'We gave it a heck of a ride': Tantasqua's magical season comes to an end in state semis

LOWELL — As Petey Casine watched his deep fly ball drop into the glove of the St. Mary’s center fielder Tuesday afternoon, the Tantasqua senior and his teammates saw their baseball season come to an end.

After tapping the mitt of the St. Mary’s first baseman with his right hand as a show of good sportsmanship, Casine walked over to his father, Pete, the Tantasqua first base coach, and gave him a big hug.

Despite suffering a 1-0 loss to second-seeded St. Mary’s of Lynn in the Division 3 state semifinal at Edward A. LeLacheur Park, sixth-seeded Tantasqua can look back on a memorable run this spring that Casine and the rest of the Warriors won’t soon forget.

“We always knew we had it in us,” Casine, 18, said. “It’s special; having him as a coach is just unreal, he’s always there for me, always giving me tips and everything, and he’s an awesome coach, too.

“I couldn’t really ask for anything better. It was a nice four years.”

This year, Tantasqua finished 18-5 and advanced the farthest in the playoffs since 1977 — when the Warriors won the Division 2 state title.

St. Mary’s (20-4) plays top-seeded Oakmont (21-3) in the title game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Polar Park.

“They obviously got one more hit and got a couple more plays — that’s all it is, that’s the name of these games,” Tantasqua coach Jon Leroux said. “Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t.

“These kids battled; they did everything we asked them to do. Sadly, we came out the losers today.”

MacNevin nearly wills Warriors to playoff win

Following playoff wins over Swampscott (2-0), Dighton-Rehoboth (6-3) and Hanover (3-0, 8 innings), Tantasqua entered Tuesday’s state semifinal battle tested and eager to earn a chance to play at the home of the Worcester Red Sox this weekend.

“I was telling the boys since Day 1 I wanted to play at Polar (Park),” Tantasqua junior Lucas MacNevin said.

MacNevin nearly willed the Warriors to Worcester.

The right-hander from Leicester twirled a gem for Tantasqua, tossing six innings of four-hit ball while allowing one unearned run and striking out seven.

“He battled,” Leroux said of MacNevin. “He did everything we needed to do to have a chance to win today, he was a warrior out there for us.”

“This was my first time (pitching) in front of that many people,” MacNevin said. “It was great, it was fun.”

The one inning that wasn’t fun, however, for MacNevin and Co. was the bottom of the fifth — when St. Mary’s scored the game’s only run.

After a leadoff single from junior Shea Newhall, St. Mary’s senior Gabe Diaz came in to pinch run. When a pickoff throw from Tantasqua catcher Brandon Phillips sailed over Diaz at first base, the St. Mary’s speedster scampered to third with no outs.

A few pitches later, St. Mary’s sophomore Devin Duval lined a ball to Tantasqua left fielder C.J. Harrell to drive in Diaz on a sacrifice fly and secure a 1-0 lead for the Spartans.

“Close one,” said Leroux, whose team mustered three total hits, from seniors Colm McGrath, Hunter Normandin and Casine. “It was a back-and-forth game.”

Following a scoreless sixth inning, Tantasqua encountered its last chance to extend its season in the seventh.

A one-out walk from MacNevin gave the Warriors hope before a line drive from senior Ryan Wright and a long flyout from Casine both found the glove of the St. Mary’s center fielder to set off a Spartans on-field celebration — and a few emotional embraces for Tantasqua.

“We were hoping that one fell,” Pete Casine said of his son’s final at-bat. “But it was just nice to be there and share (a hug) with him.”

Family ties run deep with Tantasqua baseball

Shortly after St. Mary’s and Tantasqua players and coaches shook hands, and the Warriors walked off the field to a round of applause from their fans, Leroux met with his team for a few minutes on the outfield grass in Lowell.

From there, the Warriors hugged and cried. Laughed and celebrated.

Like the Casines, Tantasqua junior Chace Fredette shared a postgame hug with his father, Shadd, who is another Tantasqua assistant coach.

“We had an emotional moment at the end where I explained to him how proud I was of him from a dad aspect and it’s tough,” Shadd Fredette said. “Being a coach is easy because you can walk away from it but being a dad, you can’t walk away from it, you have to go home to this.

“I just want him to know that deep down I’m proud of what he did this year and what he accomplished, and it’s something I’ll never forget as a dad or as a coach.”

The family connections didn’t end there for the Warriors.

For McGrath and junior pitcher Miles Blake, the pair of cousins thoroughly enjoyed sharing the diamond together with Tantasqua the past few years.

“It was an awesome experience,” McGrath said. “He’s the best pitcher and probably player I have ever played with, so just playing next to him is an honor.”

“It was awesome to be with him, he took me under his wing (and) taught me so much,” Blake said. “I’m super proud of his career. Great kid.”

And it was a great season for Tantasqua baseball. The Warriors are just sad it couldn’t ramble on.

“We gave it a heck of a ride,” Blake said, “and I wouldn’t (want to) go out with another group.”

Said McGrath: “By far my favorite season of baseball ever.”

“It’s been a blast,” Leroux concluded. “It’s a great group of kids.”

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Tantasqua baseball loses to St. Mary's in Division 3 state semifinals