The Cavaliers (13-2) barely escaped against the Bobcats (8-6) in their Division II quarterfinal match, which was played at Nashua High School North. Hollis had captured four of six singles, but OR had rallied to knot the match 4-4 with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.

And, HB’s No. 1 doubles team of freshman Nick Vahe and sophomore David Cherkassky were down 6-3 to Oyster River’s James Kahn and Justin Stevens. However, they rallied to win six of the next seven games, breaking serve to go up 8-7 then holding serve to pull out a 9-7 win and send the Cavs off to Portsmouth in the semis on Thursday.

“Every match in the doubles were down,” Cavs coach Jim McCann said. “But (at No. 1) they just had to dig in and play the shots they knew how to play. They just settled down and hit the easy shots they know how to do. … They dug in.”

Singles winners for the Cavs included Vahe (8-6), Cherkassky (8-5) and Darius Paradie at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, and then Ben Zielinski at No. 6, 8-4.

And Cavs are thrilled about their advancing.

“Excellent, it feels great,” said McCann, who is taking the Cavs to the semis for the first time during his six-season tenure.

“We’re looking forward to it. It wasn’t looking good for awhile there. Hats off to these guys.”

The HB girls tennis team was scheduled for quarterfinal action Wednesday, but results were not available by Hollis Brookline Journal press time.

BASEBALL

Hollis Brookline 13, ConVal 12 (8 innings)

The score was tied at 12 in the bottom of the eighth inning May 17 when Hollis Brookline’s Nick White knocked in the game-

winning run with a single.

The Cavaliers’ offense was helped out by Dan Leone, Nick Fothergill, Tyler MacDormand (two hits), Nate Corsetti (two hits, two stolen bases), and White.

Hollis Brookline saw trouble in the seventh inning when they gave up 10 runs to ConVal to keep the game going. Earning the win for Hollis Brookline was Joe Messina, who went two innings, allowing five runs, four hits, and striking out three.

Oyster River 6, Hollis Brookline 0

The Cavalier ran into the state’s hottest pitcher May 18 as Oyster River’s Brennan Oxford twirled his fourth consecutive no-hitter. Joe Brown and Ken Corsetti pitched well in defeat.

SOFTBALL

Hollis Brookline 12, Oyster River 0

A strong team effort paced the Cavaliers to a lopsided win May 18. Gabby Paquin was strong in the circle with two strikeouts and one walk. Delayni Kovalchk and Isabel Keefe each had two hits, while Paquin, Avery Webb and Abi Blasi chipped in one hit apiece.

St. Thomas 13, Hollis Brookline 6

Cassidy Pigott pitched well for the Cavaliers despite the loss. Avery Webb had a single, Katie Connors added a RBI triple and Delayni Kovalchek had two singles and two RBIs on the day.

BOYS LACROSSE

Hollis Brookline 8, St. Thomas 7, OT

Ryan Olson, a junior captain, scored with 32 seconds left in regulation May 18 to force overtime and then won it for the Cavs with 25 ticks remaining in the extra frame.

Garrett Moloney continued his stellar campaign with 16 saves. Derek Davidson tallied two goals and an assist, Nick Hinchcliffe added a goal and two assists, while Will Crosby chipped in a pair of scores for HB (11-3), which won its eighth straight game in a 12-day span.

Hollis Brookline 14, Pembroke 2

The Cavaliers dominated Pembroke for their ninth win of the season.

Working the ball for Hollis Brookline were Derek Davidson, Ryan Olson and Will Crosby, who each recorded hat tricks.

Tim Sulin and Matt Passamonte contributed two goals each, while Matt Beaulieu notched his first varsity goal.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Hollis Brookline 20, Spaulding 3

The Cavaliers move to 6-5 on the season Friday with a dominating win over Spaulding. Kelsey Sweeney led a balanced attack with two goals and seven assists.

Also playing well in the game were Paisley Broadhurst (five goals, assist), Reagan Berry (three goals, two assists), Cece Fetter (two goals), Victoria Bruzik (two goals), and Jen Choate (two goals).

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Timberlane 3, Hollis Brookline 1

The Cavaliers lost by the scores of 25-8, 25-22, 25-27, 25-23 on May 17, but Nick Wood (16 kills), Jonathan Brackett (16 kills), Scott Van Coughnett (30 assists) and Nathan Cole (11 digs) all played well for Hollis Brookline.

Pinkerton 3, Hollis Brookline 0

The Cavaliers were upended in straight sets Friday by the Astros with scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-16.

Nick Wood and Jonathan Brackett each had 12 kills, while Vivek Nithipalan contributed 10 digs.

Hollis Brookline 3, Keene 1

After losing two in a row the Cavaliers (10-4) got back to their winning ways Monday, beating Keene with scores of 17-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-21. Nick Wood led the offense with an outstanding 26 kills, Jonathan Brackett had nine digs, Scott Van Coughnett had four aces and one block, and Vivek Nithipalan added four aces. Wood also made his 500th career kill and finished with 512 career kills by the end of the match.