Boston English snaps losing streak in major way

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Eagles trounce Lincoln-Sudbury

Boston English’s Armanis Romero, left, is tagged out by Lincoln-Sudbury catcher Luke Danielson at home plate during the second inning Saturday in Sudbury. PHOTO BY PAUL CONNORS — MEDIA NEWS GROUP/BOSTON HERALD

Boston English’s Luis Mejia celebrates as a run scores while standing on second base during a 14-2 baseball win over Lincoln-Sudbury on Saturday. PHOTO BY PAUL CONNORS — MEDIA NEWS GROUP/BOSTON HERALD

Lincoln-Sudbury shortstop Mason Tarantino, rear, leaps for the throw from home to force out Boston English’s Almany Santana during the third inning. PHOTO BY PAUL CONNORS — MEDIA NEWS GROUP/BOSTON HERALD

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By Tom Mulherin

tmulheri@gmail.com

SUDBURY >> Amid a four-game losing streak, the Boston English baseball team didn’t care as much about its losses as much as it did about playing up to its lofty expectations.

Saturday afternoon, the reigning Div. 5 state champion Eagles answered that call to get back on track.

Jaurel Melo (4-for-5, double, three runs, two RBI) and Anyer Gomez (3-for-3, three runs, RBI) led six different players to collect multiple hits for Boston English (7-4), fueling a 14-2 nonleague win over Lincoln-Sudbury in a game shortened to six-plus innings due to thunderstorms in the top of the seventh.

The Eagles scored at least three runs in four of those innings, surpassing their previous season-high of 12 runs. Pitchers Many De Jesus (three-plus innings, six hits, two runs, three strikeouts) and Luis Mejia (three innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts) combined to snap the Warriors’ (9-4) streak of seven straight games with at least five runs.

“We came in here knowing we were playing a really good team, and we had to come out here and do something differently than what we’ve been doing for the past four games,” said English head coach Christian Ortiz. “Our starter and our reliever came in and kept the runs to the minimum. It was a good team win today. This is something I hope is a turning point to our season.”

The hunt for offense resorted to a long series of bunts early on, using sacrifices and good placement to keep the lineup moving.

Armanis Romero (2-for-4, double, two runs, walk), Gomez and De Jesus (2-for-3, two RBI) each scored in a 3-0 first inning as L-S struggled to limit the impact of those bunts. De Jesus plated one and reach on an error from his sacrifice attempt, before Mejia (2-for-3, run, RBI, walk) drove in a run on a flare single. Ismel Villar reached on a bunt single to load the bases, and Matthew Guerrero (two RBI) drove in another on a suicide squeeze bunt.

Nine-hitter Yeduary Soto (3-for-3, two runs, RBI) came around to score on another De Jesus bunt in the second inning for a 4-1 lead.

“In the first few innings, we probably laid down about 10 bunts,” Ortiz said. “It ended up working for us and then we just kept that momentum going.”

That set the tone for the offense to erupt come the fourth inning.

All nine batters had an at-bat in the stanza, which plated Luis Cruz (two walks), Melo and Gomez — all with two outs — for a 7-1 advantage. It started with Melo’s RBI single to bring in Cruz from second base, which Gomez and De Jesus followed with a single and a RBI single, respectively. Mejia walked to load the bases and Villar drove in the last run by absorbing a hit-by-pitch.

Melo drove in two more by going opposite field in a three-run fifth inning, and his double kicked off a three-run seventh against Lincoln-Sudbury’s bench before the storm ended the game.

“Today was a good team effort, everyone one-through-nine,” Ortiz said. “I think they were all on base. For those guys to step up and get 18 hits today, especially the bottom of the order, it just shows how much we can do and what we’re capable of.”

The Warriors flashed several clutch moments to limit damage some innings and threaten for a big offensive response, but they couldn’t get enough to stay within reach.

In the bottom of the first, Mason Tarantino (1-for-2, hit-by-pitch) scored on a balk to cut the deficit to 3-1 and Garrett Mahoney advanced to third with one out, but De Jesus fanned the next two.

First baseman Law DeNormandie threw out a runner at the plate, but not before a run scored in the fourth. Noah Brown inherited a bases-loaded situation in the fourth and got out of it with a strikeout, though English scored three before he came in. And after Connor Hammond (2-for-3, run), DeNormandie (1-for-2) and Luke Danielson each reached base to start the bottom of the fourth, Mejia came in to strand the latter two to hold off a budding rally.