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Andover at top of its game

Tuesday, April, 22 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

For decades now, the Andover baseball trademark has been quiet confidence.

The 2008 Warriors have added a chip to their wide shoulders. Through five games now, the bolstered formula has yielded more than just a modicum of success.

Expected to struggle thanks to massive graduation hits, the Warriors improved to 4-1 yesterday, rallying twice from down three runs to topple Arlington, 7-6, in a thriller at Aumais Field.

"There was a lot of talk at the beginning of the year," said shortstop John Hennessy, whose two-out, sixth-inning RBI single tied the score at 6-6. "All we've done is work hard, and work to be a better team than we've been in the past."

Andover remains unbeaten (3-0) in the MVC, the only perfect team in the league, with a tussle tomorrow morning with Tewksbury up next.

The Warriors, down 3-0 and 6-3, simply made the Spy Ponders pay each time through the top of the lineup.

P.J. Farnham, Hennessy and No. 3 hitter Mike Taylor combined for an 8-for-10 afternoon, scoring four runs and driving in three.

Cleanup man Sam Clark chipped in an RBI sacrifice fly in the third and came back to walk and score the game-winner in the seventh.

In the fifth spot, Zach Burdeau singled in two, again with two out in the fifth. And No. 6 man Steve LaFortune delivered Clark from third with a base hit in the seventh.

"I'd say we're a very good team," said Hennessy. "We've just put it in our minds that people have us as underdogs, and that's plenty of motivation."

The scrappy attack made a winner out of junior reliever Shawn Carlson, who blew away the side, all via strikeout, in the top half of the seventh.

Junior Robin Lowe got the start and went 4<2/3> innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. Senior lefty Eric Chu kept things close with a scoreless 1<1/3> innings, before Carlson entered and slammed the door.