Horan, Campbell lift South over Central
LYNN - In a game full of offensive firepower, it was the pitching of the South All-Stars that made the difference against their Central counterparts in the Massachusetts High School All-Star Baseball Game last night.
The South defeated the Central, 9-6, in the nightcap of the 32d annual event at Fraser Field.
South allowed only eight hits, while racking up 15.
BC High’s Tyler Horan (2 for 4 with a RBI) was named Most Valuable Player, and Bridgewater-Raynham’s Eddie Campbell (three strikeouts over two innings) was Most Valuable Pitcher.
“There’s a lot of talent over on those benches, and we had a lot of fun,’’ said South coach Brian Whelan of Westwood. “Everybody was feeling each other out at first, then we decided to go out and take care of business.’’
South broke a scoreless game open in the third. Christopher Ferro’s sacrifice fly began the damage, and run-scoring doubles by Frank Vilacha and Joe Flynn, RBI singles by Drew Larson and Phil Sciretta, and a botched pop fly by the Central infield led to the South taking a 6-0 lead.
“We smacked the ball real well,’’ Horan said. “We got a couple good strikes, and some deep balls.’’
Central’s Matt Ball walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and came home on a throwing error, making it 6-1 in the bottom of the third. However, South built a 9-1 advantage in the fourth when Horan hit a sacrifice fly and Campbell singled home two runs.
Central got a home run from Jon Leroux, an RBI triple from Fran Whitten and a sacrifice from Chris Creen to get within five runs, 9-4, in the the bottom of the fourth.
South’s Zach Smith and Dennis Medeiros, and Central’s Alex Julian, Mike St. Martin and Liam O’Sullivan kept the game scoreless over the next 4 1/2 innings.
Central added two more runs in the ninth on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Graham Henningson.
“I never thought we were totally out of it,’’ said Central coach Mike Farrell of Tantasqua.
Earlier, the North all-stars defeated the West, 5-2. Malden Catholic’s Dario Pizzano was the Most Valuable Player, and Lawrence’s Michael Calzetta was the Most Valuable Pitcher.
Seventeen players were selected to play the Connecticut All-Stars June 28 in Norwich, Conn.: Pizzano and Tony Serino, Malden Catholic; Hunter Gordon, Swampscott; Justin Quinn, Lincoln-Sudbury; Chris Carmain, St. John’s Prep; Flynn, Plymouth North; Horan; Larson and Campbell, Bridgewater-Raynham; Dan Fenton, Springfield Cathedral; Dave Cloutier, Chicopee; Kyle DiFranco, East Longmeadow; Michael Beltran, Science Tech; Leroux, Auburn; Ryan Milewski, West Boylston; Dan Kemp, Tantasqua; and Mike DiMarzio, Wachusett. 