Danvers scores 12 unanswered to drop Billerica
Jun. 19—DANVERS — Brendan Trohon was tracking down a routine fly ball when he twisted his knee in a hole in right field and wound up missing the catch. In a perfect illustration of the character of his Danvers baseball team, the senior was down but never out.
Unable to stand, Trohon crawled to the ball and managed to throw a relay home. Catcher Adam Bridgeo nabbed a Billerica batter trying to stretch it into an in-the-park homer and the Falcons exploded offensively in the very next inning on their way to a 12-7 Division 2 North playoff win Friday afternoon.
"It was a really big play and it kind of describes our team. He's literally down on the ground crawling after the ball, never quitting. Johnny Curran's in the perfect spot for the relay, that play holds Billerica off and the next inning we pour it on," said Falcon coach Shawn Secondini.
Danvers (10-8) scored a dozen unanswered runs in all to advance to Monday's next round at No. 4 seeded Wakefield (4 p.m.). It was the program's first playoff win since 2017 and the first in their careers for the team's six seniors.
"The last time on this field, to get a playoff win, feels unreal," said senior catcher Adam Bridgeo. "We stood our ground after we got behind and the bats awakened."
The Falcons did most of their damage in the fourth, sending 13 to the plate and scoring eight times on four hits, three walks, a hit batsman and an error. Pitcher Joe Zamejtis was beaned with the bases loaded to give his team the lead for good and two-run hits by Tyler O'Neill and Nolan Hills helped KO the No. 20 seed Indians (5-11).
"It was an unreal inning," said Trohon, who bounced back from the tweaked knee to nab a pair or RBI. "Once we get rolling, there's no stopping us."
Danvers built a 12-3 lead and nearly won by the ten run rule, leaving the walk-off run on third in the fifth. Curran had four RBI to lead the charge while Steve Reardon had two hits and scored three times and Tyler O'Neill had a pair of hits with two RBI. The hits seemed to be contagious for the Falcons, who did a great job turning the lineup over since Zamejtis had three knocks in the No. 9 slot.
"Once our energy gets going, especially on the bench, that's when we play our best game," said senior Tyler Robinson. "To put up double digit runs in our last home game, and to be moving on, feeling great. But we're not done yet."
Billerica grabbed a 3-0 lead by stringing together three of the four hits it managed in six innings against Zamejtis. It didn't take Danvers long to bounce back, getting two in the next half inning before the 8-run outburst next time up.
"Most of our games are like that," said Hills. "We've come from behind, it feels like, just about every game. It's just the way we play. We'll sit here for five hours and grind it out if that's what it takes."
Zamejtis, a sophomore lefty, earned his first playoff win with four strikeouts over the six frames. Once he got the lead, he retired six of the last seven batters in quick fashion and Danvers played perfect infield defense with O'Neill making a handful of tough outs at second base. Freshman Mike Moroney cleaned things up in the seventh, walking three and giving up a two-out grand slam to Harry Tucker to account for the 12-7 final.
Zack Hamel (hit, run), Caleb White (run) and Bridgeo (hit) also contributed to the offense for Danvers, which ended one of the longest postseason win droughts in the program's modern history. The Falcons lost in the first round in 2017, missed the tourney by a game in 2018 and had 2019 cancelled by the pandemic.
"I keep telling our seniors there's no body who's ever been through anything like they have," said Secondini, who earned his first playoff win as head coach.
"To be a part of our transition three years ago, then have a season taken away from them, and then finally get this win means so much to those guys. I'm so happy for them and especially that they got it here at home, in front of a pretty good crowd. It was a really good day for Danvers baseball."
