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 Newburyport baseball coach Bill Pettingell may enjoy this Cape Ann League title more than any of his previous 18.

The Clippers clinched a CAL title yesterday for the 19th time in Pettingell's 37 seasons as the school's coach. Newburyport's 7-3 victory over Amesbury paired with Masconomet's 7-6 win over North Andover assures the Clippers of at least a share of the title. The Clippers (12-7 overall, 10-3 CAL) are currently in a three-way tie for first with Wilmington (12-5, 10-3) and Masconomet (14-3, 10-3). Those three teams have completed their CAL schedules. North Andover (13-4, 9-3) could make it a four-way tie with a win over Pentucket on Thursday.

Amesbury's David Smith was 3 for 3 with a home run. John Tassanari was also 3 for 3. Mike Corrigan was 1 for 2 with a home run on his birthday.

Amesbury (3-10) will miss the EMass. state tournament for the first time since 2005.

After going two weeks and seven outings without a win, the Hamilton-Wenham baseball team was starting to feel a bit weary as the bounces always seemed to go against the Generals. Saturday, it all changed as H-W used a four run sixth inning to outlast Amesbury, 7-4, to shake the winless monkey off their backs.

 The way Newburyport and Amesbury's offenses have struggled this year, it would be hard for either club to argue with the adage that hitting is generally the last part of the game to come around.

Brendan Walsh delivered the game of his career, pitching a no-hitter to lead Central Catholic to a season-opening 17-0 drubbing of Amesbury.

"This is the first no-hitter for Central since Kevin Bateman in either 1986 or 1987," said Central head coach Marc Pelletier. "He was just in control from the first batter. He ran his fastball away and he was never really threatened."

Perhaps a moment of silence wouldn't be long enough to memorialize one of the region's most influential sports figures.

In that sense, it's only fitting that the entire opening weekend on the local baseball scene will be spent paying tribute to Bert Spofford, who died at the age of 90 last July.

For the first spring in 15 years, Jerry Mondalto is not preparing for an upcoming baseball season.

The long-time Amesbury High baseball coach has no plans to coach this spring, he said yesterday. Mondalto coached Amesbury from 1983 through 2007 with the exception of a six-year span from 1988 to 1993. Amesbury athletic director Elizabeth McAndrews relieved Mondalto of his head-coaching position last October. She has not specified the reasons for Mondalto's release.