WESTWOOD >> It doesn’t matter to Xaverian coach Gerry Lambert who the opponent, the mindset is always the same.

The Hawks scratched and clawed their way to a pair of first-inning runs and eventually pulled away late to defeat Walpole 6-2 Monday morning at the Hawk Bowl.

Xaverian (8-2) wasted little time in getting the jump as Jack O’Neil (3-for-4 with three runs scored) led off with a single and stole second, the first of his three successful swipes, before moving to third on a passed ball. Jackson Morse walked and promptly stole second.

Nolan Rappoli (three RBI) grounded out to short as O’Neil came home. The next batter, Brady Hargraves bounced out to first, allowing Morse to trot home with the second run of the frame.

“I don’t care who we play, if you stand around and wait for five hits in an inning, it’s not going to happen,” Lambert said. “I like the concept of going after a team right away and our mindset early on was terrific.”

Xaverian extended the lead to 3-0 in the third as O’Neil was hit by pitch, advanced on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Rappoli. That was plenty of support at the time for ace Paul McCarthy, who allowed two hits, walked three batters and struck out six in five innings.

“I thought Paul didn’t have total command as well as he has this year, but part of being a good pitcher is making pitches when he has to and Paul did that,” Lambert said. “A few times they had a runner in scoring position and Paul made the pitches when he needed them.”

Walpole (3-4), which had scored just two runs in its last three games heading into the Xaverian contest, appeared destined for another day of futility entering the top of the sixth. But the Timberwolves took advantage of a pitching change and finally strung together some offense. Cash Cantrell led off with a single and Quinn MacNeil was hit by a pitch. Richie Hayes moved the runners into scoring position on a grounder to first, then Cole Pileski ripped a two-run single to make it a 3-2 game heading into the seventh.

That seemed to be the jolt Xaverian needed. Limited to just four baserunners over the previous 3 1/3 innings, the Hawks went to work to restore control. Nick Wenstrom led off with a single and stole second (one of eight by the Hawks), then scored on a single by O’Neil.

Morse reached on a 5-2 fielder’s choice, then the Harvard-bound Rappoli crushed an RBI triple to center. He scored the final run on a sacrifice fly by Hargraves.

“I thought we might have gotten a little too lackadaisical in the middle innings,” Lambert said. “Walpole came out swinging in the sixth and deserved to get back in the game, but it was good to see us come back and do that in the seventh.”