RallyNorth.net

Sat, Jun 11, 2011 06:00 PM @ Neutral Location

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
Gloucester	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North Andover	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	3

Weisman sinks Fishermen with masterpiece

 

LOWELL — Bouncing in and out of Crozier Fieldhouse most of the afternoon between rain showers, North Andover High's baseball team wondered would it be playing or not.

Mike Weisman certainly wasn't playing.

The Knight senior stepped on to the LeLacheur Park mound about two hours later than expected and systematically dismantled Gloucester in a three-hit, career-stamping, complete-game, Division 2 North semfinal, 3-0, win.

"He pitched very well, and I thought he mixed his pitches well," said Knights' coach Todd Dulin.

Top-seeded North Andover will now wait a day and play for its second sectional title in the last three years tomorrow (6 p.m.) at Fraser Field in Lynn against 15th-seeded Lynn Classical.

Weisman, bound for Columbia, continued his torrid stretch on the hill, improving to 8-0 and striking out 11 with one walk in a game in which he really was never threatened.

Since May 3, Weisman has moved to 6-0 with a 0.35 ERA, striking out 66 and walking only seven in 41 frames.

"This is my third game here, and a lot of the kids on this team have played here for three years now," said Weisman. "Having that experience really helped."

Still, at some point, North Andover had to score, and it took more than a while to solve Gloucester lefty Adam Philpott.

The patient Knights finally broke through in the fifth, with a little help.

Brandon Walsh and Dom Nicolosi worked walks and after one out Ricky O'Connor reached on an infield hit to short to load them.

Leadoff man David Foote then lofted a fly to right that was plenty for Walsh to speed home with all the offense Weisman would need.

In the sixth, North Andover scooped up a couple insurance runs, too.

Weisman singled to left, moved up on Alec Jillson's bunt and scored on Tyler Leavitt's sharp base hit to left. Dan Laorenza later plated pinch-runner John Iannone with his base hit to close out the scoring.

"We just stay tough (offensively), and 1-through-9, everyone takes good at-bats, sooner or later, something is going to give," said Weisman.

All that was left was for Weisman to slam the door, and he did in a quiet seventh.

"That's a great team," said Weisman. "Through five or six innings, it was playoff intense. They made us work for it."

The win and all this rain has caused a bit of a mound dilemma for North Andover coach Todd Dulin, who had to make the decision whether or not to go with the CAL Player of the Year Walsh against (13-10) Lynn Classical or hold him for the EMass title against either of the South's top seeds, Plymouth North (19-3) or Somerset (17-5).

"I don't think in the playoffs you can look past your next game," said Dulin, who expects to see Classical ace Kyle Gauthier tomorrow. "So Brandon (Walsh)will pitch Monday. We trust Tyler Leavitt (6-0, 43Ks in 31.1 ip) an awful lot, and we'll use him when we have to."

 

Additional stories:

• Weisman sinks Fishermen with masterpiece