RallyNorth.net

Grey Ghosts spook St. John's Prep baseball

Sunday, June, 01 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

WESTFORD |  Westford Academy senior Andrew Moynihan was red faced after a physically and mentally draining Division 1 North Tournament game here Sunday afternoon.

"This was a hard-fought game," said Moynihan, who waited three years to crack the Grey Ghosts lineup. "I think it's the hardest fought game we've had all season."

Perhaps no one fought harder than Moynihan. With his top-seeded team facing elimination against 16th seeded St. John's Prep, Moynihan worked Eagles reliever Mike Yastrzemski to a full count and then delivered a two-out, three-run triple in the bottom of the eighth as Westford Academy pulled out a 3-1 win. It was the only hit Moynihan had all day and one he'll long remember.

Salem High coach Mike Ward, who scouted the game and was pleased to see the majority of his players in attendance, was hoping for a St. John's Prep victory, which would've set up a marquee matchup of North Shore teams today at Salem State College. Instead, the Witches will make the long bus trip to Westford Academy today (4 p.m.) for the quarterfinal round contest.

After some brilliant pitching by the the Prep's Matt Warden (four innings) and Chris O'Hare (three innings), who combined to blank the Grey Ghosts until the latter stages, St. John's Prep broke through for a run in the seventh off Westford Academy's stingy starter, Derek Klinka, who threw 127 pitches and allowed only five hits and struck out five in seven innings.

The Eagles scored after Klinka had retired the first two batters in routine fashion. Yastrzemski drew a two-out walk and Trevor Manzi singled to right, putting runners on first and third. Shortstop Danny Haugh, in a tremendous piece of hitting, was down 0-2 in the count when he singled up the middle, giving his team a 1-0 lead.

"Hough had a great at bat," said Prep coach Pat Yanchus, whose team finished 13-9. "With the pitching on both sides, I could tell after two innings that not a lot of runs would be scored. Their kid (Klinka) had a great curve ball. They aren't an 18-2 team for nothing."

Offense on both sides was so difficult to come by that the Eagles 1-0 lead looked almost insurmountable.

O'Hare, a crafty lefthander, pretty much sailed through the bottom of the seventh for the Prep, striking out two and stranding a runner on second.  Overall, he gave up just one hit and struck out five in three innings. It appeared that he could've gone another inning, but Yanchus played the percentages.

"I took him out (after the seventh) because he'd gone no more than three innings all season," explained Yanchus.

Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been a problem because Yastrzemski has been solid in a limited pitching role this season, but the junior lefthander had control issues in the eighth.

Luke Mooney led off the inning for Westford (19-2) with a walk but was quickly erased on a fielder's choice to second base. Tim Jordan singled to right and then Westford Academy, showing some gumption, pulled a double steal, putting runners on second and third. Yastrzemski rebounded by striking out Klinka, but Colin Royal spoiled several pitches before drawing a walk to load the bases. Moynihan hung in there, got the count to 3-2 and with his teammates taking off on the pitch, he ripped the double that easily plated all three runners.

"Unfortunately for us, Mike (Yastrzemski) couldn't find the plate today," said Yanchus. "He just had to lay one in there (with a 3-2 count)."

Moynihan said he hadn't had such a meaningful hit in his career.

"Never," he said. "This has been my one year (as a starter). I can't describe my feelings right now.

Moynihan and his mates also discovered that the Eagles were not your typical No. 16 seed.

"They were so tough," Moynihan said of St. John's. "They're a phenomenal team. I don't know how they could've lost eight games during the season. Coach (Jeff Kane) told us to look at them as if they were the No. 1 team in the state. That's what we did. But we don't quit when we're down, whether it's 1-0, 2-0 or whatever."

Kane figured his team had to play mistake-free ball to beat the Eagles. He got a clean defensive effort, the timely hit by Moynihan, and his ninth inning closer was a kid named Mike Victory. You can't script it any better than that.

"With an 18-2 (record), I thought we'd get a little easier draw than this," said Kane. "St. John's Prep is a great program with a lot of tradition. I told our kids that if we're one of the better teams in the state, we'd better start acting like it."

The Eagles, who clobbered Cambridge, 12-0, in their tourney opener, collected just five hits in this one. Manzi had two of them.

But Westford Academy executed down the stretch and that was the difference.