St. Mary pitcher Noah Parker winds up for a pitch against Dean Tech Friday. (Photo by Chris Putz)
HOLYOKE – The St. Mary High School baseball team is on a mission, and it appears, thus far, that only God – or some opposing behemoth – may have the power to stop them.
St. Mary stormed out of the gates with a 3-0 lead against Dean Tech and never looked back, winning 4-1 Friday at Springdale Park in Holyoke. The Saints (10-0 overall, 7-0 Tri-County League) remained unbeaten, and are already tournament-bound with still half their 2013 regular season schedule remaining.
It all began with a two-out rally.
With two outs in the top of the first, St. Mary’s Noah Parker drew a walk off Dean Tech pitcher Jimmy Amaya before stealing second base. Then, the Saints belted three consecutive run-scoring hits – Charlie White and Brendan Gawron RBI singles, and a RBI double from Matt Plasse.
Parker was dominant on the mound for St. Mary, allowing just three hits and a first-inning run while striking out 13 batters. He only walked two.
The Saints tacked on an insurance run in the third inning.
“I think we still have room for improvement,” St. Mary coach Troy Collins said. “We’re pitching well and playing very good defense. Our hitting has to get better.”
“We need to stay focused and take it one game, one inning at a time. We need to keep improving until we get to the tournament. We have high goals for ourselves this year.”
