MARBLEHEAD — Thanks in part to a three-run bottom of the fifth inning, the No. 14 Marblehead baseball team was able to punch its ticket to the next round of the state tournament with a 6-2 win over No. 19 Canton in a Division 2 tournament Round of 32 game at Seaside Park Monday afternoon.
Craig Michalowski and Liam McIlroy both went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in the win, while Schuyler Schmitt went 1-for-4 with a triple and one RBI. Brady Lavender went 1-for-2 with a double and one RBI to round out the offensive attack.
On the mound, Marblehead ace Ian Maude picked up his eighth win of the season after going the distance. Maude tossed all seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
Marblehead got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, as Lavender notched an RBI hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to make it a 1-0 game.
Canton responded with a run in the top of the third to tie things up, but the Magicians answered right back in the bottom of the inning. It started when Michalowski reached on an error to lead off the inning, then two batters later Schmitt knocked him home with an RBI triple to deep center field.
Canton tied things up once again in the fifth, but then Marblehead pushed ahead for good. Michalowski once again got the rally started, this time notching a one-out single to get on board for McIlroy — who then ripped an RBI double to make it a 3-2 game. The next Magicians run came via an error after Shane Keough hit a hard grounder to second base, then Lavender followed that up with an RBI double to push the lead to 5-2.
The Magicians added one more run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Michalowski’s RBI double, then Maude shut things down in the top of the seventh to propel Marblehead on to the next round.
Marblehead (14-7) moves on to the Div. 2 Round of 16, where the Magicians will go on the road to take on No. 3 Mansfield at a date and time to be determined.