SHREWSBURY, Mass. – Andrew Schmit delivered the start St. John's Shrewsbury was looking for.
In a 2-0 hitter's count with one out in the bottom of the first, Schmit (Shrewsbury, Mass.) got his pitch. The senior took a hanging breaking ball for a ride, blasting a solo homer down the left-field line to open the scoring.
The No. 2 Pioneers never looked back en route to a 3-0 win over No. 10 St. John's Prep in the MIAA Division 1 Round of 8. With the win, SJS, last year's runner-up, advances to the semifinals. They'll face No. 14 Chelmsford, who defeated No. 11 Wellesley, 1-0, on Saturday.
The win marked the second consecutive win for SJS over SJP in the Round of 8. The Pioneers took a walk-off win over the Eagles, 7-6, in nine innings in 2024 during a game in which SJS was down to its last strike before erasing a 6-4 deficit in the bottom of the seventh.
This time around, it wasn't nearly as dramatic.
After Schmit's solo blast provided an early cushion, the Pioneers got right back to work in the bottom of the second. After Alex LeBel and Owen Miller singled, Jackson Fournier (Milford, Mass.) delivered another blow, lining an RBI single to right for a 2-0 lead. Two pitches later, after advancing to third on an errant pick-off attempt, Miller scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.
From there, Brayden Mercier (Oxford, Mass.) held up his end of the bargain, stifling the Eagles en route to a complete-game, one-hit shutout. The senior UMass commit struck out nine and worked around five walks. Fournier had two hits to set the pace for SJS (18-5) as seven other batters recorded hits. All nine in the lineup got on base at least once.
Braeden Hurley (Wenham, Mass.) got the start for SJP (14-9). The senior tossed 5⅔ innings, surrendering three runs on nine hits with one walk and four Ks. Nic Lembo (Danvers, Mass.) found the lone crack against Mercier with a single in the top of the third.
Let's dive into five standouts from the game.
