Sports
Three Games Into Season, Redmen Are Clicking
Tewksbury High baseball team routs Andover, 13-4, to run its record to 3-0.
With only three games played and 17 remaining, it's a little early to anoint the as champions of anything.
But with their star pitcher returning to form, their defense making great plays and their batting order scoring runs in big bunches, things couldn't be going much better for the Redmen so far.
On Tuesday,earned his second complete-game victory in two starts, scattering six hits and walking just one batter in seven full innings as TMHS won its third straight game, 13-4 over Andover.
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Luppi got touched up for three runs in the Andover third, but the TMHS ace got serious after that, retiring 15 of the final 18 batters he faced and allowing just one hit over the last four innings.
"He (Luppi) looked good," said TMHS coach Ron Drouin. "His velocity was clearly increased (over his first start). He looked like a front line guy today."
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Luppi, who suffered through an unusual nerve illnesss last year that severely limited his effectiveness, has showed no lingering affects from those problems this spring.
"Each time out I get more confident," Luppi said. "You can feel the difference just in how the ball comes out and how you control it.
"Health-wise, I feel like I'm back," Luppi added. "It's just a matter of building my arm strength now that I'm back to full health."
Even if Luppi hadn't been feeling 100 percent healthy, it may not have mattered in this game, as he and his teammates followed their 22-run barrage against Austin Prep on Friday with another offensive explosion on Tuesday. The Redmen scored five runs on three hits in the third inning and buried Andover with a five-hit, seven-run sixth inning that saw 12 Tewksbury batters come to the plate.
Senior second baseman Joe Hulme, who reached base all four times he batted Tuesday, had a double, a triple and two runs batted in during the sixth inning alone.
"Joe Hulme started the rally in the sixth with a big hit, then he came back when he had the hammer in his hand and knocked 'em out with a triple," Drouin said.
Lead-off man Chris Andella had two hits, scored two runs and knocked one in, while senior left fielder Sean Connolly knocked in two runs and scored two runs.
Luppi helped his own cause with a hit, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored, and senior right fielder Ryan White reached base all five times he batted, walking three times and driving in one run. Sophomore third baseman Cam Oliveira scored twice and knocked in a run.
The Redmen chased three different Andover pitchers off the mound and scored runs off of all four pitchers the Golden Warriors threw at them. All 10 TMHS batters reached base at least once in this game.
"They walked a few guys and we took advantage of it. They threw a couple of wild pitches and we took advantage of it," Drouin said. "We did a lot of good things today. We certainly are not a finished product. We ran the bases and made a mess a couple of times. But we're competing and we're playing hard. That's a good team we beat today."
The win was Tewksbury's first of the season in the Merrimack Valley Conference, and it improved TMHS' record to 3-0 overall. The Redmen have outscored their first three opponents by a 38-7 margin.
It was Andover's first loss of the season. The Golden Warriors opened with impressive wins over North Andover and Central Catholic before bumping into the Redmen.
"Hey, three up and three down," Drouin said. "We're obviously very happy about being 3-0. We've just got to get one of the next two."
Tewksbury plays at Wilmington Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. and the Redmen host Lawrence on Thursday at 10 a.m. at Strong Field.
