RallyNorth.net

Thu, Jun 05, 2008 07:00 PM @ Neutral Location

Team	Final
Playoff Game Division 1 North - Semifinals
Haverhill	4
Malden Catholic	1

Hillies bow out in North semis

Friday, June, 06 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

With two down and two on in the Haverhill first, Ronny Rosario's slicer to right was pulled in on the warning track.

An inning later with a man on, Josh Chasse drilled a liner but right at the second baseman.

By the time the Hillies had stranded two more runners in the third inning, coach Chip Dunn had an inkling that last night's Division 1 North semifinal might be one of those nights.

"We hit balls on the button, but we just didn't get the runs," said Dunn, whose Hillies bowed out to Catholic Conference champion Malden Catholic, 4-1, at Alumni Field.

"What can you say? We just couldn't come up with the clutch hits."

Malden Catholic senior lefty Chris Labriola, a Northeastern University recruit, had plenty to do with the Hillies' offensive lament.

The southpaw utilized every square inch of the strike zone, corner to corner and edge to edge, keeping Haverhill off balance in the seven-hit complete game.

"He threw strikes, and we didn't win," said Dunn, whose club finishes at 17-7.

Haverhill junior Taylor Robinson struggled with his location and surrendered all four runs in one-plus inning to take the loss.

"I'm not blaming the umpire, because both teams had to deal with it, but he wasn't calling the low strike," said Dunn. "Taylor's a low-ball pitcher. When he's not getting the low strike, he has to come up, and he can be hit."

Two walks, two passed balls and three hits resulted in a 3-0 Lancer lead after one.

Robinson, now 9-4 in a pair of varsity seasons, walked the first two hitters of the second then swapped spots with first baseman Sean Hayden.

Hayden allowed one of the inherited runners to score, but that was it. The St. Anselm-bound senior, on just three days rest, stifled MC the rest of the way, with seven scoreless frames, allowing only two hits and one walk. The right-hander, who ends his career at 15-5, was sensational, retiring the final 17 batters he faced.

"Hindsight being what it was, if I could have seen that and did it all over again, I would have started him," said Dunn. "But he's been that like that all year. He was on short rest and was just excellent."

Down 4-0, Haverhill grabbed a single run in the third when Bobby Shirling singled, and after a ground out, came home on Ronny Rosario's base hit.

Labriola proved up to the task from there, allowing only two hits over the last six innings.

Shirling, Rosario and Robinson all had two hits for the Hillies. Chasse again played a sparkling center field with a couple of nifty grabs.

While MC looked vulnerable, the Hillies did have another fine season. Complete Eagle-Tribune records go back 21 seasons, and no Hillie team in that span can match this club's 17 wins. The previous modern high? The 14 wins last year.