RallyNorth.net

Georgetown blows past Rockport into championship

Friday, June, 11 By Jeff Hamrick

LOWELL — One of the most universal adages in the sports world relates to the difficulty of beating an opponent three times in a season. The Georgetown baseball team obviously doesn’t concern itself with old wive’s tales.

The second-seeded Royals rode a seven-run second to rout Cape Ann League opponent Rockport yesterday for an 8-2 victory in the Division 4 North semifinals. After completing its season trifecta over the 11th-seeded Vikings, Georgetown (17-5) squares off against 12th-seeded Matignon (10-13) at 1 p.m. today at LeLacheur Park for a chance at its second state final four trip in as many years.

“That was a fabulous job by the kids,” said Georgetown coach Mark Rowe, who guided the Royals to a Division 3 state semifinal appearance last year. “They hit the ball on the line. We’re the defending Division 3 North champions, and we had a great regular season.

But you don’t take anything for granted. But there was no question when we stepped into the dugout (yesterday) we were focused.”

Sophomore hurler Ryan Browner, who tossed a no-hitter against Rockport on May 22, gave up a single and an RBI double to the first two hitters he faced. But the right-hander, who earned all three decisions against the Vikings this year, quickly settled down and didn’t allow a runner past first base the next five innings before being replaced by Chris L’Italien to start the seventh.

The two pitchers combined to allow six hits and one earned run against a Rockport team that had won its first two playoff games by a combined 43-3.

“I wanted to pound the zone,” said Browner, who ran his record to 10-1 and gave up four hits with five strikeouts. “I knew they’d be free swinging against me this time.”

The Royals jumped on Rockport starter Mike Emerson in a second inning that began with a single by Danyer Fabian and RBI double from Andrew Sinkewicz. Emerson then appeared out of danger after two quick outs. Six consecutive hits, however, provided Browner with a comfortable 7-1 advantage.

“I’ll take our chances anytime we score seven runs in an inning,” Rowe said. “We had struggled our previous two games with our hitting, but the kids broke out today. That many two-out hits off a very good pitcher is very special.”

Each of the Royals’ starters had at least one hit with Fabian and Chris Esposito each knocking two singles. Marco Luisi, who finished with two RBIs, drove in Browner with a six-inning ground ball to cap the Georgetown scoring.

“They just put the bat on the ball,” Rockport coach John Parisi said of Georgetown. “They’ve been here before and they showed it.”