Sports
St John’s Baseball Off to Strong Start
The Eagles started their season with a 2-0 record this week, with wins over both Peabody and Gloucester. The Prep took down the Fishermen 13-1 Thursday afternoon.
The Eagles improved to 2-0 Thursday with an impressive 13-1 victory over Gloucester. Coach Pat Yanchus begins his 31st year as head coach at the Prep with a very solid team. Coming off a 16-9 year that saw them advance to the state semi-finals, the Eagles are looking for similar results this spring. Much of the team’s hope will rely on the pitching staff.
“Pat Connaughton is our top pitcher. [He] along with Dillon Gonzales, Brandon Bingel, Ryan Panaleo, Bobby Woodward and Mike Driscoll, should be able to give us a lot of good innings,” Yanchus said. Connaughton won the opener against Peabody Wednesday, 6-2, and Gonzales got the decision in Thursday’s game.
The Gloucester game was a total team effort right from the first inning. While Gonzales had a little bit of a location issue in the first inning, he soon settled into a groove that frustrated and confused the Gloucester batters. When he left at the end of the fourth, Gonzales had given up just three unproductive hits while striking out three and walking one. Conversely, Gloucester’s pitching experienced serious control problems. Over the same four frames, the Fishermen walked seven, hit three and threw two wild pitches.
Find out what's happening in Danversfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Offensively, the highlight for the Eagles was senior Tyler Coppola’s first inning home run, which easily left the field in deep centerfield. At the end of two innings, the Prep was up 5-0, and by the end of the fourth, the lead had extended to 9-0.
Beginning the fifth, Yanchus was able to clear the bench and get some guys early playing time. The substitutions didn’t help the Fishermen. The Eagles went on to score four additional runs while giving up just one.
Find out what's happening in Danversfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Along with the pitching staff, Yanchus is looking for important contributions from several players.
“We have returning seniors Tyler Coppola, Justin Peluso and Anthony Capuano, (along with the aforementioned Gonzalez and Connaughton). Also, we will be looking to sophomore Brandon Bingel and seniors Joe Kirpas, Sean Patrikas and Zach Sklar,” Yanchus said.
The Eagles’ next host Catholic Conference opponents Xaverian Brothers on April 11 (4 p.m.) and Catholic Memorial April 13 (4 p.m.).
