It was seventh heaven for the St. Mary High School baseball team yesterday at Bullens Field.
St. Mary’s Felix Chapdelaine scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, coming all the way around from second on an infield error, as the seventh-seeded Saints edged out No. 10 Dean Tech 5-4 in the first round of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 tournament.
Chapdelaine reached first base with a single, moved to second when White drew a walk, and scored when Matt Plasse appeared to ground out to the shortstop, who erred on the throw to first base. The ball got away from the first baseman, and St. Mary’s (15-6) celebrated the victory.
St. Mary’s got off to an early lead, but Dean Tech (13-7) rallied, stealing home plate for the tying run in the top of the seventh.
“It was tough,” St. Mary’s coach Troy Collins said. “But every time they made a mistake, we capitalized on it.”
Saints’ Noah Parker, who struck out eight batters on the mound, also collected two hits at the plate and two RBIs. Plasse had a hit and two RBIs, and, Chapdelaine, Anthony Garde, and Jeff Hockenberry finished with one hit apiece.
St. Mary’s moves on to face the winner of No. 2 Pioneer Valley Regional (15-5)/No. 15 Sabis (13-7) on Monday at a place and time to be determined.
