Sam Keene pitches BC High past Saint John’s and to Div. 1 state baseball crown – Boston Herald
WORCESTER — Sam Keene will never forget his final high school start.
Keene threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball while Cole Bohane collected three hits as No. 1 BC High captured the Div. 1 state baseball title with a 5-1 win over No. 2 Saint John’s Shrewsbury on Saturday night at Polar Park.
The Eagles’ (20-5) championship is their fourth in program history and first since 2009.
“That was Sam at his finest,” said BC High coach Steve Healy. “He always comes out guns blazing and when things get rough, he really bears down.”
Charlie Bushley got the final five outs for the Eagles after Keene received a standing ovation coming off the mound.
“That was unbelievable,” Keene said. “That was my final high school pitch and that’s how I am going out. It’s sad but unreal. I can’t thank the school and crowd enough. They’ve done so much for me.”
Keene was stellar in the first three innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced. Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, the Pioneers got to the Eagles’ left-hander on a double by Andrew Schmit and an RBI single by Jack Forgues that tied the game.
Keene, however, induced a double play to limit the damage in the fourth and got a comebacker to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.
Pioneers ace Brady Shea struck out 18 Eagles in their meeting on May 12 but on Saturday the BC High offense was relentless. The Eagles forced the left-hander to throw 95 pitches through four innings.
BC High grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Wyatt Miller walked, stole second, and came around to score from second base on a wild pitch that Saint John’s catcher Owen Miller was unable to locate.
Ahead 2-1, the Eagles grabbed insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Two hit batters and a single loaded the bases before Andrew Flaherty hit a sacrifice fly and Bohane came through with a two-run single to make it 5-1.
![Saint John's Brayden Mercier runs to first during the MIAA Division 1 baseball state championship game against BC High in Worcester. (Libby O'Neill/Boston Herald)](https://i0.wp.com/www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/BCSaintJohnslo03.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)