Shrewsbury Athletes' Postseason Recap

As the high school spring sports season has officially come to a close, let’s take a moment to recognize the local teams from and who made this a postseason to remember.

The St. John’s baseball team captured its ninth Central Mass. Division 1 title with a 5-3 win over Westborough before eventually falling in the state semifinals to Western Mass Champion Minnechaug Regional 6-5 in 11 innings.

The Pioneers strung together wins over Shrewsbury, Nashoba Regional and Leominster on their way to the district title game against the Rangers. St. John’s finishes 2011 with a 19-8 record.

Speaking of those Colonials, they earned a No. 13 seed in the Central Mass. Division 1 Tournament and needed to travel just minutes up the road for their first round battle with the host Pioneers. Shrewsbury hung tough in the contest before dropping a 10-7 decision.

The Colonials ended the season with a 10-11 record.

As for the Shrewsbury softball team, the girls earned a fourth seed and received a first-round bye before hosting fifth-seeded Leominster in the quarterfinals. The Colonials proved too much for the Blue Devils, earning a 2-0 win to move onto the semifinals and a date with top-seeded Milford.

It appeared the Colonials were on their way to a thrilling upset of the Scarlet Hawks in the semifinals, leading 5-3 in the sixth inning before heavy rain suspended action until the following night. In the continuation, the Hawks scored three runs in the seventh inning to pull out a 6-5 win and bring an end to the Colonials’ season. Shrewsbury finished 16-6 on the season.

In boys’ lacrosse, both the Pioneers and Colonials qualified. The ninth-seeded Shrewsbury squad traveled to eighth-seeded Nashoba Regional and dropped a 6-4 decision bringing its year to a close with an 11-9 record.

However, the second-seeded Pioneers kept things going a little further. St. John’s crushed No. 14 seed Nashoba Tech in the first round before cruising past Wachusett Regional and Oakmont Regional in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. The Pioneers ran into a tough Algonquin squad in the finals and the top-seeded Tomahawks eeked out a 10-9 win in overtime to lock up the Central Mass. Division 2 title.

The Pioneers closed the book on the 2011 season with a 16-6 record.

On the girls side the sixth-seeded Colonials blew by No. 11 seed Bromfield 15-3 in the first round however fell to third-seeded Algonquin in the quarterfinals 12-6.

Shrewsbury finished the 2011 campaign with a 14-8 record.