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Lawrence surges to sectional semis win, drills L-S

Friday, June, 11 By Hector Longo

LAWRENCE - Brendan Neilon held off on the pre-game history lesson.

The Lawrence High baseball coach eschewed educating his athletes on Lincoln-Sudbury's current status as the perennial preeminent public program in the state, with state titles from 2005 and 2007 on its resume.

"Honestly, I didn't know a thing about them, other than the fact that they were a good team," said Lancer senior Tito Lluberes. "We know we have a good team, too. We just came out to win a game."

Yesterday in the Division 1 North semifinals here at LeLacheur Park, the Lancers made a little history of their own, dropping L-S, 4-1, behind a Michael Calzetta masterpiece and some ever-present timely hitting. Tonight at 7 p.m. right back here, Lawrence faces No. 12 St. John's Prep for the North title.

"This means everything," added Lluberes. "Lawrence High has never been here. I mean, we'll stay focused and approach (tonight) just like we have every other game, but this means the world right now."

Calzetta, coming off a pair of sub-par outings, dazzled with a snapping breaking ball, some mid 80s heat and the return of his pin-point command, scattering seven hits over seven innings without a walk.

He yielded to closer Victor Mendez, who nailed down his third straight state tourney save, allowing only one hit and a pair of walks over the final two frames.

Outhit 8-7, the Lancers made them count.

Calzetta tripled to right with one out in the second then raced home on Devin Montanez' sac fly.

The lead doubled in the sixth when Lluberes led with a walk, blazed a path to third on Harvey Blanco's single and scored on an infield out from Dionys Quezada.

Two more runs, coming off Vanderbilt-bound junior Adam Ravenelle provided some serious cushion in the seventh. Jose Sandoval and Lluberes each had RBI hits in that frame.

From there, it was all about the arms race, which Lawrence, now 21-2, dominated.

Calzetta never really found himself in trouble, striking out seven. And the masterful Mendez was touched for an unearned run, but had the L-S hitters on the defensive with an utterly nasty slider.

Tonight, Yunior Vasquez, who shackled Peabody in the quarters, gets the nod on the full complement of four days rest. St. John's, now 15-8, will counter with Josh Baldwin. Of course, talented junior Pat Connaughton is also an option for the Prep. The junior flamethrower last worked six innings on Monday.

Lancer baseball history lesson
With three state tourney wins under their belt already, the 2010 Lawrence High baseball team will officially be treading where no Lancer team has gone before. Lawrence faces St. John's Prep tonight in the Division 1 North championship game in Lowell. Since the North-South sectional breakdown in 1981, Lawrence had never reached the sectional semifinals until this year.
Here's a look at the last two notable Lawrence baseball tourney teams:
1981: In the Division 2 North quarters, the Lancers stun future No. 1 draft pick Dennis Livingston and North Reading High with six runs in the seventh to take their quarterfinal opener. Winthrop abruptly ends the run in the North semis.
1979: In the Eastern Mass. Division 2 tourney, Lawrence's first postseason appearance in 17 years, the Lancers knock out Greater Lowell, Jamaica Plain and Hull to land a spot in the EMass semifinals - the rough equivalent of tonight's game. But Somerset High plasters Lawrence, 17-5, in that one. A nifty infielder by the name of Greg Gagne singles and doubles for Somerset in the win. He goes on to play for the Minnesota Twins.