SuiteSports' 2017 MIAA Baseball All-State Team

Along with making the Super 8 finals, both St. John (Shrewsbury) and St. John's Prep are represented on our first ever all-state team.

By SuiteSports Staff

Earlier today, SuiteSports unveiled its first ever MIAA Baseball Player of the Year. As the recipient of the award, BC High junior RHP Mike Vasil is also the first member of our all-state team, and you can read more about him here.

For the rest of our all-state selections, continue below.

SuiteSports' 2017 MIAA Baseball Player of the Year

By SuiteSports Staff

SuiteSports.com and its panel of high school sports correspondents are pleased to announce today that Mike Vasil, a junior right-handed pitcher out of Boston College High School, is the recipient of the first ever “SuiteSports MIAA Baseball Player of the Year” award, given to the top high school baseball player in Massachusetts.

Vasil was selected among a number of candidates for the award who showcased their talents both during the regular season and in the state tournament.

The Eagle ace joins Cambridge center Dimon Carrigan (basketball) and Duxbury quarterback Bobby Maimaron (football) as other SuiteSports Player of the Year award winners during this high school sports year. As our Player of the Year, Vasil is the first member of our 2017 MIAA Baseball All-State team, which will be released later today in its entirety.

A Super 8 for Every Sport? Girls' Lax & Closing the Book on Spring Sports

Cohasset's Elle Hansen leads a fast break against Walpole in Saturday's Division 2 state championship game.   Photo by Brendan Hall.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

With Saturday's MIAA state championship marathon, spring sports, and the 2016-2017 HS sports year, came to a close. It was an interesting spring, to be sure, and here are a few wandering thoughts I've had as we close the book on this season.

The Super 8-ification of MIAA Sports

The Super 8 is great. I know this, you know this, we all know this. It's worked tremendously well for hockey, and the last few years have proven that it works very well for baseball as well.

As far as crowning a "true state champion," there are few better ways to do it. It seems inevitable that we will soon hear rumblings about a Super 8 for darn near every sport, and in most cases, I wouldn't object.

Your 2017 "All-Super Eight" Team

Super Eight champion St. John's (Shrewsbury) is well represented on our "All-Super Eight" Team.   Photo by Tom Joyce

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

Wednesday night signaled the conclusion of the Division 1A “Super Eight” tournament as St. John’s Shrewsbury captured the title with a thrilling 5-4 victory over St. John’s Prep.

Throughout the tournament, a number of players from all eight teams made their presence known by leading their respective team on a memorable run, or standing out via a single game performance.

So, without further ado, SuiteSports is excited to unveil its All Super Eight team, in which we recognize those players who stood out over the course of the tournament.

Make sure to check back in early next week when we will unveil our 2017 MIAA Baseball All-State team, as well as our Player of the Year.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Completes Journey with Super 8 Title

By Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports)

BROCKTON - Ian Seymour had no problem recording a five-out save.

Starting pitcher Matt Stansky cruised through his first six innings of work for the St. John’s (Shrewsbury) baseball team, but he was pulled in the seventh inning. In the eighth, the Pioneers lead began shrinking.

They surrendered a leadoff single, followed by an RBI triple and a sacrifice hit which cut the team’s lead to 5-4 over St. John’s Prep with one out in the inning.

Seymour then came in so he could protect the one-run lead in a high leverage moment. Because of that, the Pioneers came away with the Super 8 title on Wednesday night at Campanelli Stadium.

Your MIAA Baseball Super 8 Final Preview

St. John's Prep rolls into its third consecutive Super 8 final, but the Eagles will have to defeat top-seeded St. John's (Shrewsbury) to win the title.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

The Division 1A "Super Eight" tournament began back on May 31st, with each of the eight teams starting a journey that they hoped would end in a dog pile at Campanelli Stadium.

That eight-team field has winnowed to two, as St. John’s (Shrewsbury) and St. John’s Prep will face off in the Super Eight final on Wednesday night.

St. John’s (Shrewsbury), the season-long favorite to win the title, has won their first three games in the tournament. In the first round the Pioneers squeaked past eighth seeded Belmont, 3-1, before defeating BC High and St. John’s Prep to reach the final.

It will be the Pioneers' first state final appearance since facing BC High in the 2009 Division 1 State Final.

St. John’s Prep, meanwhile, won their first two games over Newton North and Central Catholic, before faltering in the Super Eight semifinals. The Eagles quickly recovered though, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat BC High, 9-7, in an elimination game to reach the finals.

The appearance in the finals is the third consecutive such trip for the Prep. The Eagles certainly hope this one goes far better than the last two where in each case they won the first game of the series in dominating fashion only to fall in game two.

Standing as the lone undefeated team, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) holds a significant advantage. St. John’s Prep will not only have to beat the Pioneers on Wednesday night, but beat them a second time in a potential game two that would be played on Thursday night in order to claim the title for themselves.

Here is how we expect Wednesday’s Super Eight Final to unfold.

BC High Hangs on to Eliminate Braintree from Super 8

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

BROCKTON - For the first time in the Division 1A Super Eight tournament's history, a Bay State Conference team will not take home the trophy.

Trailing No. 4 BC High 11-10 in the top half of the ninth, Braintree sent three-hitter Alex Kennedy to the plate with two on and two outs in hopes of coming away with another one of their notorious comeback victories.

Eagles’ reliever Gavin Reily, however, induced a pop up to third base that landed in the glove of freshman Pat Roche to seal the win as BC High (15-9) defeated the two-time defending champion Wamps, 11-10, in the Super Eight quarterfinals at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

With the win BC High advances to the Super Eight semifinals, while Braintree’s season comes to an end.

Preview of BC High Braintree Super 8 Baseball

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

Yesterday’s two Division 1A Super Eight games signaled the exit of one team from the field while another clinched a spot in the title game.

BC High knocked out 13 hits en route to an 8-1 win over No. 6 Xaverian to advance to the Super Eight quarterfinals in the first game of the morning. 

In the second of the two games, meanwhile, No. 1 St. John’s Shrewsbury scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth capped off by a walk off single from Jack Fields to defeat No. 3 St. John’s Prep, 4-3. 

The loss means St. John’s Prep falls to the one-loss bracket and will await the winner of Sunday night’s quarterfinal matchup between BC High and Braintree.

The Eagles and Wamps have played twice so far this season, both at BC High’s Monan Park. In the first contest between the two teams BC High held a 2-0 lead going into the top of the seventh but the Wamps rallied to score seven runs to grab a 7-2 win.

BC High got revenge on the Wamps in the first round of the Super Eight as behind a complete game from ace Mike Vasil the Eagles came away with a 3-2 win.

Now, with both team’s season on the line on Sunday night, here is how we expect the rubber match between these two teams to unfold.

No. 5 Braintree vs. No. 4 BC High

Probable Starting Pitchers: TBA – Braintree; Brendan Mignone, RHP – BC High

Date/Time/Location: June 11^th, 6pm, Campanelli Stadium

St. John's Shrewsbury Walks Off Against St. John's Prep to Make Super 8 Final

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

BROCKTON, Mass. - St. John’s Shrewsbury has been the top team in Massachusetts since the beginning of April, and now behind a ninth inning comeback, they are one win away from officially putting a stamp on it.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, St. John’s Shrewsbury battled back as Jack Gardner crushed a game tying double and Jack Fields hit a walk off bloop single to right as the Pioneers stunned St. John’s Prep, 4-3, in the Division 1A Super Eight semifinals at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

With the win St. John’s Shrewsbury (22-3) advances to the Super Eight finals while St. John’s Prep (16-7) drops into the one loss bracket.

Super 8 Semifinals Preview

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

On Thursday evening, Braintree joined St. John’s Prep and St. John’s Shrewsbury as three of the four teams who will be a member of this year’s Division 1A Super Eight “final four”.

The Wamps, who won consecutive games against eight seeded Belmont and three seeded Central Catholic facing elimination, now await the winner of BC High and Xaverian to see who they will play on Sunday.

The Eagles and Hawks are set to faceoff Saturday morning at Campanelli Stadium with each looking to make their second trip in three years to the Super Eight quarterfinals.

In the afternoon, meanwhile, the two remaining undefeated teams in the field will go head-to-head with top seeded St. John’s Shrewsbury taking on familiar foe St. John’s Prep.

Here is how we expect the two games to unfold.

Braintree Holds Off Central Catholic to Keep Super 8 Title Defense Alive

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

BROCKTON - In the blink of the eye, the two time-defending champions have put themselves back in the conversation for a three-peat.

One day after pulling off a miraculous comeback to remain alive, John Tellier kept Braintree’s season going, throwing a complete game as the No. 5 Wamps defeated No. 3 Central Catholic, 5-2, in a Division 1A Super Eight elimination game on Thursday afternoon at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

The win advances Braintree (16-7) to the Super Eight quarterfinals against the winner of BC High and Xaverian. Central Catholic (18-5) is eliminated from the tournament.

Your Do-or-Die Monday Super 8 Preview

The two-time defending Super 8 champion Braintree Wamps face elimination today.   Photo by Brendan C. Hall for ESPN Boston.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

For the second time in the four-year history of the MIAA Division 1A Super Eight tournament, the top four seeds won their opening round games and advanced to the winners bracket.

Number one seed St. John’s (Shrewsbury) squeaked past eighth seeded Belmont 3-1, while four seed BC High knocked off two-time defending champion and fifth seeded Braintree. On the other side of the bracket, two seeded St. John’s Prep dominated seventh seeded Newton North, 18-3, and three seed Central Catholic took care of business against sixth seeded Xaverian, 11-2.

The tournament continued on Sunday with St. John’s (Shrewsbury) topping BC High and St. John’s Prep besting Central Catholic in the winners bracket. Both St. John's squads are off to the semifinals, while BC High and Central Catholic are now one game away from elimination.

But today the one-loss bracket begins with Newton North and Xaverian going head-to-head, and Braintree playing Belmont. In each of those contests, one team will see its Super 8 dreams end. Here's how we see do-or-die Monday shaking out.

Seymour Pitches St. John's (Shrewsbury) Past Belmont in Super 8

St. John's ace Ian Seymour (pictured here against St. John's Prep earlier this year) opened his Super 8 with a stellar performance.

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

SHREWSBURY - Anytime Ian Seymour is handed the baseball, the odds of St. John's (Shrewsbury) winning rise quickly.

Not by accident, Seymour has blossomed into one of the top pitchers in the state. His fastball, change up and slider have become so recognizable that Virginia Tech wasted no time getting him to sign on the dotted line for next season. But before the senior can exhibit his talents in the ACC, Seymour still has unfinished business to attend to with the Pioneers.

During Thursday's opening round Super 8 tilt versus Belmont, the left-hander took care of business, putting forth a complete game effort to stymie Belmont 3-1 at Pioneer Field.

Seymour pitched all nine innings, allowing an earned run on six hits, striking out eight and issuing one intentional walk on a pedestrian 90 pitches. Simply put, the Marauders were left baffled all afternoon long.

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.

Vasil Pitches a Gem as BC High Tops Braintree in Super 8 Opener

Mike Vasil opened this year's Super 8 with a dominant performance against Braintree.   Photo by Christian Davis.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

BOSTON - BC High ace Mike Vasil made sure the Eagles' entrance into the postseason was simply super.

Behind Vasil’s complete game four-hitter on Wednesday afternoon, No. 4 BC High defeated No. 5 Braintree, 3-2, in the first round of the Division 1A Super Eight tournament on Wednesday afternoon at Monan Park on the campus of Boston College High School.

Vasil (CG, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K) was on his game from the opening pitch, firing 23 of 30 first pitch strikes, and throwing 81 of his 107 total pitches for strikes.

The tall right hander, who was measured by a handful of scouts in attendance to be throwing somewhere between 91 and 94 miles per hour for most of the afternoon, saved his best for last, retiring the Wamps 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth to finish off the win.

BC High coach Norm Walsh said his three-year starter just knows how to get the job done.

Previewing the MIAA Super 8 Baseball Tournament

Sean Burke leads top-seeded St. John's (Shrewsbury) into the Super 8.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

Tomorrow afternoon marks the beginning of the Division 1A Super Eight tournament and with it comes four games that are sure to be high caliber.

Two-time defending champion Braintree will look to start its journey defending consecutive titles, but faces a tall task against one of the state’s top pitchers in BC High’s Mike Vasil.

Newton North, meanwhile, is hoping to avenge a late season loss when it travels to St. John’s Prep. Sixth seeded Xaverian seemed all but forgotten late in the season, but rallied to win six straight games, and will attempt to keep its streak going when the Hawks face off against three seed Central Catholic. Finally, central Massachusetts power and tournament favorite St. John’s (Shrewsbury) hopes to hold off eighth seeded Belmont in the Marauders’ quest to become the first Division 2 team to win a Super Eight game.

Here is our breakdown for each upcoming Super Eight game.

Super 8 Selection Recap and Analysis

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

FRANKLIN, Mass. — Every year Super Eight selection Monday comes and goes and with it remains a bevy of teams in awe that they managed to slip into the field while others are left in shock that they missed out.

In less than hour, this year’s committee nominated 11 teams for the eight spots, with Lynn Classical being the only one of the 11 voted down right away. Three teams, St. John’s Shrewsbury, St. John’s Prep and Central Catholic, were unanimous votes meaning they automatically were entered as part of the Division 1A tournament. Seven others, meanwhile, received at least five of the nine votes – BC High, Braintree, Andover, Methuen, Xaverian, Newton North, and Belmont - which meant they were to be reconsidered for the final five spots.

When all was said and done, here is how the Super Eight field shook out:

1. St. John’s Shrewsbury

2. St. John’s Prep

3.    Central Catholic

4. BC High

5. Braintree

6. Xaverian

7. Newton North

8. Belmont

MIAA Super 8 Baseball Field Announced

After fighting through brutal schedules, St. John's (Shrewsbury) and BC High will each participate in the Super 8.

By SuiteSports Staff

The MIAA's "Super Eight" committee officially announced which eight baseball teams will compete in this year's Division 1A tournament to determine the top team in Massachusetts baseball.

We'll have more throughout the night, but first, here is the eight-team field, courtesy of our Matt Feld, who was in Franklin as the field was announced.

MIAA Baseball Super 8 Projections: 5/29/17

Hot off its first league title in 26 years, is Belmont now on the verge of a Super 8 berth?

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612)

When former Lincoln-Sudbury baseball coach Kirk Fredericks first set out to make the Super Eight tournament, he had one goal in mind – increase interest in high school baseball across Massachusetts.

Now, there is no question that Fredericks’ mission has been accomplished.

After a regular season that has seen a bevy of twists and turns, rain outs, and unforgettable performances, it is officially time for selection Monday.

Tonight at 6 pm, the nine members of the MIAA Division 1A “Super Eight” committee will gather in Franklin to determine who the top eight teams are in Massachusetts.

It will surely be a tough decision, with a number of teams making their case over the final handful of weeks, either by finishing with a sterling record, or making their name known through playing a difficult schedule.

So, without a further ado, SuiteSports is proud to unveil its fourth and final Super Eight projection. Make sure to check back later on tonight when we will have full reaction from the meeting and a breakdown of the eight teams selected.

Pope Francis Baseball Spoils Taconic's Perfect Season

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

SPRINGFIELD - Taconic knew it was on the verge of making history, but once the Braves realized they would be in for a major tussle against Pope Francis, that mindset quickly changed to survival mode.

In a game that embellished a playoff-type atmosphere from start to finish, it was the host Cardinals who came away triumphant, following Kevin Murphy's ninth inning, walk-off RBI single which gave Pope Francis a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Forest Park.