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Knights rock Hornets ace in 7th to take CAL showdown

Wednesday, May, 14 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

North Andover senior Gary Lunetta lent a scouting report on the Scarlet Knight lineup:

"Pitchers might get us the first time around, but usually the second time around we're going to hit him."

It took CAL Large-leading North Andover, now 11-2 overall and 8-1 in the league, four trips through before the bats final nicked up CAL Small-leading North Reading and its ace Brian O'Neil. The five-hit, three-run seventh powered the resilient Knights to a nail-biting 6-5 win, position them atop the CAL standings as the lone one-loss team in the league.

Stepping out of the shadows in right field, junior Aaron Brunette played the hero's role for North Andover in two parts.

He came on to pitch with one out and the bases loaded, maneuvering the Knights out of any significant trouble by inducing a sacrifice fly and a groundout. The right-hander went on to finish his day with 2<2/3> innings of hitless relief but needed his own help offensively to improve to 5-0 on the year.

"Coach said to be ready, but that was a scary situation," said Brunette. "But, it was even more scary at the plate (in the seventh).

Trailing 4-3 with O'Neil hoping to lock down his fifth win of the year, Billy Della Rocca and Gary Lunetta led off the seventh with back-to-back singles, bringing Brunette to the plate.

Brunette took an O'Neil heater and unloaded it the opposite way, deep to right for a two-run triple and a 5-4 lead. One out later sophomore Connor Walsh delivered him with a roped single to left, a run that proved to be huge.

North Reading, 12-2 and 8-2 in the CAL, put two runners on, via the walk, to open the bottom half of the frame, and they moved up on a Zach Hastings bunt.

O'Neil, who will be playing for Bryant University next spring, then smashed a drive to North Reading's cavernous right-center, but Ryan Sifferlen had a bead on the 380-foot shot the entire way, pulling it in for out No. 2.

With two down and the tying run at second, a classic showdown between Brunette and Kevin O'Leary (league-leading .535 average) loomed. But this was the Knights' day and Brunette sawed him off, inducing a soft liner that second baseman Nick Blanks squeezed to lock up the win.