For Tewksbury High , the first month of his final season in a Redmen baseball uniform had not been what people had expected out of the returning Merrimack Valley Conference all-star.
A disciplinary suspension for a non-baseball incident had forced McCarthy to miss his team's first five games, and the right handed pitcher/first baseman had returned just in time to join his teammates in a mid-season swoon that saw the Redmen drop three out of the first four games McCarthy played in.
But all that changed on Friday afternoon, as McCarthy threw three innings of strong relief to pick up his first victory of the season, and also went three-for-four at the plate in leading TMHS to an exciting, come-from-behind, 7-6 victory over visiting Chelmsford at Strong Field.
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"Sean's an all-conference player, he's one of the four or five best hitters in the conference," said . "He's an impact guy on offense and he's a competitor. Here's here to win for the right reasons. We need more kids with a fire in their belly like Sean has."
McCarthy, who started the game at first base, slammed an RBI double in the first inning, singled and scored a run in the third inning, and then came on in relief of starter Ryan White in the fifth inning, putting an end to a five-run Chelmsford rally.
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In the bottom of the fifth, McCarthy led off with a single that ignited a four-run Tewksbury rally that erased a 6-3 Chelmsford lead and provided the eventual margin of victory for the Redmen.
But to give McCarthy all the credit for this win would be less than fair, as Tewksbury had more heroes than a Disney movie on Friday. Prominent among them was pinch hitter Jeff Rauseo, who came off the bench with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, and cracked a two-run single that stood up as the game-winning hit.
"Jeff's been swinging it pretty good, but things really weren't breaking for him," Drouin said. "I thought let's give another guy a shot and see if we couldn't get him going. I felt like this (Chelmsford pitcher) couldn't throw his fastball by him. With two guys on I figured the worst thing Jeff could do is lift a fly ball, and he ripped one hard into right center.
"Jeff's here every day working hard and he deserved an AB, and he made it count."
White was no slouch, either, shaking off his pitching troubles in the top of the fifth to knock in a run and then score the game-winner in the bottom of the fifth.
"Ryan White showed a lot of guts today," Drouin said. "He was ticked at me for taking him out in the top of the fifth. He's a competitive kid. He'll stay out there and pitch until you stick a stake in his heart. But he came out and he stayed positive and he came back and ripped one down the line for us."
Left fielder had two RBIs and a critical throw from left field to gun down a Chelmsford runner at the plate. Matt Luppi had two hits and a run scored, and Eric Heider pounded out two hits.
But in the late going, it was the dazzling defensive work of that protected Tewksbury's slim, one-run lead. Hulme left the Chelmsford bases full in the top of the sixth with a diving grab of a hard line drive, and he repeated the feat in the seventh to prevent another rally from getting started.
"Joe Hulme flat out stood right on his head on defense today," Drouin said. "I don't know if there's a better second baseman in the conference, but I do know I wouldn't trade (Hulme) for anybody."
The end result was a refreshing victory for the Redmen, who had lost three straight MVC games by tight margins.
"It's a good win," Drouin said. "We needed this one very very badly, just to kind of put the brakes on a losing streak."
Tewksbury improves to 5-4 overall, 3-4 in the MVC . The Redmen play under the lights at Lawrence Monday night.
