St. Mary’s entered the season as one of a handful of contenders for the Division 3 state baseball title.

Through six games, nothing has happened to dispel that notion.

The 6-0 Spartans have beaten a pair of future Div. 1 college pitchers (Scott Longo and Andrew Shute) and a bonafide high school ace (Matt Burt) in the process.

“Pitching has been the No. 1 reason for our success,” said St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana. “We’ve got two No. 1 guys (Josh Doney and Jack Zimmerman) who are very good pitchers who will go on to pitch in college. They always want the ball and they give us innings. Jake Peterson has been with us for three years, he’s been in some big games as well.

“Cam McGonagle wasn’t with us last year because of an injury he suffered during hockey, but he was our leading hitter as a sophomore and will pitch for us as well as Jackson Finn.”

St. Mary’s isn’t just a job for Dana – it’s his life.

A star player at St. Mary’s where he was part of state championship teams in 1987 and 1988, Dana went on to play at UMass and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 28th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He spent four years in the minors before returning home and becoming the head coach at his alma mater 18 years ago.

“This school means a lot to me,” said Dana, who has guided the Spartans to three state titles in his tenure. “I love this place, I love everything about the school. (Athletic director) Jeff Newhall does a great job, he gives us everything we need which makes things a lot easier.

“The kids know the past and understand that, but we want them to be part of something now.”

Because of the deep and talented rotation, St. Mary’s doesn’t need to bang out 20 hits on a daily basis in order to achieve success. The Spartans have relied on timely hitting from the likes of Michael DeMaino, Jared Paone, Josh Doney, Kyle Doney and McGonagle to stay perfect through six games.

“We’re not hitting the way we would like, but I can see that we are having much better at-bats than we did last year.” Dana said. “We’re a year older and the approaches at the plate are much improved.”

Diamond dandies

Xaverian baseball coach Gerry Lambert joined the 300-win club earlier last week when the Hawks defeated Hopkinton, 7-1. A 1988 graduate of Xaverian where he played for Bill Porter, Lambert took over the program in 2002 and has guided the Hawks to three state titles as well as four sectional titles in his 22 seasons at the helm.

Staying with the Catholic Conference, coaches in the league aren’t paying lip service when they say on any given day, any team in the league can beat the other. That happened last Monday as winless Catholic Memorial knocked off defending state champion and previously unbeaten BC High 4-2 thanks to a key two-run double by Richie Curran.

Holliston dialed up Dr. Longball early and often against Millis. Evan Engel, Sam Schoenberg and Ben Maiorano each homered twice and combined for 14 RBI as Holliston cruised to a 15-2 win.

Whitman-Hanson’s Taryn Leonard is no stranger to going yard herself. The Panther standout belted a pair of home runs in an 18-5 win over Hingham, giving her 20 for her career.

Bishop Feehan’s Mylee Ramer took matters into her own hands against St. Mary’s. She struck out 14 and homered twice, including a grand slam, in a 14-8 win to improve to 6-0 on the season. The Shamrocks have a key nonleague showdown against King Philip slated for Patriots Day.

All-Scholastic junior pitcher Elsie Testa of Abington keeps putting up impressive numbers. The reigning South Shore Tobin Player of the Year cracked the 300-strikeout mark for her career in a 9-2 win over Cohasset. Last year, Testa struck out 189 batters in 152 innings and finished with a miniscule 0.88 ERA.

(If you have any notebook ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at donato.ventura@bostonherald.com)

As soon as Cam Booser landed in Boston, he could feel all the memories coming back.

“I wanted to deny it as much as I could but as soon as we got into the city I was like man I missed this place,” the former Red Sox left-hander said. “My girlfriend and I truly loved our time here, the city is great, the people were great, it’s hard not to admit we missed it. It’s a great spot.”

Booser, back at Fenway Park this weekend for the first time since the offseason trade that sent him to the Chicago White Sox, was one of the feel good stories of the 2024 Red Sox season. The longtime journeyman finally made his MLB debut at age 31 a year ago this week after overcoming every form of adversity you could imagine throughout his formative years.

He battled alcohol addiction along with numerous injuries, including a broken femur and broken vertebrae in high school, Tommy John surgery in college and a broken back suffered after he was hit by a car during his recovery from a torn labrum. He retired from baseball in 2017 and spent several years working as a carpenter before attempting a comeback.

Booser’s story was prominently featured as part of “The Clubhouse: A Year With The Red Sox,” the new Netflix documentary series that premiered earlier this month. Booser said he has not seen the show yet, but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share his story.

“I’ve heard it’s phenomenal and I heard they did a great job. I’m trying to refrain until the offseason until I can, I just want to stay focused on the clubhouse in here,” Booser said. “I think the biggest takeaway is if anybody can watch that and relate in any way, I guess if it can help even one person then it was worth it.”

Booser followed up his emotional debut by posting a strong rookie season in the big leagues. He appeared in 43 games for the Red Sox, posting a 3.38 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, and following the season he was honored as the recipient of the 2024 Tony Conigliaro Award, which recognizes a “Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.”

He was traded to the White Sox in exchange for a minor league pitching prospect in December, but Booser made Chicago’s Opening Day roster and has largely picked up where he left off. Entering this weekend’s series he had posted a 2.57 ERA with 10 strikeouts through his first seven appearances.

But while he’s generally tried to stay business as usual since joining his new team, Booser said he’ll always hold a special place in his heart for the Red Sox.

“At the end of the day I’m incredibly grateful that the Red Sox gave me an opportunity to make my dream come true,” Booser said. “When I was 30 years old coming out of indy ball they were really the only team that gave me an opportunity going into 2023. It’s no lie, you can look at the stats, at the start of ’23 I had an awful rough start, and they gave me opportunity after opportunity to figure it out.

“So I’ll always be grateful for them for giving me an opportunity, one, to stick with it, and two, to live out my big league dream,” he continued. “It was always my dream to debut here at Fenway in a Red Sox uniform so I’m incredibly grateful to them that I got to make that a reality.”

A veteran is preparing to run two grueling races to honor our everyday heroes and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

For Jeffrey Paolino, remembrance is never a burden. It’s what keeps him moving forward, especially when tackling 52.4 miles in two back-to-back races. Each step is a salute to honor our heroes. 

“Every mile that I walk that’s what’s really on my mind,” said Paolino. “It’s not necessarily getting to the finish line; it’s remembering the service members and their families.” 

Two races in two days

Not only will the 39-year-old tackle the Boston Marathon for the first time on Monday to benefit the Military Friends Foundation, but the day before on Sunday, he takes on Tough Ruck, a 26.2-mile march through Concord and Bedford while carrying a 15-pound backpack with a special tribute. 

He has a heart to honor a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice: U.S. Marine Corps Captain Ross Reynolds and his family. In 2022, Captain Reynolds died in the line of duty during a flight training exercise in Norway. 

Paolino connected with his family before last year’s Tough Ruck, which he has run six times. 

Paolino served in the U.S. Air Force Security Forces at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Mass. and his grandfather served in the Marines. 

“It’s personal”

“Him being a Marine, my grandfather being a former Marine, it’s personal and it means a lot to me and it’s extremely motivating,” said Paolino. 

Another reason he decided to take on both races in 2025 was because it felt fitting as a personal way to help commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. 

“That’s why we’re all here,” said Paolino. 

He hopes to finish the Boston Marathon in under six hours and knows his heart to honor our heroes will help him go the extra mile. “They’ve done so much for this country, and they sacrificed everything, and that’s why they should never be forgotten,” said Paolino. 

Paolino is hoping to raise $15,000 total for Boston Marathon.