LYNN — It’s always good to get a win against your rival.
With timely hitting and solid defense, the St. Mary’s baseball team grabbed a 5-2 win over Catholic Central League foe Bishop Fenwick Tuesday at Fraser Field.
“I thought our defense played really well,” Spartans coach Derek Dana said. “We had a slip in centerfield. But (Kyle Ouellette) made a great catch to end the game. We started out fast. We scored four runs in the first two innings. That’s what we talked about. I thought we still had some opportunities but it was a good win.”
Spartans starter Bobby Alcock pitched all seven innings. Alcock allowed two earned runs on five hits, struck out six and walked eight.
“Bobby didn’t have his best stuff here but he battled through and he finished the game,” Dana said. “Last time out he pitched a great game and we lost. It’s all about the team. A win’s a win and it’s a good win.”
Jared Coppola (1-for-3, two RBI), John Mulready (2-for-3, two RBI, run) and Kyle Ouellette (1-for-1, RBI, run) powered St. Mary’s offense. D.J. DiCenso went 2-for-3 and Lee Pacheco went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Keegan O’Connor (2-for-4) and Trey DeLoury (1-for-4) each drove in a run for the Crusaders. Missed opportunities doomed the Crusaders, as Fenwick left eight runners on base.
“We made two big errors that cost us three runs and we didn’t get the big hit,” Crusaders coach Russ Steeves said. “Bobby’s a very good pitcher. Timely hitting and those errors cost us the game.”
Spartans catcher Mulready threw three Fenwick runners out on steal attempts.
“John has been throwing the ball very well,” Dana said. “He threw two out in Portland. He’s throwing the ball strong with quick feet. He had a couple big hits too.”
The Spartans struck for two runs in the bottom of the first. Aiven Cabral reached on an error and advanced to second base on Colin Reddy’s sacrifice bunt. After Mulready walked, cleanup hitter Coppola gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead with a 2-RBI double.
Mulready bumped the Spartans’ lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second. Ouellette was hit by a pitch to lead the inning. Conor Donohue advanced Ouellette to second with a sacrifice bunt and Ritchie Pagliuca reached via error. Mulready brought them home with a 2-RBI single.
“We want to get people chasing us,” Dana said, “whether we’re home or away. It’s nice when we’re home because we still have that hammer at the end of the game. But if they’re chasing us, that’s a good thing.”
Meanwhile, Fenwick struggled to cash in with runners on base.
“St. Mary’s did a good job,” Steeves said. “They moved runners along and they got the big hits in the early innings. That’s always a good team. We respect them a lot. They beat us.”
The Crusaders stranded three runners before finding the board in the top of the third. O’Connor doubled with one out and crossed home plate on DeLoury’s RBI double.
Fenwick slimmed the gap to 4-2 on O’Connor’s RBI double, scoring Tucker Destino, in the fourth.
Alcock worked his way around a one-out walk in the top of the fifth. St. Mary’s added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning. Pacheco and D.J. DiCenso hit back-to-back singles, placing runners on first and second. Ouellette laced a RBI double, plating Pacheco for the 5-2 lead. Alcock and the Spartans sealed the win with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. Ouellette grabbed the last putout of the game with a highlight-reel catch in centerfield.
The Spartans (3-2) are back at it Thursday (3:30) when they travel to Cardinal Spellman. Fenwick (4-3) has a few days of practice before visiting Essex Tech Sunday morning (10).