HAVERHILL — So far the MIAA State Tournament is bringing out one of the best in Central Catholic.
Lukasz Rondeau fired a complete-game shutout, permitting simply three hits and hanging out eight whereas the Central Catholic offense exploded for 5 runs within the fourth inning on its strategy to an 8-0 win over No. 13 Chelmsford on Thursday afternoon within the Division 1 baseball Round of 16 at Northern Essex Community College.
Central Catholic will tackle No. 21 Methuen within the quarterfinals Sunday at midday at Haverhill Stadium.
“Lukasz got stronger as he went and the last four innings he was lights out,” Central Catholic coach John Sexton stated. “He is typically someone where if you want to get him, you better get to him early. He was very good today.”
Rondeau and Chelmsford’s Matthew Stuart had been locked in a pitcher’s duel by way of the primary three and a half innings, however within the house half of the fourth the Raiders broke by way of.
Successful batter and two walks loaded the bases with two outs and Jake Bartlett related on a line drive RBI single to proper to place the hosts up 1-0. Moments later, No. 9 hitter Jeremy Dela Cruz offered separation by drilling a bases-clearing double to left heart to place Central on high 4-0. Joshua Florence capped off the two-out rally with an RBI triple to heart to stretch the benefit to 5.
“We just focus on having one good at bat in a row and it worked out today,” Sexton stated. “Matthew Stuart is good. He throws hard and throws a lot of strikes. We had a big inning where we got five and then cracked it open later. That’s the biggest hit that Jeremy has had at Central Catholic.”
Rondeau survived a bases-loaded one-out scare within the first after which hit cruise management. The left-hander allowed a mere three baserunners between the second and seventh innings, with none reaching scoring place. Central Catholic placed on the exclamation level within the backside of the sixth as Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 participant of the yr Nate Kearney crushed a three-run double to heart subject to make it 8-0 Raiders.
“Methuen is probably the hottest team in Massachusetts,” Sexton stated of the upcoming matchup. “This is the part of the year where you have to beat real good pitching to win. That’s the price of poker.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com