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Hornets pounce on Sachem miscues

Wednesday, April, 23 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

Any time North Reading High sends either Kevin O'Leary or Brian O'Neil to the hill, it won't need much help pulling out victories.

Yesterday, the Hornets got plenty, capitalizing on seven Pentucket Regional errors to drill the Sachems, 9-3.

"Their guy (Joey Martin) pitched pretty good, but they didn't do a lot to help him," said the senior lefty O'Neil, who moved to 2-0 on the year with the six-hitter. "I just got in a rhythm and threw strikes. My guys made all the plays behind me. They made things easy.

"I know they're going to make the plays, it's a nice luxury to have."

Defense might have been an early question for North Reading, which had lost three-quarters of the infield to graduation.

Junior second baseman Matt Baretto and senior first-year starters Rick Chrisos at short and Mark Bokuniewicz at third handled all the chances brilliantly for the Hornets, who didn't commit an error as they improved to 5-1 overall.

Trailing 2-1, North Reading busted things open with a five-run fourth, aided by a pair of crucial Sachem errors. Bokuniewicz and O'Leary each stroked two-run singles in the frame. Two innings later, catcher Tim McAuliffe put things out of reach with a two-run triple.

The Assumption-bound O'Leary went the route, striking out seven and walking a pair.

McAuliffe went 3 for 4, pacing the attack. O'Neil and O'Leary each had two hits.

Martin went six, allowing all the runs, with only three being earned. Nate Poretta pitched a scoreless mop-up inning. Justin Bolla and Jamie Ryan each had RBI hits for the Sachems, now 2-3.