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BEVERLY — The deadliest No. 9 hitter in the state struck again last night, just when Lawrence High needed him.
The Lancers stood stunned, down 1-0 early to an Acton-Boxboro row of sluggers that showed no fear over Michael Guerrero's 87 mph gas.
But if you haven't been watching the last month this Lancer baseball team can swing the bat a little too.
And all it took was a jolt of confidence from the bottom guy on the lineup card.
With the bases loaded and one out, senior Brahiam Ortega laced a solid single, giving the Lancers the lead and the belief that this night would be theirs.
Energized and settled, Guerrero got better and Lawrence simply got stronger, powering past fourth-seeded Acton-Boxboro, 4-1. Lawrence, which has already beaten a Super 8-nominated Lincoln-Sudbury club and top-seeded Central Catholic. will now play in the second straight all-Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 North title game Saturday against Chelmsford, 7 p.m., at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.
"That hit was huge," said Guerrero, now 2-0 in the postseason with a saved and a 0.98 ERA. "We were a little nervous, and that hit really made us relax."
But there was still those A-B slashers that Guerrero had to worry about. And the senior righty took care of that situation on his own, along with catcher Andy Acosta.
"They were sitting on my fastball, and I had to make an adjustment," said Guerrero. "I just started throwing my changeup (and a nasty, nasty breaking ball too)."
A-B would never catch up to it. The Colonials, who finish at 17-6, would have just one more hit all night, and by the time Lawrence had pushed the lead to 4-1 in the fourth, the Lancer owned them.
Guerrero fanned six of the last eight hitters he faced, closing out with nine K's and just two walks in the win.
"It's fun to be out there on the field, playing behind Mike when he pitches like that," said Ortega. "Just watching him out there is amazing."
Batting eighth, the pitcher helped himself with a pair of hits, including an RBI-single in the fourth to plate Ronnie Velasquez, who had led with a triple.
For Lawrence, it's the first return to the Division 1 North title game since the 2010 team fell to St. John's Prep in what was an absolute classic. Lefty Jairo Vasquez, the freshman who knocked off Central on Monday, will get the call in that one for Lawrence.
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Baseball, 06/11/15 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
BEVERLY — The deadliest No. 9 hitter in the state struck again last night, just when Lawrence High needed him.
The Lancers stood stunned, down 1-0 early to an Acton-Boxboro row of sluggers that showed no fear over Michael Guerrero's 87 mph gas.
But if you haven't been watching the last month this Lancer baseball team can swing the bat a little too.
And all it took was a jolt of confidence from the bottom guy on the lineup card.
With the bases loaded and one out, senior Brahiam Ortega laced a solid single, giving the Lancers the lead and the belief that this night would be theirs.
Energized and settled, Guerrero got better and Lawrence simply got stronger, powering past fourth-seeded Acton-Boxboro, 4-1. Lawrence, which has already beaten a Super 8-nominated Lincoln-Sudbury club and top-seeded Central Catholic. will now play in the second straight all-Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 North title game Saturday against Chelmsford, 7 p.m., at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.
"That hit was huge," said Guerrero, now 2-0 in the postseason with a saved and a 0.98 ERA. "We were a little nervous, and that hit really made us relax."
But there was still those A-B slashers that Guerrero had to worry about. And the senior righty took care of that situation on his own, along with catcher Andy Acosta.
"They were sitting on my fastball, and I had to make an adjustment," said Guerrero. "I just started throwing my changeup (and a nasty, nasty breaking ball too)."
A-B would never catch up to it. The Colonials, who finish at 17-6, would have just one more hit all night, and by the time Lawrence had pushed the lead to 4-1 in the fourth, the Lancer owned them.
Guerrero fanned six of the last eight hitters he faced, closing out with nine K's and just two walks in the win.
"It's fun to be out there on the field, playing behind Mike when he pitches like that," said Ortega. "Just watching him out there is amazing."
Batting eighth, the pitcher helped himself with a pair of hits, including an RBI-single in the fourth to plate Ronnie Velasquez, who had led with a triple.
For Lawrence, it's the first return to the Division 1 North title game since the 2010 team fell to St. John's Prep in what was an absolute classic. Lefty Jairo Vasquez, the freshman who knocked off Central on Monday, will get the call in that one for Lawrence.
Read More »
Baseball, 06/11/15 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
No. 6 Andover stunned defending EMass./state champ Acton-Boxboro 9-7 in the D1 North quarterfinals. No. 3 A-B had beaten Andover 10-3 in the season opener and eliminated AHS last spring 11-4 in the North semis.
It was 7-1 at the half and A-B never truly got back in it.
Of the early-season loss, Golden Warrior coach Wayne Puglisi said, "We had some young players in important roles."
Young players like sophomore middies Mike Biddle and Tom Rockwell (12 of 19 on face-offs) came of age. "They really stood out," said Puglisi.
Jake Lakos had four goals and two assists and Stephen Herman (11 saves) was brilliant with help from defenders Brian Duffy, Chris Tully and Brendan Slattery.
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Boys Lacrosse, 06/04/15 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Marlayna Buco had a tremendous day, stopping 17 shots but ninth-seeded Haverhill lost 2-0 to top-seeded Acton-Boxboro in the Division 1 North quarterfinals in girls soccer action.
Haverhill also lost 2-0 to Acton-Boxboro in the quarterfinals last year.
"But this was a much closer game," Haverhill coach Fred Tarbox said.
Last year, the Hillies posted their best win percentage and first tourney victory since going varsity in 1994. Haverhill won its second tourney game in program history with a 1-0 victory over Brookline in the first round Tuesday.
"This the most successful senior class at Haverhill High (for girls soccer)," Tarbox said.
The Hillies (8-6-5) also won their third consecutive MVC Division 2 title.
Acton-Boxboro (18-0-1) scored on a corner kick and a shot from about 35 yards out.
"Marlayna had a perfect day in net," Tarbox said. "Nothing she could have done about the two goals. In the wet conditions, she had good hands. On the corner, it was unfortunate. We were unable to clear it out."
The other goal was placed perfectly, Tarbox added.
"We put a lot of pressure on them, especially in the second half," Tarbox said. "I felt we outplayed them in the second half. A couple of twists and I think we would have been into overtime with them. But they are very talented, strong team. They play like a college team."
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Girls Soccer, 11/06/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Acton-Boxboro beat Andover, 98-88, in a non-league matchup of arguably the top two swim teams in the state. Andover hopes its like last year when A-B also won beat Andover then the Golden Warriors took the North and Division 1 state titles. Rachel Landry, Shannon Fitzsimmons and Alison Murtagh were double winners.
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Girls Swimming, 10/15/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
ACTON — Facing a smothering defense and a jet-quick offensive attack, No. 5 Andover struggled to find any momentum, falling to top-seeded Acton-Boxboro 11-4 in the Division 1 North boys lacrosse semifinals yesterday.
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Boys Lacrosse, 06/07/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Second-seeded Andover didn't easily surrender its boys tennis season, dropping a tough 3-2 decision to third-seeded Acton-Boxboro in a grueling 4-hours of tennis.
Varun Penamatsa (7-5, 6-4) and Drew Rooks (6-3, 6-1) each won their matches in straight sets at No. 2 and 3 singles, respectively. No. 1 Andrew Imrie, who held the lead in both the second and third sets, dropped a heartbreaker in a 0-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 marathon.
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Boys Tennis, 06/02/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Trailing 4-2 in the third set, freshman Courtney Nash won the last four games to lift the Andover girls tennis team past Acton-Boxboro 3-2 in the Division 1 North quarterfinals. The unbeaten Warriors (19-0) will face the Cambridge-Masconomet winner in the semifinals.
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Girls Tennis, 05/31/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Methuen improved to 6-0 by downing Acton-Boxboro 135.5-134.5. The Horan twins, Ashley and Shaley, tied for first on the beam and Ashley and Samantha McGovern went 1-2 in the all-around.
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Girls Gymnastics, 01/04/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Senior Zach Conway, who hadn't played the last two seasons, scored a career-high 21 points including four first-half 3-pointers to power Pelham to a 61-40 win over Acton-Boxboro. Jake Vaiknoras and Ryan Cloutier added 11 each.
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Boys Basketball, 12/30/13 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
