Monthly Archives: May 2022

May 29, 2022 · 8:26 pm

Amesbury wins Spofford Tourney 6-2 over Georgetown

Amesbury wins the 2022 Spofford Tournament

(Georgetown) You can’t always tell the end from the beginning.

Amesbury starter Aiden Donovan hit the first two Georgetown batters, walked the next one, and gave up a two-run single to Jack Lucido in the first inning.

Georgetown scored two runs in the first inning.

I’m not sure you could have a worse beginning.

But at the end the final score was 6-2 in favor of Amesbury.

Amesbury won the two-day Spofford Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Georgetown.

After the shaky start, Aiden Donovan retired the next three batters he faced to limit the damage to two runs. Over the next five innings, he only allowed two baserunners (on walks). That first-inning single was the only hit he allowed. Talk about a recovery!

“Credit to (Aiden) Donovan,” said Georgetown coach Phil Desilets afterwards. “He settled down. He got in a groove, and we couldn’t get anything going against him.”

Trevor Kimball scored the third Amesbury run in the first inning

Georgetown found its own share of trouble in the first inning. A walk, a hit batsman, and two errors opened up opportunities for Amesbury.

Tourney MVP Shea Cucinotti delivered the first Amesbury run with a sacrifice fly and Aiden Donovan’s blooper to rightfield delivered two more.

Zach Gilmore took over pitching for the Royals in the second inning and quieted Amesbury for three straight innings.

The Amesbury fifth inning was a different story. Shea Cucinotta started things with a single and then Drew Scialdone homered over the 342 foot sign in left center.

Drew Scialdone hit a two-run homer in the 5th inning

“It was an outside pitch, but I pulled it,” said Drew afterwards. “I thought it was a popup, but I’ll take the home run.”

“If you have a lead, you always want to work to extend it and put more pressure on the other team,” he added. “We were able to do that today.”

“Drew’s homer put us in a nice position,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley post-game.

Amesbury increased its comfort zone with a run in the sixth inning. Cam Stanley beat out an infield hit and scored when Jake Harring found the gap in left center.

Coach Brierley brought in Trevor Kimball in the last inning and three straight strikeouts later Amesbury had the victory.

“I thought Aiden (Donovan) pitched awesome today,” said Coach Brierley. “We knew that he would settle down. Very proud of what he did today.”

Senior Shea Cucinotta was selected as the tourney MVP. “I think that this award is about our team, but it means a lot to me,” said Shea. “Everyone played very well. There were tons of hits and great plays in the field. I think we’re in for a heckuva playoff run.”

Amesbury finishes 16-4 in Division 4 and are currently at the top of the Power Rankings. The pairings for the tournament come out this week. If Amesbury lasts, they are assured of home games until the Final Four.

Georgetown finishes 10-10 in Division 5 and are currently fifth in the Power Rankings. That could change because of their win over Newburyport on Saturday.

“We have to turn the page from today’s loss,” said Coach Desilets, “have a great week of practice and get ready for the playoffs.”

“It’s one game at a time from here on out,” he added. “It’s the best time to be playing ball.”

One of the best defensive plays of this game was made by pitcher Zach Gilmore. A foul popup behind the plate looked likely to fall in but Zach raced off the mound to make the catch.

Amesbury pitching (Drew MacDonald, Aiden Donovan, Trevor Kimball) gave up only one hit in the tournament.

Georgetown 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 2

Amesbury 3 0 0 0 2 1 – = 6

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Aiden Donovan, Drew Scialdone, Jack Lucido, Shea Cucinotta

May 28, 2022 · 7:25 pm

Drew MacDonald leads Amesbury past Triton 5-1

(Georgetown) If this isn’t his best game it’s got to be awfully close to it.

Impressive performance by Drew MacDonald leading Amesbury past Triton, 5-1, on Saturday afternoon in the rain-shortened opening round of the Spofford Tournament.

The Amesbury senior drove in three of his team’s five runs and pitched a five-inning, no-hitter.

Amesbury (15-4) faces Georgetown in the title game tomorrow afternoon (2PM).

The Vikings (11-8) took a one-run lead into the bottom of the fourth inning. Cole Daniels reached on an infield error and scored after a wild pitch, a stolen base, and another wild pitch.

Cole Daniels scores the Triton run on a wild pitch

Triton’s DJ Watson had limited Amesbury to two hits going into the fourth inning.

However, in the fourth inning a single (Drew Scialdone) and a double (Trevor Kimball) set Drew MacDonald up for a two-run single to give Amesbury the, 2-1, lead.

Unfortunate decisions cost Triton in the fifth inning. On two occasions, batters reached on infield grounders when plays at other bases backfired.

Shea Cucinotta’s single in that inning drove across Luke Arsenault and Jake Harring. Later, an infield grounder by Drew MacDonald scored Drew Scialdone with Amesbury’s fifth run.

And then the incoming dark clouds, with accompanying thunder, put a pause to the game. The game never resumed and Amesbury had itself a 5-1 win.

And Drew had himself a no-hitter.

Drew ended up walking two and striking out six.

The defensive gem on this afternoon belonged to Triton centerfielder Cole Daniels. Leadoff batter Jake Harring looked to have hit a ball into the left/centerfield gap, but Cole ran it down and dove to finish a terrific play.

Drew Scialdone and Drew MacDonald led Amesbury’s seven-hit attack with two hits each.

The twosome also had a “hit” in the first inning as they collided going after a popup in the first inning.

Shea Cucinotta tagged out by Triton 2B Connor Rumph

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Filed under Amesbury, Triton

Tagged as Cole Daniels, Drew MacDonald, Drew Scialdone, Shea Cucinotta

May 25, 2022 · 10:13 pm

Kayla Murphy hits two homers as Pentucket defeats Newburyport 7-5

(Groveland) Home plate was where the action was.

Both Newburyport and Pentucket had runners thrown out there.

The biggest celebrating there, however, was done by Pentucket as they gathered twice to congratulate Kayla Murphy after home runs.

Pentucket (9-8) held on to get a 7-5 win over Newburyport (9-11) on Wednesday afternoon.

The Clippers took a 2-1 lead into the fourth inning.

In that fourth inning, Emma Lopata walked ahead of Kayla’s first home run to put the Panthers (their new mascot) in front for good.

Pentucket added another run in the fifth inning on an infield throwing error, before Kayla went deep again this time with Sydney Pichette and Kendra Griffin on board.

Kayla joked that she “wasn’t trying to get any of the dogs in the dog park,” (located just beyond the leftfield fence).

Emily Meleedy had eleven strikeouts for Newburyport

Both of Kayla’s homers landed in about the same spot in left center. “I was looking for my pitch,” she said. “The home run pitches were low in the strike zone.”

Sitting on a 7-2 lead going into the last inning seemed to be a comfortable situation for Pentucket. After pitcher Molly LeBel retired the first two batters, things looked even more promising.

Credit Newburyport. They weren’t planning to go quietly. Five batters later the Clippers had the tying runs on the bases and the go-ahead run at the plate.

After an error on her first fielding chance of the inning, shortstop Kyla Murphy got a second chance and retired the last batter on an infield grounder.

“I was hoping for one good play at the end, and I got it,” said Kayla afterwards.

“Everyone did their job,” said Pentucket coach Deb Smith, “and Kayla crushed it.”

One thing that Coach Smith didn’t want to do was pitch to Newburyport’s Emily Meleedy. Twice the talented sophomore received intentional passes.

“She’s in the middle of the Merrimack (River) if you pitch to her every time,” said Coach Smith.

A key play occurred in the fifth inning. Newburyport had runners on second and third with two out. Emily Meleedy was at the plate. Pentucket opted to intentionally walk her which would load the bases. However, Molly LeBel’s attempt to finish off the intentional pass got beyond Pentucket catcher Ella Agocs. Olivia Skibbee, who was on third base, broke for home but Ella’s flip to Molly covering home erased the runner and ended the inning.

Olivia Skibbee tagged out by Molly LeBel

“That play was a turning point in this game,” said Coach Smith.

Newburyport coach Bob Gillespie was disappointed with the loss. “We have been making it a habit of needing comebacks after slow starts,” he said.

“We have also struggled to win on the road,” he added. The Clippers are now 2-7 away from home.

The Panthers are currently 7-1 at home.

The Clippers end the regular season 9-11. The May 23^rd Power Rankings for Division 3 had them at #21. The top thirty-two get in the tournament. You also get in if you win at least half your games.

Pentucket is now at 9-8 with three games left. If they can win one of those games they’ll be in the tournament. As of May 23^rd, they are ranked #30 in Division 3.

Molly LeBel: “Even when things got tough in the last inning, I knew that the team had my back. They have a lot of good hitters so mixing up my pitches was crucial. I was throwing as hard as I could today. I always try to do that but today I was actually doing it.” Molly gave up seven hits and struck out four batters.

Emily Meleedy struck out eleven but also gave up eleven hits. “She is an unbelievable pitcher,” said Coach Smith. “You have to go after her first pitch. We told them to be aggressive today and we hit the ball hard.”

“The ending was shaky,” Coach Smith added, “but that seems to be our MO. They want to give me a heart attack!”

Sophie Lavallee and Emily Meleedy paced Newburyport with two hits each. Cassidy Bolcome and Emily each scored twice.

Kendra Griffin led Pentucket with three hits while Emma Lopata scored three times.

Newburyport centerfielder Nieve Morrissey made two nice catches in Pentucket’s sixth inning. She ran in for one and raced back for the other.

Newburyport 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 = 5

Pentucket 0 1 0 2 4 0 – = 7

On April 28^th Newburyport defeated Pentucket, 9-5 at Newburyport. The Clippers built up an 8-0 lead after four innings before Pentucket rallied late to make things interesting at the end.

The Panthers have won three straight.

I continue to misread the weather. It was sunny and pleasant.

Kayla Murphy celebrates with her teammates

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Coach Deb Smith, Emily Meleedy, Emma Lopata, Kayla Murphy, Nieve Morrissey, Sophia Lavallee

May 24, 2022 · 9:39 pm

Amesbury seniors lead to 13-4 win over Hamilton-Wenham

(Amesbury) It’s your day, why not put on a show!

Drew MacDonald, Shea Cucinotta, Cam Stanley

And that’s what the three Amesbury seniors did on Senior Day.

Amesbury defeated Hamilton-Wenham, 13-4, on Tuesday afternoon.

Drew MacDonald had five RBI.

Shea Cucinotta had four hits.

Cam Stanley scored three times.

Each of the Amesbury seniors led the category they were mentioned in.

The win evened the season’s series with the (10-9) Generals.

Three weeks ago, HW defeated Amesbury, 2-1, at Patton Park in Hamilton.

“In that 2-1 loss, we left a lot of runners on base,” recalled Amesbury coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “We had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh and couldn’t score.”

“Today, when we got runners on base we scored them,” he added.

Amesbury (14-4) had thirteen hits and received five walks in their six innings at the plate.

Junior Connor McClintock led the Generals with three hits and two RBI. Only a leaping catch by Amesbury shortstop Shea Cucinotta in the fifth inning kept Connor from having four hits.

Connor also impressed on defense. The HW centerfielder showed good lateral range robbing Drew MacDonald of extra bases in the third inning. Later, he rushed in to take a hit away from Jake Harring on a sinking line drive.

“No question, Connor is good,” said HW coach Reggie Maidment afterwards. “We’re glad he’s on our side.”

Connor led off the game with a triple and was driven home by Nick Freni. In the second inning, Connor came up with two runners on and delivered both of them.

Amesbury was able to match the Generals’ run in the first inning with a Drew MacDonald RBI single.

Amesbury picked up three runs in their second inning. Jake Harring had a two-run double and Drew Scialdone had a sacrifice fly.

So, it was 4-3 after two innings in a game that looked to have a high-scoring future.

That future became a reality for Amesbury but not for Hamilton-Wenham.

Amesbury starter Trevor Kimball settled in over the next four innings allowing just one hit (Nick Freni) and one run.

Amesbury gained separation with a five-run fourth inning.

Cam Stanley – scored 3 runs and had 2 hits

“We had one tough inning,” said Coach Maidment referring to that inning. “We made a few mistakes. Against a lineup like Amesbury’s, you can’t do that or it’s going to hurt you.”

Amesbury batted around in their productive fifth inning. The big hit was Drew MacDonald’s bases-clearing double. Will Arsenault and Shea Cucinotta drove in single runs.

Amesbury picked up an unearned run in the sixth inning and batted around (again) to collect three more runs in their sixth inning.

“This was probably one of our best team performances of the season,” said Coach Brierley post-game. “Trevor threw strikes and got a lot of outs. Our defense was good, and we hit the ball.”

Today’s game featured two of the best teams in the state in Division 4. Amesbury is ranked second while Hamilton-Wenham is fourth in the MIAA Power Rankings that came out May 23rd.

The two teams could face each other again but this time in the post-season. Being so highly ranked, that possible next meeting would probably be somewhere in Final Four territory.

It was indeed a big day for Amesbury’s three seniors. The trio scored six runs, had nine hits, and drove in eight runs.

Hamilton-Wenham 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 = 4

Amesbury 1 3 0 5 1 3 – = 13

The weather became less comfortable as the afternoon wore on.

Trevor Kimball gave up four hits and four runs.

Amesbury coach Joel Brierley busy coaching third

Luke Arsenault scores Amesbury’s fifth run

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Filed under Amesbury, Hamilton-Wenham

Tagged as Cam Stanley, Coach Joel Brierley, Coach Reggie Maidment, Connor McClintock, Drew MacDonald, Shea Cucinotta, Trevor Kimball

May 23, 2022 · 8:57 pm

Pentucket rallies by Haverhill 15-6

Lana Mickelson (4 goals and six assists)

Alex Bushey had three goals for Haverhill

(West Newbury) The slow start didn’t bother Pentucket.

“We seem to start slow regularly and then get rolling,” explained Pentucket coach Angela Palmer afterwards.

Rolling is what they did. Down 2-0 to non-league Haverhill, Pentucket responded with eleven straight goals to gain separation.

The final score was 15-6.

A Senior Day celebration followed the Pentucket win.

Senior Lana Mickelson (Iona commit) showed that she can score (four goals) and that she can set up teammates (six assists).

“Pentucket played well together,” said Haverhill coach Erik Perkins post-game. “There was lots of team ball with cuts. Our girls had trouble picking up on it.”

“Lana never seems to run out of energy,” said Coach Palmer. “She is an excellent passer. We tell the team that assists are just as many points as goals are.”

Pentucket had thirteen assists on the fifteen goals they scored.

Sophomore Alex Bushey got the Hillies (7-7) off to a great start with two goals in the opening 2 ½ minutes.

Lana had a hand in the Pentucket response reaching the scoresheet on six of the next seven goals. Two were her own while on the other four she set up teammates Ella Palmer, Kate Conover, Cat Colvin, and Sydney Trout.

Pentucket (8-4) led 11-3 at the half.

Kate Conover and Sarah Graninger boosted the Pentucket advantage to 13-3 five minutes into the second half.

Plenty of substituting followed.

“The weather could have been a factor in how we played,” said Coach Perkins. “Pentucket wanted it more today.”

The two teams will meet again in a week at Haverhill.

“We have four games left and a chance to win a conference (Merrimack Valley Conference) championship,” said Coach Perkins. “We also want to get a tournament bid. Haverhill is currently ranked #33 in Division 1 in the MIAA Power Rankings.

Pentucket is ranked #7 in Division 3.

Pentucket has now won four straight games. They had one-goal losses to both Ipswich and Manchester-Essex before the win-streak.

Seniors Jocelyn Alcantara, Gabby Cloutier, Charlene Basque, Lana Mickelson

Haverhill’s 2-14 record last year may not seem like much, but it was the most wins they have had since 2016. That’s why this season with seven wins and counting is very special to the Hillies.

This was the first Pipestave game for me. Getting to-and-from the field was more exercise than I’ve had in a while!

Pentucket 11 4 = 15

Haverhill 3 3 = 6

Goal scorers:

Pentucket – Lana Michelson (4), Kate Conover (3), Cat Colvin (3), Sarah Graninger (2), Audrey Conover (1), Ella Palmer (1), Sydney Trout (1).

Haverhill – Alex Bushey (3), Sophia Riley (1), Cailey Simard (1), Katrina Savvas (1).

Pentucket’s Lana Mickelson had six assists and Kate Conover had five assists. Ella Palmer and Cat Colvin had one assist each.

Coach Palmer: “We worked hard in practice leading up to this game. We worked on slides and shooting under pressure. I think it paid off today.”

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Filed under Haverhill, Pentucket

Tagged as Alex Bushey, Coach Angela Palmer, Coach Erik Perkins, Lana Mickelson

May 18, 2022 · 9:30 pm

Newburyport defeats North Reading 14-5

(Newburyport) The Newburyport girls’ lacrosse team is very good.

“They play some of the best team lacrosse in the state,” said North Reading coach Matt Costello after his game today versus the Clippers.

Newburyport (14-1) defeated the Hornets, 14-5, in Cape Ann League action winning their tenth straight. The Clippers are now 8-0 at home and 11-0 in the CAL.

“They have a lot of talent, but they use it together as a team,” added Coach Costello.

The Clippers should have been tired after a tough battle yesterday against Bishop Guertin arguably one of the best teams in New Hampshire.

And they were tired but with experienced depth on both sides of the field it hardly mattered.

“We were definitely tired today,” said Clippers Coach Catherine Batchelder, “but we were able to play everybody a lot. We took a load off the starters from yesterday.”

“We try to play together no matter what,” explained Makenna Ward post-game. “It isn’t always one person trying to do everything.”

The Clippers had scoring from nine different players with Izzy Rosa leading the scorers with four goals and two assists.

North Reading (7-9) had the defensive skills to keep the Clippers from rushing straight into their end and launching shots. However, on this afternoon, the Clippers were good enough running set offenses that they prevailed anyway.

Newburyport scored eight unanswered goals to start the game and had that 8-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first half.

Bri Slattery broke through for North Reading and Jenna DiNapoli added another goal. The halftime score was, 10-2.

The Clippers started the second half with four straight scores to enlarge their advantage to, 14-2, with nine minutes left.

In the process of growing their lead, the Clippers also moved this game into running time.

North Reading closed the game with three straight goals.

“North Reading has really improved from the first time we saw them (April 27^th),” said Coach Batchelder. “I thought that their goalie (Kaitlyn Supple) was excellent.”

“We’ve been working on execution and good decision-making on offense,” said Coach Costello. “At the end of today’s game, we protected our sticks and did better at staying out of pressure.”

Newburyport is #1 in the MIAA Division 3 power rankings. North Reading is #16. Thirty-two teams make the tournament.

“There’s a chance we could play North Reading in the tournament,” said Coach Batchelder. “The higher ranked team will have the home game until the Final Four.”

Makenna Ward: “Our defense is very complicated but fun. When we click it looks (and works) so good.”

Coach Batchelder: “We have tough games at home next week against Manchester-Essex and Bedford (NH).”

Newburyport 10 4 = 14

North Reading 2 3 = 5

Newburyport goals: Izzy Rosa (4), Reese Bromby (2), Anna Affolter (2), Brela Pavao (1), Lilly Pons (1), Rita Cahalane (1), Olivia McDonald (1), Emily Fuller (1), Maddie Heath (1).

North Reading goals: Bri Slattery (2), Lilly McInerney (2), Jenna DiNapoli (1).

Newburyport’s four seniors (Sydney Turner, Elizabeth Turgeon, Audrey Cooper, Emily Fuller) were honored pre-game.

The weather was splendid.

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Filed under Newburyport, North Reading

Tagged as Anna Affolter, Bri Slattery, Coach Catherine Batchelder, Coach Matt Costello, Izzy Rosa, Lilly McInerney, Reese Bromby

May 17, 2022 · 9:36 pm

7-6 walkoff win for Amesbury vs Ipswich

(Amesbury) Amesbury may not have played well…..but they played well enough.

Amesbury (12-4) got a walkoff, 7-6 win against Ipswich on Tuesday afternoon.

Jake Harring delivered the walkoff hit.

“It felt good,” he said, “but I’m not sure we should have celebrated that hard. We’ve got to be better.”

Unofficially, Amesbury had more errors (eight) than they had runs. Outfield drops, infield bobbles, you name it, it was happening this afternoon.

“It was an ugly baseball game,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “Someone had to win, and it happened to be us.”

Luke Arsenault homered in the second inning for Amesbury

It was just another tough loss in a season of tough losses for Ipswich (3-11).

“Today is the third game we’ve had the lead going into the seventh inning and lost in a walkoff,” said Ipswich coach Zack Lamkin afterwards.

The Tigers had seven hits and stranded ten baserunners.

Matt McGowan ended up with three hits and drove in two runs for Ipswich.

Trevor Kimball was the hard-luck starter for Amesbury. The AHS junior went five innings, allowing six hits and five runs (all unearned).

Amesbury, despite its defensive misadventures, put single runs on the board in each of the first four innings.

A Luke Arsenault homer to left accounted for the Amesbury run in the second inning.

Ipswich carried a 5-4 lead after five innings.

Things turned for Amesbury in the Ipswich sixth inning when centerfielder Drew MacDonald made a good catch and then a very good running catch. Those catches kept the Tigers from enlarging their one-run lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Drew whacked a double to rightfield that drove in two runs and put Amesbury in front, 6-5.

Credit Ipswich for recovering.

Drew Lane walked leading off the seventh. Josiah Scarano pinch-ran and was bunted to second by AJ Pezza. Matt McGowan delivered the tying run with a single.

Amesbury came into this game averaging seven runs per game. They only had six going into their half of the seventh inning.

Luke Arsenault doubled down the leftfield line with one out to lead off the seventh. He was moved to third by a Tyler Bartniski sacrifice bunt. That set Jake Harring up for the game-winning hit.

“It was off the end a little bit,” said Jake of the game-winner. “I didn’t think it would go over his (rightfielder) head, until I saw his back turned.”

“For the most part we controlled this game,” said Coach Lamkin afterwards. “We battled today. It’s just a matter of finishing.”

Amesbury is currently #1 in the Division 4 MIAA power rankings. Staying there will eliminate any early-round bus rides in the post-season. Playing on the Amesbury High School field does have its drawbacks, however.

“This field is tough to figure out,” said Coach Brierley. “You would think that we would have an advantage since we practice here but not necessarily. Shea (Cucinotta) is a D2 shortstop and he still doesn’t know how to play this field.”

“That being said,” he added, “we still have to make the routine plays if we want to go far in the tournament.”

Cade Wetter scored two runs for Ipswich while Evan Stein had two hits.

Jake Harring, Drew Scialdone, Drew MacDonald, and Luke Arsenault each had two hits for Amesbury.

Drew Scialdone pitched two innings and picked up the W for Amesbury.

The weather was perfect.

Ipswich 0 1 3 0 1 0 1 = 6

Amesbury 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 = 7

(The pictures will enlarge.)

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Drew Scialdone, Jake Harring, Luke Arsenault, Matt McGowan, Trevor Kimball

May 13, 2022 · 10:47 pm

Triton holds off North Reading 6-4

Caitlin Reilly tagged out by Kyla Story in the first inning

(Byfield) Anyone paying attention knows that undefeated Amesbury is considered the best team in the Cape Ann League.

Second best? That’s not nearly as certain.

Triton, however, staked its claim to that designation with a 6-4 win over North Reading this afternoon.

The Vikings victory offsets an April 7^th, 9-3, loss at North Reading.

Triton (11-4) is now 8-1 in the CAL. North Reading (9-5) falls to 8-2. The Vikings haven’t faced Amesbury yet. NR has and they lost, 11-0.

Triton was up 2-0 in the third inning today, but North Reading came back to tie things in the top of the fifth inning. The Vikings tallied four runs in the bottom of the fifth only to have the Hornets get two of those runs back in the seventh inning. The visitors had the tying run at the plate before the final out was recorded.

“It was a good high school softball game,” said Triton coach Alan Noyes afterwards. “It wasn’t the cleanest and we had to battle to win it.”

North Reading had eleven hits led by Caitlin Reilly and Jocelyn Ostrowsky who each had three hits.

It was a frustrating loss for the Hornets. Although they had a lot of hits, a three-hit first inning didn’t produce any runs because of an out on the bases.

More frustrating for North Reading were their defensive lapses. Triton scored in three innings and wild pitches and passed balls played a large part in each inning. In the four-run fourth, a throwing error allowed a run to cross.

“It just wasn’t our day,” said NR assistant coach Paul Sonia afterwards.

Senior Maddy Jacques scored two runs for Triton

In the Triton first, Maddy Jacques walked, went to second on a passed ball and was driven in by Izzy Oldini.

In Triton’s third inning, Kyla Story doubled, reached third on a wild pitch, and scored on Mallory Johnson’s two-out, two-strike single.

North Reading came all the way back with a two-run fifth inning. Keely Hannon singled, reached second on a passed ball, and was driven in by Caitlin Reilly. Caitlin later scored on Mia Vittozzi’s single.

Izzy Oldini and Mallory Johnson each had an RBI in the Vikings’ four-run fifth.

Caitlin Reilly had three hits and scored two runs

Credit North Reading for challenging the Triton lead in their final at-bats. The Hornets had two on with two outs when Jocelyn Ostrowsky scored both of them with a single. That brought the tying run to the plate, but Triton pitcher Emma Penniman registered her fifth strikeout to end the threat.

“It was an awesome win,” said Maddy Jacques post-game. There was a special celebration afterwards for the Vikings’ only senior.

Maddy plays second base. The sun can be very tough on that side of the field.

“That sun got them today, and it also got me once,” said Maddy.

“North Reading is a good team,” said Coach Noyes. “They are one of the better hitting teams around. Their pitcher (Keely Hannon) has plus stuff.”

Keely finished with seven strikeouts.

Mallory Johnson had two hits and scored two runs

Both teams have three non-league losses.

Triton has now won four of their last five games.

Maddy Jacques: “When I was a freshman, Senior Day seemed so far away. I will be going to Endicott and majoring in business management.”

The last time the two teams played (April 7^th) the temperatures were in the 30’s. Today, the temperatures were in the 70’s!

North Reading 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 = 4

Triton 1 0 1 0 4 0 – = 6

SS Alyssa Cassicino checks baserunner Mallory Johnson

Izzy Oldini had two hits and drove in two runs

Less-than-serious moment between innings

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Filed under North Reading, Triton

Tagged as Coach Alan Noyes, Izzy Oldini, Keely Hannon, Mallory Johnson

May 12, 2022 · 9:57 pm

Triton wins third straight 10-0 over Ipswich

Cole Daniels slides home with the second Triton run

(Rowley) No mercy shown.

Triton has now gone the mercy-rule route three straight games.

Today the team on the other end of it was Ipswich. The game concluded in the fifth inning after the Vikings (8-5) got a 10-0 lead.

“I have mixed feelings about the mercy rule,” said Triton coach Chris Lamothe afterwards. “It does save your pitchers, but it also keeps you from putting in players who haven’t had much playing time.”

Ipswich (3-9) stranded runners in all five innings and collected five hits.

Triton starter Tyler Egan was hit hard at times but the defense behind him made plays especially in the outfield.

“Ipswich hit some balls but right at people,” said Coach Lamothe.

“Tyler didn’t have his good stuff, but he battled,” Coach Lamothe added.

The Tigers struggled defensively in the first inning and Triton made them pay.

After the first two Vikings (DJ Watson & Cole Daniels) singled, Tyler lined to left. The Tigers’ leftfielder hesitated, and the ball sailed over his head and a run scored. The relay back in was mishandled and a second run scored.

Next batter Andrew Johnson grounded to third. The Ipswich third basemen had Tyler picked off second, but Tyler got into a rundown. A bad throw in the rundown not only got Tyler to third but he kept going and slide home for the third Triton run.

In the fourth inning, Triton sent up twelve batters and added six more runs.

The Vikings had six hits in that inning. The biggest hit was Tyler’s long two-out single that cleared the bases.

“We had great hitting today from top to bottom,” said Tyler afterwards. The Vikings collected twelve hits.

Jack Lindholm took over for Tyler in the fifth inning and kept the shutout going. The Tigers did get two baserunners (Jeremy Lathrop and Evan Stein) but Jack got a popup and a force-out to get out of it.

Evan Piscitelli led off the 5th with a hit

Pinch-hitter Evan Piscitelli led off the Triton fifth with a single up the middle. Connor Rumpf came in to pinch-run. Connor reached third on an infield error and came home with the game-winner thanks to an infield hit by Jakob Lennon.

“This is a good time for us to be hitting our stride,” said Coach Lamothe. “We have North Reading on Saturday and Lynnfield and Newburyport next week.”

Triton needs two more wins to qualify for the state tournament.

Tyler, Cole Daniels, and Jack Lindholm all had two hits. DJ Watson and Connor Rumpf each scored two runs.

Finn MacLennan pitched the entire way for Ipswich. He did have a hit in the third inning.

I was fooled again by the weather. Eiras Field had little wind and bright sun.

Ipswich 0 0 0 0 0 = 0

Triton 3 0 0 6 1 = 10

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Tyler Egan slides home in the first inning

Tyler Egan picked up the win and had four RBI

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Filed under Ipswich, Triton

Tagged as Coach Chris Lamothe, Connor Rumpf, DJ Watson, Jack Lindholm, Tyler Egan

May 11, 2022 · 10:08 pm

Amesbury routs Pentucket 21-0

Alana DeLisle had four hits and struck out twelve

(Amesbury) The numbers are mind boggling!

Amesbury (12-0) has now scored 158 runs and given up 3 runs.

This afternoon they mercy-ruled Pentucket, 21-0.

Pentucket, which is now 6-7, had been in every game until today.

“They are obviously an unbelievable team,” said Pentucket coach Deb Smith afterwards. “They hit 1-9. We’re never going to face a team like this again.”

Today was Senior Day for Amesbury’s four seniors: Liv DeLong, Alana DeLisle, Olivia Levasseur, and Ella Bezanson.

“I started watching them when they were eighth graders on our freshman team,” recalled Amesbury coach Jacqui Waters. “They are all great players.”

There will be next-level softball for all four of them. Liv will be at Boston University while the other three are headed for Southern Maine.

“We’ve been together since third grade,” said Liv. “Senior Day is a bit sad but we’re all going on to play some more. We’ll leave behind a lot of memories, though.”

In this game, all the Amesbury players had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Eight players in the lineup had RBI.

“We hit the ball hard,” said Coach Waters.

Amesbury sent eleven batters to the plate in the first inning and collected six runs on seven hits.

Amesbury’s most productive inning was the third in which fifteen batters came up and totaled nine runs on ten hits.

“We were hitting the gaps today,” said Ella Bezanson. There were nine extra-base hits.

The most celebrated hit for Amesbury was in the fourth inning when Olivia Levasseur cleared the fence in left.

“It’s exciting running the bases and seeing the crowd at home plate,” said Olivia. “It was like a dream come true.”

“I knew it was gone because I hit it a certain way,” she added. This was Olivia’s second home run of the season.

Easily lost in all the hitting, was the effective pitching of Alana DeLisle.

The game was over after Pentucket batted in the fifth inning but Alana had enough time to record twelve strikeouts.

“I threw some curves today,” said Alana. “I did what Ella (her sister, the catcher) told me to do.” Alana also made a nice diving catch of a short popup between the mound and home plate.

Pentucket did get two hits off Alana. Nikki Mitchell lined a single to center in the first inning while teammate Meg Hamel singled sharply to left in the fourth inning.

Ella Bezanson paced Amesbury scoring four times. Alana DeLisle led Amesbury with four hits (three doubles and a single). Olivia Levasseur was tops in RBI with five.