Cory Emerson was out on a fielder's choice and Michael Emerson grounded out with men on first and third and two outs.

 Dana and his team were ecstatic to have another game to play.

"This is what the state tournament is all about, you have people yelling and screaming until the last out. It's an atmosphere that is incredible to be a part of and you want to extend it."

For Rockport it was a bittersweet afternoon, the team had its first tournament game since 2002 but it's postseason didn't last as long as it would have preferred.

"We showed we deserved to be here and had a nice season but St. Mary's is a good baseball team. I'm really going to miss these seniors though (Dann, Osmond, Hendy, Juncker, Jim Rash and Cory Emerson)."