PAIR of ACES | Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass. Newspaper | Find Articles at BNET
DIVISIONS 2, 3 STATE FINALS
Saturday, the Plymouth North and Abington High School baseball teams will send their best pitchers to the mound to win the biggest games of their seasons.
At noon, the Green Wave will start ace Steve Perakslis against West Boylston at LeLacheur Park in Lowell in hopes of winning the Division 3 state baseball championship.
At 7 p.m., the Blue Eagles's Joe Flynn will take on Auburn at the same park in hopes of winning the Division 2 crown.
Both pitchers will have their teams' hopes on their shoulders. And chances are, Flynn and Perakslis, close friends for years, will talk to each other afterward to compare their experiences.
"We talk online," Flynn said. "We always find a way. We'll text each other or call each other. Sometimes after a game, he'll give me a call to see how I did. We keep in touch."
Flynn and Perakslis first met at the age of 13, when Flynn tried out for and made the Royals, an AAU team Steve played for that coached by his father, Steve Perakslis Sr., who is also Abington High's coach.
Flynn and Perakslis were teammates for three years, and their similar playing styles brought them together.
"We have the same mentality in games," Perakslis said. "We both hit in the 3 and 4 spot. If I got on and was in scoring position, he'd hit me in. We were there to back each other up. We hit it off at the first practice, and got close over the years."
Their AAU time together led to baseball trips to New York and Florida, and finally to Myrtle Beach, where they won a national championship when they were 15 years old.
From there, it was on to high school. Perakslis established himself as a standout for Abington, garnering two All-Scholastics selections and finishing with a .522 average, 10-0 record and 0.26 ERA in his senior year.
Flynn, meanwhile, was an All-Scholastic selection while leading the Blue Eagles to a state championship last season, and has gone 10- 1 with 128 strikeouts and a 0.41 ERA this year.
"He's exactly like me," Flynn said. "We're really similar. We're both competitive. It seems like everything he does, I do the same."
Both are competitive and confident.
Flynn showed his guts in pitching a 10-inning shutout in the state championship a year ago. Perakslis, 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA this postseason, injected some certainty into his weekend plans, which include a graduation party after Saturday's championship game.
"(Flynn) will be coming over (to the party)," Perakslis said, "after we both win our titles."
The similarities continued to the point that they were selected as Co-Players of the Year by The Enterprise, an accomplishment that calls for both players to have their picture taken and put in the newspaper.
Close throughout their careers and before, Flynn and Perakslis continued their tight-knit ways by deciding to be photographed together, rather than having separate portraits taken.
"My dad asked me if I thought it'd be a good idea, I said 'Yes' and asked Joe for his opinion," Perakslis said. "He said 'Absolutely'.
"It's one of the most important things I could have been a part of, to share that with one of my closest friends over the years."
The two will branch out further in college, as Flynn is headed to Franklin Pierce on a baseball scholarship, and Perakslis is going to Maine on a full ride.
Though they'll play in different states, Perakslis said they'll stay in touch.
"It'll be tough," he said. "But there's the phone, there's the internet. We can stay in touch, and when there's Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm sure we'll meet up."
Before that, Flynn and Perakslis both have one more step left in their high school careers. For Flynn, the goal is nailing down back- to-back state titles. For Perakslis, the objective is winning the first crown in Abington's baseball history, and the first in any sport since the girls basketball team won in 1981.
Flynn knows Perakslis has what it takes to get the victory on Saturday.
"He's a competitor. I know he'll do his best," Flynn said.
"It's going to be amazing for him. His senior year, it's everything he wants. It'll be a dream come true for him."
Hours later, it'll be Flynn's turn, and Perakslis is no less confident in his friend.
"There is no doubt in my mind," he said. "I've seen him play, and he's one of the best players I've ever been around."
Drew Bonifant may be reached at dbonifant@ledger.com.
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