Eagles race off with title

The Eagles ended the suspense early, scoring eight runs in the first inning en route to an 11-2 victory over St. John's of Shrewsbury in the championship game yesterday at LeLacheur Park.

"That's the way we play. Our game is sort of a fast-break offense, if you will," BC High coach Norm Walsh said. "We want to put pressure on the other team."

The title is the third for the Eagles under Walsh, who also won in 2001.

BC High (22-4) set the tone with its first-inning explosion. The Eagles had five hits in the inning, with the key blow being a three-run blast over the wall in right by Tyler Horan that pushed the lead to 8-0.

"I saw that pitch, and I liked how it looked," Horan said. "We're excited to be the first team ever [at BC High] to go back to back."

Kyle Larrow also delivered a two-run single, Nick Napoli had an RBI double to deep right, and Rob McCunney and Brandon Cipolla each laced run-scoring singles in the frame.

St. John's starter Chris Creen lasted only two-thirds of an inning, allowing six earned runs before being relieved by Jon Kassira.

"That took the wind out of our sails a little bit," St. John's coach Charles Eppinger said. "It was probably the fourth inning before we started to recover."

The Eagles extended the lead in the third, with McCunney's triple off the wall in left driving in Brendan Collins for a 9-0 advantage.

St. John's (17-11) finally broke through against Eagles starter Jimmy Finnegan in the fourth. Jon Massad stroked an RBI double to deep center to score Nathan Lapointe and put the Pioneers on the board.

The Pioneers inched closer in the fifth. Cory Loomer drilled a home run over the left-field wall, cutting the deficit to 9-2.

But St. John's failed to convert on opportunities that could have closed the gap in the middle innings. The Pioneers stranded five runners in the fifth and sixth innings, including a bases-loaded situation in the sixth that ended with Loomer's line shot being caught by McCunney at shortstop.

"Get it to 9-4, and my kids start to believe again," Eppinger said.

From that point, Finnegan (six innings, eight hits, eight strikeouts, two runs) and Donny Murray (three scoreless innings of one-hit ball) shut down the Pioneers to finish the game.

BC High added insurance in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Billy Hocking and an RBI double by Napoli, but the Eagles' second title in as many years was already in hand.

Walsh said he was particularly proud of the way BC High was able to excel this season with a largely new roster. Horan and Billy Kiley were the only two starting position players back from last season's squad.

"It's amazing what we've been able to do with a whole new cast," Walsh said. "But from Day 1, they set the tone and knew what the expectations were for this team."