DANVERS — The St. John’s Prep baseball team hadn’t built a lot of momentum lately, dropping four of its last five games. Junior right-hander Collin Thornburgh reversed that course Wednesday afternoon, perfectly playing the role of the stopper.
Visiting Malden Catholic couldn’t catch up to Thornburgh’s stuff as he fanned seven and allowed only two hits in a 6-0 shutout victory for the Eagles at Frates Diamond.
“100 percent I wanted to be the stopper. I always want to get back out there and help my team win,” said Thornburgh, a Danvers native. “What lifted me most was my teammates cheering me on. Those guys always pick me up.”
The junior staff ace gave way to Aidan Turner for the last two outs after throwing 87 pitches and allowing just four baserunners all afternoon. The Eagles (5-5) played spotless defense behind him, which gave Thornburgh the confidence to mix his pitches in most any count.
“Collin’s been in command of his fastball, which allows him to get ahead and set up the slider and curve,” Eagles head coach Dan Letarte said of Thornburgh, who now has a North Shore-leading four wins. “He’s getting stronger as the season goes along, too, which I love to see.”
Senior Brady Baldassare had the best seat in the house for the two biggest hits of the afternoon. He led off the bottom of the first with a single, then cruised home when junior Jimmy DiCarlo launched his second homer of the season for a 2-0 lead.
That scene repeated in the third, with Baldassare doubling and coming around on a big fly by senior captain Christian McCarthy.
“Watching those balls fly, being on base, was beautiful. It meant I didn’t have to run that hard,” said Baldassare, who happens to be among the region’s leaders in stolen bases and swiped another Wednesday.
St. John’s Prep added to its lead in the fifth as McCarthy doubled and came around on a passed ball. Football superstar and baseball catcher Maxwell Parent drew a walk and also came around on a pair of steals plus a passed ball.
“Christian had a great game,” said Letarte. “We had a lot of kids contribute. Jackson Zaimes made his first start at third base and he looked great. Logan DeSimone also made his first start in the outfield and made a few nice catches going down the line.”
Jesse Swartz, a senior outfielder, also had two hits for the Eagles. Zaimes earned an RBI and senior captain Joe Bonavita also recorded a hit and was serenaded with ‘Happy Birthday’ from his teammates as they conferenced following the final out.
Danvers native Thomas DeBernardo scattered two hits over 1 1/3 relief innings for the Lancers, whose hits were both singles picked up by Joe Brienze and Anthony Kiatos.
St. John’s Prep will look to build some momentum from the victory, its first shutout of the season. It’s slated to be a busy stretch for the Eagles, with four games in six days starting Friday at Walpole followed by Saturday at Weymouth, Monday hosting St. John’s Shrewsbury and getting Xaverian at Boston College for the ALS Awareness game next Wednesday.
“This was a good bounceback effort for us after a tough loss to Catholic Memorial Monday,” Letarte said. “Now, it’s up to use to carry it into the weekend and keep playing good baseball.”