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NASHUA, N.H.  — Pinkerton's game plan was right on target, but  it still wasn't quite enough to knock off No. 1 seed Bishop Guertin in the Division 1 boys lacrosse semifinals last night.

Setting the stage for a strong playoff run, Pinkerton won its ninth game out of its last 10, getting past Salem, 13-6. Tom Auger and Jeff Auger drove the Astro offense with four goals and an assist apiece. John Peck and Mike Frahm had two goals each for the Blue Devils.

Pearce Connal made seven saves as he led Pinkerton to a 12-0 shutout over rival Londonderry(11-5). “Some of those were big saves,” said Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly who added that Connal stopped several close-range shots. “He frustrated Londonderry on a couple shots. They thought they had goals.” O’Reilly said he could not remember the last time his team shutout a quality opponent. “It was very impressive,” he said. “I was very impressed with the defense. ... We didn’t even have to slide. We were able to keep one-on one (coverage).” Seth Richard, Zach Tulley, Josh Murphy and Andrew Stefanelli anchored the Astros defense. Meanwhile, Jeff Guilherme scored three goals and added two assists for the Astros (11-4). “We moved the ball well,” O’Reilly said. “And we anticipated their slides and got good shots. I think we had 44 shots to their 14.” Londonderry coach Joe McCune added: “We never really expected a game like this. We came out without any fire.” Pinkerton led 5-0 at halftime. It scored four goals in the third to open up a 9-0 lead. Pinkerton plays at Salem on Monday at 4 p.m. Londonderry plays at Manchester Memorial on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Pinkerton 12, Londonderry 0 Goals: P — Jeff Guilherme 3, Conor McCarthy 2, Kyle Hanaway 2, Mike Auger 2, Tom Morini, , Ryan Coombs,  Jeff Auger Assists: P — Guilherme 2, Mike McStravock 2, Tom Auger 2, Jeff Auger, Pete Field Saves: P — Pearce Connal 7; L — Seth Ford 10 Pinkerton (11-4):    2 3 4 3 — 12 Londonderry (11-5):    0 0 0 0 —  0

Tom Auger had four of his six goals in the third quarter and added an assist as Pinkerton's boys lacrosse team whipped Central Catholic 15-6. The Astros outscored Central 7-1 in the third quarter. "We got our transition game going and had a lot of fast breaks," said Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly.

Tom Auger's goal with 1.1 second's left in regulation pulled Pinkerton into an. 11-11 tie with Longmeadow.  That tie didn't last long as Mike McStavock (four goals) scored just seconds into overtime to win the contest for the Astros (3-2).

Pinkerton's boys lacrosse team scored a lot of goals as expected, but the Astros also pitched a rare shutout in a 16-0 romp over Nashua South. Ryan Elliott and Pearce Connal combined to make nine saves.