Waterford — The game hadn't been over five minutes Saturday when one voice was heard above all others in the home dugout at Waterford High School:

"Practice on Monday boys!" someone shouted.

Indeed. Practice on Monday, an otherwise mundane sounding, never sounded so appealing.

"It really never did," Waterford's Mike Burrows said with a grin. "Until right now."

And Burrows is the primary reason the baseball season rolls on in the 06385. His two-hit shutout — and three hits — helped third-seeded Waterford blank No. 6 Goodwin Tech 7-0, delivering the Lancers to the CIAC Class M baseball semifinals for the first time since 2013.

Waterford will play No. 34 St. Joseph, a 4-0 winner over No. 7 Northwest Catholic, on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Palmer Field in Middletown.

Burrows admitted recalling, even if briefly, his team's recent state tournament failures before the game. But then, different teams, different years ... and now different outcomes.

"Before the game I was a little nervous," he said, before striking out five of the first six batters he faced. "But I know what I can do, so long as I stay within my ability and don't try to do too much."

Burrows had a 2-0 lead in the fourth before a two-out rally provided cruise control for the rest of the afternoon. Alex Petchark reached before Burrows doubled him to third. Next: Walker Sutman, who punctuated his team's last home game of the year with one of the most memorable swings, a three-run homer to right center.

"I didn't think I got it," Sutman said. "He hung a curveball. It was big because we did it all with two outs."

Sutman watched later as teammate Dan Castelpoggi, who had three hits in the second-round game against Ledyard, hit a two-run homer to make it 7-0. More than enough for Burrows.

"When Mike is on the mound," Sutman said. "We believe we are going to win. We feel the same about Collin (Bakken) too."

Bakken will pitch in Tuesday's semifinals.

Waterford coach Art Peluso chuckled at the idea that his team is suddenly in the semifinals after sleepwalking through a conference tournament game against Fitch (also a state semifinalist now) 10 days ago.

"The difference is a couple of guys in the dugout," Peluso said, alluding to his team's newfound energy. "Bobby Silva, Liam Spellman and Trevor Yeomans. They're the energy guys. They bring something. They were just as important as Michael Burrows today. People can talk about pitching and hitting all they want. But the energy is just as big. When's the last time you ever heard a Waterford dugout so animated?"

m.dimauro@theday.com