SHREWSBURY — Xaverian pitcher Paul McCarthy took the mound with a 2-0 lead against Catholic Conference foe St. John’s (Shrewsbury) Thursday and that run support was more than enough.

McCaffrey threw six innings of no-run baseball to lead his Hawks (10-5) to a 5-0 victory over the Pioneers (12-4). This avenged the team’s only loss in conference, as it fell 3-2 to the Pioneers on April 23, and kept Xaverian in the lead for the conference championship.

Head coach Gerry Lambert said he was happy his team was able to experience the atmosphere the matchup brought.

“A game like this is a tournament-caliber game,” Lambert said. “An opponent like this is a tournament-caliber opponent. If you’re going to win games in June, you have to go through teams like this.”

The Hawks got it started when Jack O’Neill drew a leadoff walk and got on the board after center fielder Charlie Comella ripped a triple into the right field gap.

“He smoked that baseball,” Lambert. “Charlie is athletically off the chart, he just does stuff.”

Comella would score moments later on a wild pitch, which led to the 2-0 lead. When McCarthy stepped on the mound, he knew he was ready to go.

“I had all of my pitches going,” McCarthy said. “I could throw any of them in any count for strikes. Velocity was up, I was really comfortable up there.”

McCarthy and Pioneers’ pitcher Brayden Mercier would both cruise through the early and middle innings, but Comella was the one to finally put some pressure on. This came when he drew a hit-by-pitch in the top of the fifth and used the opportunity to steal second and third.

“Stealing a base is probably one of the best feelings in baseball,” Comella said. “I love doing it.”

He would then score on a fielder’s choice and gave his team a 3-0 lead. While McCarthy knew St. Johns was going to put pressure on as the game dragged on, he was prepared to let his teammates do their jobs.

“I was pitching to contact and knew my defense was going to be there,” McCarthy said. “They always give 110 percent in the field.”

He finished his six innings and allowed just three hits.  Xaverian would score two additional runs in the seventh inning via an O’Neill double and Abe Anderson sealed it with a scoreless frame in relief.

Xaverian is poised to earn a second consecutive league title if it beats Malden Catholic and BC High next week. Comella said that locking it down is his focus.

“Huge win, fired up,” Comella said. “We’re coming to take the Catholic Conference championship.”