FILE PHOTO
Classical’s Tyler Way hit an RBI-single in the North’s 8-5 win over the South.
By HAROLD RIVERA
BOSTON — There was no shortage of local stars representing the North Shore and their respective high school baseball teams at the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game on Tuesday night. Eight local players took part in the contest and helped the North All-Star team to an 8-5 win over the All-Stars from the South at BC High’s Monan Park.
To add to the North’s local ties, the team was coached by St. John’s Prep’s Dan Letarte and Lynn Classical’s Mike Zukowski.
Both Letarte and Zukowski were appreciative of the opportunity to coach a roster full of local talents.
“It’s an honor to even be thought about for coaching a game like this,” Zukowski said. “Then when you get here, there’s not much coaching. These kids have all done an excellent job in their four years playing high school baseball.”
“It’s nice to see our kids representing,” Letarte said. “You hear about the great seasons at Methuen, Lynn Classical. Then you see their kids play and you can see why they had great years so it was definitely an honor.”
The key to the North’s win was a six-run rally in the bottom of the second inning that turned a 1-1 tie into a 7-1 lead. From there, the North stars never looked back.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, St. John’s Prep’s Dan Frey scored on Belmont’s Cal Christofori’s, who won the game’s MVP award, RBI sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.
The North bats exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second. Peabody’s Nick Palma led off the inning with a single and scored on an RBI single by Lynnfield’s Nick Aslanian. Classical’s Tyler Way followed with an RBI single to make it a 3-1 North lead. Frey kept the rally alive with a two-RBI single, plating Aslanian and Way to bump the lead to 5-1. Two batters later, Frey raced home on a wild pitch to make it 6-1. Austin Prep’s Brendan Barry added a sac fly to pad the North’s advantage to 7-1.
“Lot of hey hits,” Letarte said. “Nick Palma started it off and Dan Frey came up with a big hit. Cal Christofori had a big double. Just a lot of big hits and putting the ball in play was all it was. That six-run inning was definitely the key in an 8-5 game.”
The North stars added another run in the bottom of the third when Palma scored on an error for the 8-1 lead.
“We said to them ‘if you want to steal, steal, if you want to bunt, bunt,.’ We just stressed to them ‘go out and have fun.’ We wanted to make the last game a win,” Zukowski said. “We had some good play out there tonight.”
The South stars added one in the fourth to slim the deficit to 8-2 when Martha’s Vineyard’s Jonas Lukowitz hit an RBI single to bring home East Bridgewater’s Mike Koury, who tripled to lead the inning.
The North ran into trouble in the seventh when Methuen’s Brendan O’Shea, who came on in relief, walked in three runs to make it an 8-5 game. Luckily for Letarte and the North, O’Shea calmed down and ended the threat to seal the win.
“We let Brendan pitch and he got out of it,” Letarte said. “I told him he can still tell his kids he closed the Eastern Mass. All-Star Game regardless of giving up three runs.”
The local players who took part in Tuesday’s game were Malden Catholic’s Kellen Field and Jake Horrigan, Lynnfield’s Aslanian and Justin Juliano, Classical’s Way, Peabody’s Palma, St. John’s Frey and Swampscott’s Louis Olivieri. Aslanian got the start for the North on the mound and tossed two innings.
Both Zukowski and Letarte agreed that the players on their roster served as a strong indication towards the high level of local baseball talent.
“The kids were doing their jobs,” Zukowski said. “They knew whether we needed a sac fly or not, and they didn’t go up there swinging for the fences. It was good baseball and it goes to show the North Shore is talented.”
“The North Shore has good talent and they all contributed in this game, which was wonderful. It was good to see them all contribute,” Letarte added.
A handful of the players from Tuesday’s North/South game were selected to play in Saturday’s Mass./Connecticut game. That group includes Field, Frey and Juliano.