Kyle Jordan lights the spark, No. 1 Walpole baseball scores five in fifth to rally past Westwood in Division 2 quarterfinals - The Boston Globe (2024)

“It was a season-changing hit,” said Walpole coach Chris Costello. “He delivered for us. It didn’t put us up, but it said, hey, we are here.”

Walpole trailed, 3-0, entering the fifth after spending the first four innings struggling to get baserunners against Westwood starter Luke Chandler. The rally started when Paul Whelan, the son of Westwood coach Brian Whelan, singled up the middle. A hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases with one out for Jordan.

Before his at-bat, Costello went over to a group of alumni sitting next to the dugout and said Jordan was the person he wanted in this situation. The senior second baseman, nicknamed “Barbeque” because he grew up in Texas before moving to Walpole in fourth grade, then lined a high fastball toward the center-field fence, where it hopped once and went over the 362-foot mark.

“I just tried to stay calm,” said Jordan. “I stayed back on the pitch and was just able to hit it to center field.”

After Walpole loaded the bases again, two errors plated three more runs and the Timberwolves took a 5-3 lead.

“Our senior leadership came up big today,” said Costello.

Senior righthander Alex Hee did the rest, finishing off a complete game with a groundout to short as the tying run stood at third base.

No. 9 Westwood (16-7) gave the top seed all it could handle in a matchup between two familiar programs. Not only does Brian Whelan’s son play for Walpole, but Whelan and Costello coached the 2019 Walpole Little League team that won the state title. Many of those players are now part of Walpole’s junior class.

Julian Colon led the Wolverines with a solo home run and two doubles.

“It was a great high school baseball game.” said Westwood’s Whelan. “Credit to Walpole.”

In other Division 2 action:

Milford 3, Woburn 2 — Damien Carter fired six strong innings, Anthony Lapierre earned the save, Sean McGee delivered a two-run single, and Keith Lee (two hits) had an RBI double as the fourth-seeded Scarlet Hawks (17-7) edged the No. 12 Tanners (17-6) in a quarterfinal.

“It’s huge for us,” said Lee. “We’re a close group. Our coaches Alex Dion and Mike Reed are amazing. They mean the world to us but we also mean the world to each other … we hope the season keeps getting longer for us.”

Division 1 State

Xaverian 3, Durfee 1 — Outside of one inning Saturday afternoon, Pat Rhodes was spotless.

The Xaverian junior hurler fired a two-hitter, with seven strikeouts and no walks, to power the No. 3 Hawks (16-7) over No. 11 Durfee (18-5) in a quarterfinal.

Rhodes set down the first 10 hitters, and the righty did the exact same thing to finish it.

How did he shake off the fourth inning, in which Durfee got both its baserunners and its lone run?

“My teammates were making all the plays behind me, and they were in my ear giving me confidence all day,” Rhodes said. “I was so confident that we were going to go back in the dugout [after the fourth], come back out, and they weren’t going to score for the rest of the game.”

Xaverian will face a familiar face, No. 2 St. John’s-Shrewsbury (19-4) in the semifinals Tuesday. The two Catholic Conference foes split the regular-season series and the league title.

Rhodes mixed his fastball, slider, and changeup well, finding the corners with his fastball and inducing soft contact for his defense, as he went the distance on just 80 pitches. Junior Jack O’Neil (2 hits, 2B, 2 runs) took care of business at the hot corner, taking away a pair of hits early and making four straight assists between the second and third innings.

“He’s unflappable out there,” coach Gerry Lambert said of Rhodes. “He’s done it all year. He gets strike one, goes after hitters, and keeps his poise.”

Senior Aiden Travers pitched a five-hit complete game for Durfee, sending down eight in a row to end his day and keep the Hilltoppers within reach.

BC High 12, Springfield Central 2 — Despite going down 1-0 in the top of the first against the No. 8 Golden Eagles (17-4), top-seed BC High (18-5) did not relent after posting three runs in the bottom of the first to breeze into the state semifinals.

Tommy O’Donnel’s moonshot to the center-field wall scored BCH’s first run of the game, and then an infield single by Andrew Flaherty, and a Jack Darcy double off the left-field wall, gave BCH a two-run lead going into the second.

Starting pitcher Sam Keene found his composure after the first, giving up just one more run on a groundout in the top of the sixth. Sal Ortiz pitched scoreless relief to close out the win.

Division 3 State

Apponequet 1, Sandwich 0 — The game scoreless heading into extra frames, the No. 4 Lakers (19-5) walked it off in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to Lucas Tremblay’s RBI single, to move into the state semifinals for just the second time in program history.

The No. 12 Blue Knights (16-7) left eight runners on base in the quarterfinal contest.

Oakmont 5, Bishop Stang 0 — Caleb Allen locked things down on the mound for No. 1 Oakmont (20-3) to blank No. 8 Stang (10-11) in a quarterfinal battle of Spartans. Allen fanned seven while surrendering just four hits and walking two.

Second baseman Sam Curtis and shortstop J.J. Walker led Oakmont at the plate, notching two hits each, with Walker added two RBIs.

St. Mary’s 5, North Middlesex 0 — Junior lefty Josh Doney tossed a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 10, and his sophom*ore catcher brother Kyle was 2 for 3 with three RBIs for the No. 2 Spartans (19-4) in the quarterfinal win against the No. 7 Patriots (18-5).

Division 4 State

Salem 7, Lynnfield 5 — The No. 24 Witches (13-10) extended their underdog run, defeating the top-seeded Pioneers (20-3) to advance to the final four for the first time since 1990.

Rocco Ryan’s 2-for-4 outing, which included a homer and four RBIs, led the offense. Julian Ortiz picked up the save after Riley Fenerty gave up seven hits, walked three, and two earned runs while only striking out three in his start.

Pittsfield 12, Clinton 5 — Morrie Fried laced a two-run single in a five-run sixth, as the No. 6 Generals (18-5) ousted the No. 3 Gaels (17-4) in a quarterfinal in Clinton.

Seekonk 10, Northbridge 1 — Senior Declan Lush scored three runs and sophom*ore Javi Borges (2 runs, 2 RBIs) struck out 10 and scattered three hits in six innings for the No. 4 Warriors (20-3) in the quarterfinal win against the No. 5 Rams (17-6).

Division 5 State

Boston English 7, Ayer Shirley 2 — Both David Castillo and Armanis Romero played shortstop and pitched for the third-seeded Blue & Blue (22-2) in their quarterfinal victory over the sixth-seeded Panthers (19-4). Castillo pitched three innings and got three strikeouts while also going 2 for 3, and Romero hurled four innings with two strikeouts while going 2 for 4 hitting.

Mike Puzzanghera and Graham Dietz contributed to this report.