Andover bowed out of the American Legion state tournament, falling to Newburyport on Sunday and East Longmeadow on Monday.
On Sunday, co-ace Shawn Carlson pitched well early on, but was forced to leave the game with a blister and Post 8 fell 11-8. On Monday, Andover led by a run after four innings but lost 11-6. No other information was available.
It was the end of a stellar tournament run for Post 8.
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Mike Taylor picked the right time for his best streak of the year.
After his homer helped send Andover Legion to the state tournament, Taylor went deep again to lead Post 8 to an 11-1 drubbing of Worcester East last Saturday in the first game of the Final 8.
"We're just excited about playing anyone, and it's too bad it's someone from our backyard," said head coach Joe Iarrobino. "(Starter John) Farrell pitched great."
Taylor, a 2008 Andover High grad, finished the day with three hits and five RBIs. Leadoff hitter Andrew Ruiz-Henriquez added his third home run of the postseason, Jake Ponti also went deep and John Hennessy had three hits for Andover.
Farrell was his normal, dominant self, allowing just six hits and striking out seven.
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Andover used the longball to exact long-awaited revenge on its archrival.
Behind home runs from Mike Yastrzemski, John Hennessy, Zach Burdeau and Mike Taylor, Post 8 pounded Sudbury 13-4 in the American Legion sectional tourney last Wednesday to advance to the state's Final 8.
Sudbury had eliminated Andover each of the last two years, both in Sudbury where the game took place.
Andover grabbed the lead for good in the first thanks to a two-run single by Dan Gusovsky, and Burdeau added to the advantage with a two-run shot in the second to make the score 5-2.
Post 8 blew the game open with five runs in the eighth, highlighted by Yastrzemski's three run homer and, one batter later, Taylor's solo shot. Hennessy closed out the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth.
Track star Chris McConnell added two hits and scored twice.
Robin Lowe was stellar on the mound, allowing just five hits over seven innings. John Farrell and Jon Levenson each followed with an inning of scoreless relief.
