FRANKLIN — The field for the Super 8 baseball tournament has been selected.
BC High was unanimously chosen as the top seed Monday, the first Catholic Conference school to get the No. 1 seed in the tournament’s three-year history.
Central Mass. power St. John’s (Shrewsbury) is the No. 2 seed, followed by St. John’s Prep and Xaverian, giving the Catholic Conference three of the top four slots. Pope Francis is the No.?5 seed and the first Western Mass. school to be selected to the Super 8.
Plymouth North, the No.?7 seed, also made history as the first non-Division 1 program in the Super 8. The Eagles lost pitcher/first baseman Joe Walsh, last season’s state Gatorade Player of the Year, to a torn UCL halfway through the season, but had many kids step up down the stretch.
“I am very, very honored to be first non-Division 1 team to represent the Super 8. It means a lot coming from the committee,’’ Plymouth North coach Dwayne Follette said. “The teams playing well go far, and I think we are playing well at the right time.’’
The sixth seed went to defending Super 8 champion Braintree, which has rattled off nine straight wins. Braintree has made the Super 8 final the last two seasons.
“We got a lot of seniors on the team like we did last year and they didn’t want this to end,’’ Braintree coach Bill O’Connell said. “This is a gritty group. They wanted to experience what we have experienced the last couple years.’’
The Wamps will play St. John’s Prep in the first round in a rematch of last year’s final.
The last team selected was Newton North, the tournament champion in 2014. The Tigers have had an up-and-down season, but a 9-2 win over BC High on May 14 might have convinced the committee to give Newton North a shot. The Tigers get BC High again in the first round.
Lincoln-Sudbury, Silver Lake, Billerica, North Andover, Malden Catholic, and Austin Prep were all nominated, but didn’t receive the necessary votes to gain entry.
First-round games begin Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the higher seed’s home field. All games shift to Brockton after the opening round. The tournament is double-elimination.
The first-round matchups: No. 8 Newton North at No. 1 BC High; No. 7 Plymouth North at No. 2. St. John’s (Shrewsbury); No. 6 Braintree at No. 3 St. John’s Prep; and No. 5 Pope Francis at No. 4 Xaverian.
