HAVERHILL — So far the MIAA State Tournament is bringing out the best in Central Catholic.
Lukasz Rondeau fired a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out eight while the Central Catholic offense exploded for five runs in the fourth inning on its way to an 8-0 win over No. 13 Chelmsford on Thursday afternoon in the Division 1 baseball Round of 16 at Northern Essex Community College.
Central Catholic will take on No. 21 Methuen in the quarterfinals Sunday at noon at Haverhill Stadium.
“Lukasz got stronger as he went and the last four innings he was lights out,” Central Catholic coach John Sexton said. “He is typically someone where if you want to get him, you better get to him early. He was very good today.”
Rondeau and Chelmsford’s Matthew Stuart were locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first three and a half innings, but in the home half of the fourth the Raiders broke through.
A hit batter and two walks loaded the bases with two outs and Jake Bartlett connected on a line drive RBI single to right to put the hosts up 1-0. Moments later, No. 9 hitter Jeremy Dela Cruz provided separation by drilling a bases-clearing double to left center to put Central on top 4-0. Joshua Florence capped off the two-out rally with an RBI triple to center to stretch the advantage to five.
“We just focus on having one good at bat in a row and it worked out today,” Sexton said. “Matthew Stuart is good. He throws hard and throws a lot of strikes. We had a big inning where we got five and then cracked it open later. That’s the biggest hit that Jeremy has had at Central Catholic.”
Rondeau survived a bases-loaded one-out scare in the first and then hit cruise control. The left-hander allowed a mere three baserunners between the second and seventh innings, with none reaching scoring position. Central Catholic put on the exclamation point in the bottom of the sixth as Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 player of the year Nate Kearney crushed a three-run double to center field to make it 8-0 Raiders.
“Methuen is probably the hottest team in Massachusetts,” Sexton said of the upcoming matchup. “This is the part of the year where you have to beat real good pitching to win. That’s the price of poker.”
