Sports
State Semifinal Preview: North Andover vs. Plymouth North
The Knights battle Plymouth North tonight in the MIAA Division 2 State Semifinals.
North Andover has won 23 straight games, but if you watched them play, you would think that they haven’t won anything yet.
And if you asked them, they would tell you they haven’t won anything yet.
In 2009, the Knights won a sectional title. They matched that feat on , but the celebration was very subdued.
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. He knows there is still a lot of work to be done.
“We treated 2009 like it was our state championship,” Walsh said of the sectional final game. The team was unable to produce in the state semifinal back in ’09.
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In 2011, the attitude is different.
“We’re still hungry and want to get this state championship,” said Walsh.
A quick team picture with the trophy was the only celebration the team had. That was followed up by a quick huddle of the players that happened on the first base foul line. Then the team was back in the dugout cleaning up as per request of their head coach Todd Dulin.
The approach for the Knights has been focused on small steps rather than thinking about the big picture. “We’re just trying to worry about each pitch, each play,” said Dulin.
The Knights don’t talk about the streak. “We haven’t really thought about it much,” said Dulin.
Last night, Plymouth North beat Somerset 2-0 in Quincy to win the MIAA Division 2 South Title. They are faced with the task of facing a Knights team that is absolutely on fire.
Plymouth North was the top seed in the south tournament. They finished with a record of 17-3 and have since improved to 20-3 in the playoffs.
They beat Greater New Bedford 8-5 in the quarterfinals and Sharon 4-1 in the semifinals. A stifling pitching performance and some timely hitting got them their 2-0 win over Somerset last night.
North Andover and Plymouth North will do battle tonight at 5:00 p.m. Braintree High School will host the game.
Either Mike Weisman or Tyler Leavitt will be taking the mound for North Andover.
The winner of tonight’s game moves on to the Division 2 State Championship game against either Hudson or Palmer. Hudson won the central title and Palmer won the west.
The state title game is expected to be played on Saturday, June 18. North Andover has never advanced to a state title game.
Here are the key facts for tonight’s semifinal matchup:
North Andover Plymouth North Seed (in sectional tournament) 1 1 Record 23-1 20-3 Key Senior Matt Walsh Key Junior Cody Holmes Runs per game (in playoffs) 7 4.67 Runs allowed per game (in playoffs) 1 2
