PHOTO GALLERY: Braintree Walks-Off on Newton North

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

On Monday afternoon, Braintree completed a regular season sweep over rival Newton North with a walk-off, 2-1 win in extra innings.

Courtesy of our own Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI), here is a full photo gallery from the Bay State Conference matchup. Note that you can launch a gallery by clicking on any photo.

Butera's Bat Does the Trick to Lift Newton North to Key Bay State Conference Win

By: Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Newton, Mass. – In need of a Bay State Conference win to right the ship, Newton North received a spark from an unlikely offensive source.

With the Tigers and visiting Brookline tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Justin Butera came off the bench and roped a pinch-hit go-ahead RBI triple to right to push the Tigers in front, 2-1. Butera’s hit was the fulcrum of a seven run frame that propelled Newton North to a 7-1 win over Brookline on a humid Friday afternoon at Newton North High School.

Butera, often known for his talents on the mound, proved to be the deciding factor in just his third at-bat of the season

St. John's Prep Puts on Offensive Showcase to Down Newton North in Super 8

St. John's Prep put on an offensive showcase in the Eagles first Super 8 game

By Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7)

DANVERS, Mass. - On Wednesday afternoon, the second-seeded St. John’s Prep Eagles opened the MIAA Division 1A Super 8 Tournament with a resounding 18-3 win over No. 7 Newton North on their home turf.

Yet for a program that’s gone home with a runner-up trophy in this double elimination tournament two years running, an opening-round win is merely the first step towards redemption. 

“It’s a long tournament and if you’re lucky you’ll go two or three more weeks,” Prep coach Dan Letarte said. “Winning this first game is huge because we lost our first one to Braintree last year and we had to take the harder route. We’re very humbled to be in the final six and we’re just taking it one game at a time.”

Newton North catcher Cole Whitehouse provided an early spark for the visiting Tigers (14-9) by homering to left field in his first two at-bats, giving seventh-seeded North a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom half of the third, but that’s when the host Eagles erupted with 16 runs on 17 hits over the next five frames to win going away.

Xaverian Baseball Holds Off Newton North

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

NEWTON - Xaverian coach Gerry Lambert has been waiting for one of his more inexperienced players to come up big in a key spot. On Thursday afternoon, Sean Birch did just that.

With the Hawks and host Newton North deadlocked in a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning, Birch lined a go-ahead RBI single up the middle that scored Aidan McLaughlin, as Xaverian went on edge the Tigers 3-2 on a cold Thursday afternoon at Newton North High School.

Xaverian (4-3) was able to grab an insurance run two batters after Birch’s single, as a balk brought home Birch to put the Hawks up 3-1.

The insurance run proved critical in the bottom half of the inning when the Tigers (3-2) threatened to win the game.