The Belmont Hill baseball team was the Independent School League runner-up four years running. A 16th league title for program proved elusive.
That is history now.
In Friday’s regular-season finale at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols, senior Patrick Walsh tossed a complete game and classmate Jaylen Bailey went 2 for 3 with two RBIs as the Sextants won their first ISL title since 2014 with a 4-1 win over the Knights.
“You’ve been with these [kids] for so damn long and you have seen them have their hearts broken,” said Belmont Hill coach Mike Grant. “To see them celebrating and so happy, it is really good for them.”
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A loss would have resulted in a share of first place between Belmont Hill, Roxbury Latin, and St. Sebastian’s.
Walsh has mostly pitched in relief for Belmont Hill (15-6, 13-2 ISL), but because of two games scheduled earlier this week, the 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound righthander from Concord was asked to start.
He cruised through the first two innings and Belmont Hill took a 1-0 lead when Bailey scored on a passed ball in the top of the first.
But fortunes changed for the Tufts recruit.
A two-out single and stolen base by freshman Ty Harding put him in scoring position for the Knights, and junior Nick Wang didn’t let the opportunity go to waste, doubling down the third-base line to tie the game.
Walsh escaped any further damage, and Belmont Hill grabbed the lead back in the fourth.
BB&N starter Elliot Wolf walked back-to-back hitters ending his afternoon, and the runners advanced into scoring position on a groundout to first base by senior Gabriel Peckler.
Bailey scored the first run on a sacrifice fly to center field and, on the ensuing at bat, junior Richard McNamara singled for a 3-1 lead.
That is all the support Walsh needed. He finished off his gem with five strikeouts while allowing three hits and one walk. Bailey added an insurance run in the sixth inning with a two-out single to left.
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Belmont 1, Reading 0 — Mike Brown tossed a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts, raising his total to 44 Ks the past 27 innings as the Marauders (8-10) beat the Rockets in the opening round of the Brendan Grant Tournament.
Dracut 7, Wayland 0 — Sean McMeniman (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Mike Patterson (2 RBIs) powered the offense for the Middies (8-9), who qualified for the tournament with the win. Patrick Crowley needed just 58 pitches to one-hit the Warriors.
Hanover 11, Norwell 3 — Steven Simon ignited the offense with his 3-hit, 3-RBI performance with two runs scored for the Indians (9-6).
Hingham 2, Marshfield 1 — Andrew Snape struck out eight in a complete-game performance for the Harbormen (8-9).
Lynnfield 6, Burlington 3 — Junior Clay Marengi went the distance and tallied six strikeouts to lead the Pioneers.
Needham 6, Weymouth 2 — Junior Kyle Lambert (complete game, four hits allowed, 0 earned runs) led the Rockets (9-7).
Newton North 2, Waltham 1 — Thomas Wilson tossed a complete game, striking out seven and allowing just six hits in the win for the Tigers (11-6).
Nobles 4, Milton Academy 3 — Sophomore Luca Danos smacked a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth inning and senior Cole Koppel threw four innings in relief to pick up the win for the Bulldogs (13-4, 11-4 ISL).
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North Attleborough 8, Bishop Feehan 3 — Matt Seavey tossed a six-strikeout complete game while Todd Robinson went 3 for 3 with two stolen bases, one home run, two runs scored, and four RBIs for the Red Rocketeers (10-9).
North Quincy 4, South Boston 0 — Freshman James Hooley no-hit the Knights for six innings in his first varsity start for the Red Raiders (6-8), ultimately throwing a 1-hitter and fanning eight in a complete game.
O’Bryant 12, West Roxbury 2 — With the win, the Tigers (12-5) finished second in the North Division and advance to the Boston City League semifinals against Snowden on Thursday.
Oliver Ames 7, Foxborough 5 — Freshmen Jack Richardson threw two scoreless innings to pick up the win, plus scored the winning run in the 13th inning for the Tigers (9-11).
Walpole 2, Mansfield 1 — Senior pitcher Matt Donato tossed a two-hitter and junior catcher John Brady hit a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to lead the No. 5 Rebels (13-3) over the No. 2 Hornets (14-4).
Wilmington 10, Watertown 2 — Junior Bailey Smith (3 for 4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored, 3 stolen bases) led the Wildcats (8-8).
Softball
After going hitless through four innings, Bridgewater-Raynham changed their approach at the plate in the fifth.
Swinging earlier in counts and straying from a small-ball style of play, the Trojans (17-1) scored the game’s only run on an RBI double by Alexis Silva, scoring Summer Sheerin from first base, in a 1-0 win at Franklin on Friday.
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“A lot of times when you start seeing a pitcher a second or third time around, at that point is when we started putting hits together,” said B-R coach Mike Carrozza.
In one of the season’s best pitching matchups, Franklin senior Jackie Cherry surrendered just five hits, while B-R junior Julia Ferry scattered a trio of singles.
The night didn’t start as smoothly for Ferry, as she walked the first Franklin batter and allowed a lead-off single in the third. But the junior more than held her own in a playoff-like atmosphere, striking out 10 Panthers.
“She got stronger throughout the game,” said Carrozza. “She was potent, stayed poised. This is what you’re going to see from now until the end of the year.”
Arlington Catholic 13, Shawsheen 0 — Freshman Kara MacDonald hurled a six-strikeout shutout and sophomore Bianca Burke went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and a home run to lead the Cougars (12-5).
Beverly 12, Revere 4 — Julia Pitman went 4 for 5 with five RBIs and Rona Scott was 3 for 3 with a two-run homer to power the Panthers (12-5) past the Patriots.
Cardinal Spellman 12, Notre Dame (Hingham) 9 — Senior Olivia Dandrow had three hits and two stolen bases to lead the Cardinals (4-7).
Essex Tech 10, Masconomet 6 — Sophomore Ally Countie (2 for 3), junior Sheree Fallon (2 doubles, 3 RBIs), senior Ally Flagg (two-run homer, double), and junior Hester Murphy (RBI double) led the way for the Hawks (12-4).
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Everett 14, Waltham 0 — Junior Ariana Garay tossed her second shutout of the season for the Crimson Tide (10-6).
Hanover 14, Plymouth North 4 — Junior Sarah Gavin had 3 hits and 2 RBI to lead the Indians (15-3).
Haverhill 8, Lawrence 1 — Alyssa Wilson struck out seven and Jalyn Pearl finished 2 for 2 with two RBIs for the Hillies (8-7).
Lowell 1, Dracut 0 — Freshman Giana LaCedra fanned five for the top-ranked Red Raiders (18-0) as she picked up her 17th win of the season.
Methuen 2, Amesbury 1 — Jillian McCoy went 2 for 3 with a triple and struck out 13 on the rubber for the Rangers (14-4).
Newton North 4, North Andover 1 — Senior Jordan Jasset earned the win and freshman Ella Maher tallied two RBIs to lead the No. 6 Tigers (15-2).
North Attleborough 5, Foxborough 2 — Bella Erti allowed just two hits while striking out eight for the 14th-ranked Red Rocketeers (14-3). Alex Molson also knocked in two runs on two hits.
Saugus 12, Stoneham 0 — Junior Caitlyn Wood struck out 10 and allowed just two hits in a complete-game shutout for the Sachems (11-7). Senior captain Emma Howard went 3 for 4 with three doubles and an RBI while senior Nystasia Rowe also added a double at the plate.
Taunton 6, Mansfield 1 — Eighth grader Ava Venturelli hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning to help sophomore Kelsey White pick up her 13th win for the visiting Tigers (17-1).
Boys’ lacrosse
Pingree 12, Hamden Hall Country Day 4 — Junior attack John Crehan score six goals and sophomore goalie Clayton Smith made 16 saves to lead the Highlanders (19-2) to a record fifth straight New England Small School Championship. “This was one of our top goals going into the season and that was a great way to finish it out,” said Pingree coach Kevin Tersolo.
BC High 11, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 10 — Chi Chi Price tied the game with 10.2 seconds left in regulation and Luke Jaber scored the winner 44 seconds into overtime as the defending Division 1 champion Eagles (9-8) qualified for the state tournament. “We knew what we were in for, must-win games in this long stretch,” said BC High first-year coach Marcus Craigwell. “We’ve been in this situation before in overtime. We just had to buckle down ... and we did exactly what we were prepared to do.”
Acton-Boxborough 12, Reading 4 — Senior captain Vic Otero scored four goals to lead the fourth-ranked Colonials (14-1).
Central Catholic 11, Masconomet 1 — The Finneran brothers, Michael (4 goals) and Connor (3 goals), powered the Chieftains (15-2) to the win at home.
Dracut 10, Danvers 8 — Senior captain Allyn French scored five goals and won 15 of 18 draws at the faceoff X for the Middies (13-4).
Pembroke 11, Sharon 10 — Mike Hendriksen led the Titans (8-8) in a fourth-quarter comeback with six goals.
Wilmington 16, Lowell 15 — Zach Kincaid scored in triple overtime to lead the Wildcats (5-10) to a win.
Girls’ lacrosse
Bourne 15, Dighton-Rehoboth 4 — Erin Reilly (4 goals) and Kiely O’Connor (4 goals, 2 assists) led the Canalmen (9-10), who received 10 saves in net from Bri Becker.
Lowell 13, Greater Lowell 2 — Kaleigh Dunham scored four goals to go along with one assist for the Red Raiders (15-3).
Peabody 17, Winthrop 4 — Junior Olivia Kiricoples (3 goals, 2 assists) scored her 200th career point in the win for the Tanners (12-5).
Sandwich 14, Dartmouth 5 — Senior captain Sam Gorrasi tallied five goals and an assist for the host Blue Knights (14-3).
St. Mark’s 17, Groton 6 — The Lions (17-1, 12-0) clinched the Independent School League title with their win over the Zebras (8-10).
Boys’ tennis
Wayland 3, Weston 2 — With the match tied at 2-2, sophomore Noah Lee triumphed in the decisive third set for the Warriors (12-2).
Wellesley 4, Needham 1 — Junior Henry Bridges (second singles), sophomore Will Lewis (third singles), and the first doubles team of junior Jack Johnson and sophomore Aidan O’Neil all won in three sets for the Raiders (11-6, 9-4 Bay State).
Winthrop 5, Salem 0 — The Vikings (13-3) set a school record with their 13th win of the season.
Girls’ tennis
Lynn Classical 5, Everett 0 — The Rams (14-1) clinched the Northeastern South title with a sweep.
Boys’ volleyball
Westfield 3, Greater New Bedford 2 — In their final match of the regular season, the top-ranked Bears (18-1) suffered their first loss, at the hands of the two-time defending state champion Bombers.
To report scores, call 617-929-2860/3235 or email hssports@globe.com.