Road to spring state tourney glory now set in Bay State

Hector Longo, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·3 min read

Jun. 2—After much delay and plenty of anxiety, the MIAA announced the state tournament pairings in baseball, softball and volleyball on Wednesday.

With the new power rankings system still having the kinks worked out, there was plenty of angst around the state. Even now that they're announced, the MIAA posted a disclaimer that these pairings are not official until 24 hours pass.

Area clubs qualified in both Division 1 and 4 baseball and softball. In Division 1 volleyball, No. 11 Haverhill leads the contingent of five area teams into the fray.

Here's a quick synopsis.

Baseball

As has been the case all season long, MVC champ North Andover, Central Catholic and Andover all have been clustered near each other in the top 15 of the Division 1 power rankings.

Each avoided the dreaded preliminary round.

The Knights stumbled a bit late, dropping a pair of games in the Hillie Classic Tournament, but still managed to earn the No. 8 seed. Monday, North Andover will host the winner of the Lynn Classical vs. Durfee prelim. Coach Todd Dulin will be able to send his rested ace, Ryan Griffin, to the hill, should he so choose, in that one.

Central drew the No. 11 seed. The Raiders will host the winner of Lowell and Science Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the campus of Northern Essex Community College.

Andover, the 14 seed, will be in action on Sunday at home as well, hosting Xaverian Brothers High School at 1 p.m.

The fourth area competitor, 8-12 Lawrence, drew the No. 32 seed thanks to its strength of schedule.

The Lancers will actually host No. 33 Lexington in a prelim on Saturday at noon.

In Division 4, Whittier Tech drew the 18th seed. The Wildcats will take to the road against Tyngsborough in the round of 32.

Softball

The Merrimack Valley Conference dominated Division 1 North a year ago with Billerica taking the sectional. Now that it's a statewide tournament, the MVC should again figure big, not just with the local entrants but with No. 5 Lowell also figuring heavily.

Central Catholic and Methuen were right behind in the No. 6 and 7 spots, while Haverhill is the 21 seed.

Softball power, especially in Division 1, often resides in the south, and this year is no different with Bishop Feehan, King Philip and Taunton holding down the top three seeds.

The sleeper of the bunch could be Peabody, which dominated the Northeastern Conference, after reaching the North finals a year ago before losing to Billerica.

Central will await the winner of Braintree and Malden. Methuen will play under the lights on Burnham Road on Sunday night against Hingham. North Andover will host Beverly on Monday at 4 p.m. in the round of 32 as well. Finally, Haverhill hits the road on Sunday morning when the Hillies challenge No. 12 Westford Academy.

In Division 4, Amesbury's loss to Methuen in the final game of the regular season might have cost the Indians the top seed to Hampshire Regional.

Whittier Tech is the lone area combatant in the field, and the Wildcats will host Clinton High in the round of 32.

Volleyball

Seeded No. 11, Haverhill High represents the top local hope in Division 1. The Hillies will know their competition very well in the round of 32 as Andover hits the Mansfield Gym on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The two rivals split a pair of matches in the regular season with the Warriors taking the first match in five sets but Haverhill blitzing Andover in the second, 3-0.

North Andover, Methuen and Central Catholic all qualified. The Raiders need to play a prelim, hosting Worcester Doherty on Thursday night.

The Knights go to No. 6 Lowell, while Methuen travels to Lexington.