With Andover in need of a strong ending to an otherwise well-rounded performance, Andy Hamel ’14 toed the rubber in the bottom of the seventh and promptly struck out the three batters he faced to give Andover a 3-1 win over Brooks.
In addition to Hamel’s pitching, Tim Salvadore ’15 and Thomas Lane ’15 combined for another strong performance. Lane threw two scoreless innings, lowering his Earned Run Average over his last three appearances to 1.68.
The win was Andover’s first since April 12, when it defeated nationally ranked DeMatha Catholic on a walkoff blast up the middle from Kevin Superko ’14. Against Brooks, Andover took advantage of a strong pitching performance and plated just enough runners to grab the win over a 1-8 Brooks team.
Andover’s offense, which has only scored eight runs in the last four games, tallied eight hits and three runs in the first five innings of the game, giving Hamel a small cushion before the final inning.
Despite the win, the players still have their sights set on a greater goal—more offense. Andover has been held to three or fewer runs in its last six games, but the players are looking to buck that trend.
“Our pitchers have been doing a great job keeping us in games, and it’s about time we give them some run support, and soon those close games will come our way,” said Payton Jancsy ’16.
“When you let teams that grind out games hang around, they sometimes get the confidence they need to come back, but luckily, our pitchers were able to shut them down,” he continued.
Andover will play Groton on Friday and Exeter in a doubleheader on Saturday for a chance to improve upon its 2-7 record.
