Sports

Playoff bound

Johnson two-hitter fuels sweep of double-header vs. Andover, Beverly

By John Shimer
Staff writer
Published: July 13, 2009

ROWLEY — It was not all burgers, barbecue and fun in the sun for the Newburyport Nor'easters (18-0, 13-0), who swept a double-header against Andover and Beverly, and in between mixed in a cookout before clinching the first playoff spot in District 8.

With first place in District 8 on the line as the undefeated Andover Post 8 team came to Eiras Field to take on Newburyport, each team had its ace ready to go — Dartmouth-bound Michael Johnson for the Nor'easters and William and Mary-bound John Farrell for Andover.

In a classic pitcher's duel the hits were few and far between, but a couple of clutch hits by Jordan Silva and Peter Creamer gave the Nor'easters the lone run they would need in a win, 1-0. Three hours later, Newburyport's bats came alive on the strength of a two-homer, five-RBI day from Kyle LeBlanc against Beverly's No. 1 pitcher to win a rout and clinch a second straight playoff appearance, 11-2.

The story of the day, though, was the fabulous pitching match-up in the morning tilt that saw Johnson completely dominate the Andover line-up, which included St. John's Prep star Michael Yastrzemski (1 for 3), the grandson of legendary Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski.

In the complete game effort, Johnson struck out 11 batters, allowed only two hits and one walk, all in just 87 pitches, 57 of which were strikes.

"He's the best I've ever seen at this level," lauded Newburyport coach Tim Southall, who added the Nor'easters made zero errors in the two games. "I've been coaching here now for 11 years and coaching 20-plus years, and I've never seen anyone throw like he does. Pounding the strike zone, changing speeds, off balance, they're just guessing, they're up there guessing, they have no clue what's coming. You could probably tell them what's coming and they'd still struggle. He's a special kid.

"I figured if we got Silky two we'd be good," Southall continued. "He made one stand up."

Andover coach Joe Iarrobino was also quite complimentary of both starting pitchers.

"I coached Michael last year in the Lynn Invitational, and he's a great kid," said Iarrobino, who credited Silva with a great piece of hitting to slap a two-strike slider to right field to get on base and set the stage for Creamer's RBI-single. "I think he's a lefty, and every coach dreams about having great lefties. He throws hard and has good stuff, so he's outstanding. I'd say quite frankly that John Farrell and Mike Johnson and Shawn Carlson, who's our other guy, up there are kind of equal. Very, very good pitchers and there aren't many better that I've seen."

Johnson, who knew many of the Andover players from his days at Brooks School, said he simply tried to mix up his pitches to keep the talented Andover order off balance. The lefty was more than effective retiring the final 10 batters he faced.

"You could tell looking at a batter where you might like to throw; if his swing is long, come inside and stuff like that," explained Johnson on his heady pitching style. "Other than that I did what I always do.

"They are good, there's not a weakness in that order, and I take the first batter as seriously as I take the No. 9 batter," Johnson continued. "I'm happy I could mow them down."

The one thing Southall emphasized as part of the game plan before hand was that Yastrzemski was not going to get anything good to hit, that everything he saw at the plate was going to be away because he was the one player for Andover who could single-handily win the game. Although Yastrzemski led off the fourth with a flare hit to left, he was pegged out trying to steal second by Creamer, a big play in the game.

"He wasn't going to get anything middle in that he could drive," Southall said. "He's good enough that he can change the game by himself. He didn't see anything good and he had a good game for what he saw, poking a little single out to left (in the fourth)."

Now that the Nor'easters are back in the playoffs and currently seeded No. 1 in District 8 with Andover (10-1) seeded second and Methuen right on their tracks at 8-1-1, Newburyport will look to sew up the top seed with three games remaining on the schedule this week — Methuen Tuesday night, Haverhill Thursday and Saugus Friday. Methuen plays Andover today and should Methuen beat Andover followed by a Newburyport win over Methuen Tuesday, the Nor'easters would clinch the top seed regardless of the outcome of their last two games.

The playoffs, in which District 8 and District 5 will compete against each, begin Sunday. The No. 1 and No. 3 seeds from District 8 will take on the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds from District 5 to be played at Twi Field in Danvers. The No. 1 and No. 3 seeds from District 5 will play the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds from District 8 most likely in Sudbury. Each bracket will play in a double elimination tournament format with the winners of each bracket earning a trip to the state tournament the following weekend.