After allowing a three-run double to the first batter he faced, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) senior Jack Roche needed to find a way out of a jam in the seventh inning against top-ranked BC High. With the tying run on second base, Roche slammed the door, producing a strikeout and a game-ending grounder to secure an 8-7 win for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers had cobbled together three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-4 lead, all with two outs. Junior Braden Mercier delivered a single to bring in the first, then two BC High errors produced two more runs. Junior Jack Darcy provided the big three-RBI hit for the Eagles in the seventh, while sophomore Brody Beale also drove in a pair of runs.
Seniors Noah Basgaard and Jack Forgues each added two hits for the Pioneers, who never relinquished the lead they took in the bottom of the first inning and who have now secured back-to-back victories over top-5 foes after taking down No. 4 Xaverian on Monday.
“We were not naïve to the team coming to town and what they’ve done up to this point,” said St. John’s (Shrewsbury) coach Casey Cummins. “It was a full team effort across the board, and that’s what it takes to beat a team like that.”
