RallyNorth.net

North Andover Scarlet Knights Baseball '11

Mon, Jun 06, 2011 04:00 PM @ North Andover
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Final
Melrose 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
North Andover 1 0 2 0 4 3 0 10

O'Connor's slam sends Knights to semis

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Monday, June, 06 By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER — After Rick O’Connor smacked a pinch-hit home run yesterday afternoon, North Andover fans were quick to point out that he’d done it before.


But the one he hit against Manchester Essex last month was nothing like this one.


The first one was a solo shot during a 19-7 Scarlet Knight blowout in a regular-season game.


This one was quite a different thing altogether, a whole different dimension.

Yesterday’s two-out blast was with the bases loaded and not only proved to be the game-winner against Melrose, it kept North Andover alive in the Division 2 North tournament.


O’Connor’s fifth-inning blow to left-center broke a 3-3 tie, and powered the top-seeded Knights to a 10-3 victory over eighth-seeded Melrose in the quarterfinals. North Andover (21-1) will take a 21-game winning streak against 13th-seeded Gloucester (12-10) at a time and date to be determined.


“The first (homer) came when we already had a big lead, so it was a little less nerve racking,” said O’Connor, a junior who has been North Andover’s top pinch hitter all season. “I might have hit one (grand slam) in Little League, but that was years back, so this is a little different.”


The game-winning slam was set up by after Tyler Leavitt singled, Brandon Walsh was hit by a pitch that led to reliever Ryan Hardy’s appearance and Daniel Laorenza’s two-out infield single that died about 40 feet up the third-base line. Catcher Jon Swanton was ready for his third at bat of the game, when coach Todd Dulin made the switch.


“I found out last minute,” said O’Connor, who played hockey in the winter. “(Laorenza) was standing on first base and (Dulin) told me to grab a helmet ‘You’re up.’ I just had to get up there and swing the bat.


“(Dulin) told me to stay mentally prepared to hit, and I try my best to watch every pitcher ... I was guessing it was a fastball, and I just tried to see what I could do with it. When I hit it, I was kind of worried that I popped out to center to end the inning ... I was glad to see it keep going.”


North Andover, which ended Melrose’s season with a first-round victory the last time the Red Raiders (15-9) in 2008, jumped to a 3-0 lead with an RBI single by Mike Weisman in the first and two unearned runs in the third.


But Melrose took advantage of Walsh’s inconsistency, to score three in the fourth with the help of three walks, one wild pitch and only one single. Walsh, who breezed through the first two  innings, striking out four of the 12 batters he whiffed, found trouble in the third with three walks. But he escaped damage with a nice play by third baseman Dom Nicolosi going to his left. Nicolosi also made another great play on a hard grounder hit down the line in the fourth he turned into the first out.


The Scarlet Knights secured matters with a three-run sixth highlighted by RBI singles from Walsh and Laorenza, who went 3 for 4.

Game Statistics:

Melrose (3): Jimmy Runge cf 4-0-0, Chris Burton dh 3-0-0, JP Whalen cr 0-0-0, Paul Ardizzoni ss 4-0-2, Danny Riordan lf 4-0-0, Brett Barbatti c 4-0-1, Mark Bailey rf 2-1-0, Jake Brussard 1b 1-0-0, Justin Laffey cr 0-1-0, Connor Tryder 3b 1-1-0, chris Fimiani 2-0-1. Totals 25-3-4

North Andover (10): David Foote cf4-2-2, Cam Couillard ss 3-1-1, Mike Weisman 1b 2-2-0, Alec Jillson dh 4-0-1, Griffin Coakley 2b 0-0-0, Tyler Leavitt lf/p 3-1-1, Brandon Walsh p 3-1-0-1, Jason Keishian lf 0-1-0-0, Dom Nicolosi 3b 2-0-0, Daniel Laorenza rf 4-1-3, Jon Swanton c 3-0-0, Rick O'connor ph 1-1-1. Totals 29-10-9

HR: NA — O'Connor (three on in fifth).

RBI: M — Fimiani 2; NA — O'Connor 4, Weisman, Walsh, Nicolosi, Laorenza

WP: Walsh (6 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 12 K); Leavitt (1, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0); LP: 

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