Category Archives: Amesbury

April 30, 2016 · 7:13 pm

Shaky start dooms Amesbury 7-5 versus nonleague Concord-Carlisle

Amesbury pitcher Hayley Catania looks for the ball at home in a cloud of Jill Chelton dust

2B Lauren Fedorchak looks for the handle in the first inning

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury had three errors and a wild pitch in the first inning and never recovered from the consequences losing, 7-5, to nonleague Concord-Carlisle on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Giving up four unearned runs early to a very good Division One opponent was asking for trouble.

Division Two Amesbury (6-2), despite the defensive start, came out swinging early and often and had home runs (Zoe Fitzgerald, Megan Reid) in the first two innings off CC starter Haley McMorrow.

Zoe Fitzgerald congratulated after first inning homer

The Patriots (6-3) allowed Amesbury to close to 6-5 in the fifth when they had a defensive nightmare of an inning similar to Amesbury’s in the first. Haley McMorrow, however, was able to end the 5^th by getting Maddie Napoli to fly to right with the tying run on second.

Sophomore Catherine Kingman enabled CC to gain two-run separation in the next inning by whacking a home run over CF Megan Reid’s head. Reliever Nicole Small then came on for Concord-Carlisle and, after giving up a single to the first batter she faced (Caity Baker), retired the last six Indians to seal the deal for the visitors.

Catcher Virginia Ryan puts an end to the AHS second

Good crowd on hand and why not with sunshine and temperatures in the 60’s.

Without any outfield fences there was nothing cheap about today’s home runs by Zoe Fitzgerald, Megan Reid, and Catherine Kingman.

Both teams had three errors and both teams bunched them into one inning.

In the Concord-Carlisle first, Emma Della-Volpe reached on 2B Lauren Fedorchak’s bobble. Catherine Kingman flied out and then Scout Boynton got first on 1B Zoe Fitzgerald’s drop. So instead of three outs, CC had a run in and a runner on base. Another chance for an out (fly ball to LF Emily Robinson) was dropped and two more runs crossed. A wild pitch by AHS starter Haley Catania allowed CC’s 4^th run. (Note picture above.)

Virginia Ryan slides the ball and glove loose from Amesbury catcher Caity Baker in the Concord-Carlisle first

There was a point in the first inning when the Patriots had three runs in and AHS catcher Caity Baker in serious pain at home plate after trying to tag out Virginia Ryan.

Things did get better for the home team as they came out swinging with two homers in the next two innings and their defense got better.

AHS starter Hayley Catania allowed just five hits but had eight walks. Those walks added base runners and helped CC to get single runs in the 3^rd and 4^th innings.

Ball goes through shortstop Scout Boynton in the 3-run Amesbury 4th inning

Trailing 6-2, the Indians cashed three runs in their fourth all unearned. The elusive second out was dropped first by LF Audrey McKennitt and later went through the legs of shortstop Scout Boynton. The outfield drop produced a run. Then with two outs, Lauren Fedorchak’s high infield popup got into the sun for SS Scout Boynton and deflected off her glove for two more Indians runs.

Memorable sequences:

In the fourth inning Scout Boynton was on third with one out. On a line drive to right she did not tag up and try to score. The next batter made the third out.
In the second inning, after Megan Reid had homered, Caity Baker tripled. Good relay by CC forced third base coach Jim Hounam to hold Caity at third. Starter Haley McMorrow then retired three straight and Amesbury was only able to get one run out of a very promising inning.

Emma Della-Volpe

Concord-Carlisle is from the Dual County League and have been a powerhouse in that league the same way Amesbury has been in the Cape Ann League.

There will be a rematch between the two teams on Saturday May 21^st at Concord.

Emma Della-Volpe was the co-MVP of the Dual County League in 2015. She was 8-1 with 105 K’s in 97 innings pitched. Amesbury can be thankful that CC’s four games in six days kept her away from them this time.

Amesbury will be facing Lynnfield on the road on Monday afternoon. The Patriots visit Bedford tomorrow afternoon.

Modern equipment: You watch football and see armbands. Now softball teams have them. They have numbers on them and coaches use them for offensive and defensive situations. So a coach yells out a number and all the players look at their armbands. It will be very hard to miss a signal under this arrangement!

One coach in my (very) distant past would yell things like, “This is your existential moment.” He taught philosophy.

It was good to see Augie the Amesbury mascot on hand.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Teammates celebrate Catherine Kingman’s HR in the sixth inning

1B Zoe Fitzgerald tags out Emma Della-Volpe

Shortstop Maddie Napoli fires to first base

Patriots reliever Nicole Small prepares to throw to first base

Emma Della-Volpe scores the first CC run

Close play at third

Scout Boynton

Starter and winner Haley McMorrow

The sun gives Scout Boynton trouble in the 4th inning

RF Jill Chelton looks for a fly in right

3B Adrienne Harris settles under a popup in the 2nd inning

Megan Reid smiles after her second inning homer

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Filed under Amesbury, Concord-Carlisle

Tagged as Caity Baker, Dual County League, Emma Della-Volpe, Haley McMorrow, Megan Reid, Nicole Small, Scout Boynton, Virginia Ryan, Zoe Fitzgerald

April 25, 2016 · 9:20 pm

North Reading dominates formerly undefeated Amesbury 7-0 in softball

North Reading pitcher Julia Perrone tossed a 4-hit, 7K, gem against Amesbury

Sophomore Tara Driver smiles her way around the bases after hitting a 3-run homer in the sixth inning

(North Reading MA) This was a surprise.

North Reading (5-1) dominated Amesbury to the tune of 7-0 with terrific pitching (Julia Perrone) and nonstop hitting on Monday afternoon in Cape Ann League action.

This was the first loss for the Indians (5-1). The shutout was a real surprise since Amesbury had rattled five opponents with forty-five runs before running into NR junior Julia Perrone.

The Hornets’ righty allowed only four singles and struck out seven Indians. Julia ended the 2^nd and 3^rd innings with K’s after the visitors had runners in scoring position in each of them.

It was easy to miss the Hornets excellent pitching with all the hitting they did. The word “squibber” would not describe any of those hits. NR hit the fence on a line, hit one over the fence (Tara Driver), and had four doubles.

The only starter without a hit was leadoff batter Carly Swartz but Carly’s terrific defense at second more than made up for her not getting a hit.

Senior Lily Malloy drove in NR’s first two runs with a single in the second and a double to center in the third.

It was a very busy afternoon in the Amesbury outfield

North Reading would get two more runs in the fifth inning on sophomore Guiliana Peppe’s two-out, bases-loaded double to left field.

The Hornets carried that 4-0 lead into the sixth. After two quick outs, Abby Paine singled. 3B Emily Robinson handled the grounder of next batter Julia Perrone okay but looked first to second and then threw wildly to first allowing Julia to reach and extend the inning. That was unfortunate for Amesbury because next batter Tara Driver lofted a high fly to right that cleared the fence for a 3-run homer.

Pitcher Julia Perrone throws to first as teammate Cassidy looks on

This was Tara’s fifth home run of the season.

Starter Julia Perrone now has 46 strikeouts over 37 innings.

Amesbury starter Hayley Catania had three strikeouts but as the thirteen hits would indicate was not missing many bats on this afternoon.

With both teams in Division 2 you can almost be certain that to get where they want to get in the post-season they have a good chance of meeting again.

The Indians had defeated North Reading three straight years by one run each time. I was expecting a close game but NR on this afternoon would have none of that.

Cassandra Pascucci was one of four Hornets with two hits

Julia Perrone, Cassidy Gaetta, Cassandra Pascucci, and Guiliana Peppe each had two hits for North Reading.

Lauren Fedorchak, Hayley Catania, Adrienne Harris, and Chloe Kramer singled for Amesbury.

Next game for North Reading is on the road Wednesday versus Ipwich.

Amesbury’s next game is hosting Masco on Friday.

Danny Ventura of the Boston Herald was in the house.

A wild throw to first by 3B Tara Driver found my ankle. That comes with the territory when you try to get action shots and have the reflexes of a sidewalk.

North Reading box

Amesbury box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Zoe Fitzgerald

Megan Reid

2B Carly Swartz fields the final out

Adrienne Harris connects

3B Tara Driver fires toward first ……and finds my ankle.

Hayley Catania

CF Abby Paine sights a fly ball

Caity Baker

2B Lauren Fedorchak tries to track down a hit up the middle

Hayley Catania caught stealing by shortstop Cassandra Pascucci

Catcher Caity Baker applies the tag at home to Jessica Ferrazzani

Amesbury nearly turned two.

1B Zoe Fitzgerald set to tag Carly Swartz

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Filed under Amesbury, North Reading

Tagged as Cassandra Pascucci, Cassidy Gaeta, Guiliana Peppe, Julia Perrone, Lily Malloy, Tara Driver

March 3, 2016 · 11:19 pm

Eight 3’s and tight defense get Saugus past Amesbury 57-44 in D3 North

Dan Bertrand (12 points) shoots from in front of the Saugus bench and crowd

Plenty of action in this game

(Amesbury MA) This was no stroll in the park.

Bodies flew and more than feelings were hurt in a game won by Saugus, 57-44, over Amesbury on Thursday night.

Saugus moves on to the quarterfinals of Division 3 North and will face Stoneham. The Sachems (10-11) had a win over Stoneham during the regular season.

Amesbury (12-8) appeared out of synch all game long. Maybe it was the physical play. Maybe it was the pressure of a packed house. Whatever it was, the Indians took very poor care of the ball (23 turnovers by my count) and did not defend the perimeter (eight 3’s for Saugus) very well.

Adam Incontri pressures Matthew Waggett

For a half, Saugus had just as much trouble as Amesbury did. The Indians were high energy, man-to-man defenders and had shot blockers available in close.

It was only 20-18 at the half and you knew that the team that could put some points together would be able to create separation.

Saugus was that team in the third quarter. David Rowinsky’s second three of the quarter, at the three-minute mark, gave the visitors the lead (26-24) and they never trailed thereafter.

David Rowinsky (16 points) had five 3’s

Dave Rowinsky’s second three was also part of eight straight points Saugus put together to lead, 31-24.

The Indians answered with a Dan Welch layup and a Kyle Martin jumper.

But instead of this being the start of a run back into contention, it turned out to be momentary and the Sachems followed with their second eight-point streak of the quarter. A layin from Even DeCristoforo started it and then there were killer three’s, twenty-three seconds apart, by David

Rowinsky (16 points) and Dan Bertrand (12 points).

That second eight-spot pushed the deficit for Amesbury to double figures (39-28) with 1 ½ to go in the third quarter. The Indians did not have enough shot makers beyond Dan Welch (17 points) to get closer the rest of the way.

Key to the win? The effectiveness of the Saugus zone defense. In the first half the zone was strictly half-court. In the crucial third quarter that zone moved to three quarters and was a game-changer. The Sachems trapped and jumped passing lanes and Amesbury fell away from productive offense.

The big need for Amesbury was for someone to hit from the outside. Fred Halloran made their only three in the first half. The Indians did get three from long range in the final quarter (Eric Dawes, Fred Halloran, Riley O’Connor) but the lead was already 48-31 and it was not nearly enough to set up a close finish.

Kyle Autilio holds his ground and gets a charge called on Riley O’Connor

Saugus connected four times from long range in the breakaway third quarter. Combine that with nine AHS miscues in the same quarter and you quickly realize why a 23-10 point spread occurred.

This was a very physical game. There were dives for basketballs and every layup was heavily contested. Saugus, from the Northeast Conference, was definitely more used to physical play while Amesbury appeared distracted by it.

Great crowd. Saugus brought a bus full and they ended up having plenty to cheer about in the second half.

Dan Bertrand has committed to Norwich (VT) where he’ll join his brother Joe. Their father is an assistant coach with Saugus.

Kyle Autilio will be going to D2 Assumption next year to play baseball. Kyle was the Sachems point guard this evening and had plenty to do with Saugus having only fourteen turnovers for the night.

Amesbury will graduate seven seniors including the starting five.

Saugus boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Riley O’Connor eyes the hoop

Evan DeCristoforo guarded by Adam Incontri

Kyle Autilio heads in where shots are blocked

David Rowinsky (16 points) hit five 3’s

Dan Welch stopped by Chris McGrane

Matt Waggett and Ryan Foley

Jarod Day covered by Vincent Cirame

AHS coach Tom Comeau with senior Dan Welch

Cameron Leary at the charity stripe

Kyle Martin shoots

Dan Welch (17 points) in close

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Filed under Amesbury, Saugus

Tagged as Dan Bertrand, Dan Welch, David Rowinsky, Kyle Atuilio

February 29, 2016 · 11:23 pm

Amesbury routs Charlestown 83-40 in D3 North First Round

Flannery O’Connor on her way to two of her twenty-seven points

Maddie Napoli (11 points) gets past Keila Derosa

(Amesbury MA) No contest.

Amesbury (11-8) jumped on visiting Charlestown (8-9) early and often on their way to an 83-40 win in the First Round of the D3 North tournament on Monday night.

The Townies brought only six players and the Indians were quick to apply as much pressure as possible in an attempt to wear the visitors down.

Amesbury harassed Charlestown into twelve first-quarter turnovers and put up the game’s first nineteen points. AHS had those 19 points in the first 3 ½ minutes. Maddie Napoli (11 points) hit a three in the breakaway segment but everything else came from high-percentage, inside attempts.

Amesbury coach Matt Willis, in an act of early mercy in my opinion, pulled off full-court pressure with the nineteen points lead and Charlestown got a chance to show how they won eight games in the Boston City League.

Rae Miles-Willis (28 points) puts up a floater in the lane

Charlestown mounted a bit of a comeback and the sizable home crowd got a good look at the Townies Rae Miles-Willis (28 points) and her ability to dribble in traffic and put up shots in traffic. The junior lefty didn’t launch long ones but connected on a variety of pull-up jumpers inside the arc.

Rae’s offense, twelve points in the second quarter, enabled Charlestown to trail only, 39-22, at the half.

In the third quarter things went seriously downhill for the Townies. Amesbury collected thirty-two points (that’s four per minute!) on one layup after another. The miscues mounted for C’Town and the Indians had numerous breakaways.

Freshman Flannery O’Connor (27 points) ran her own personal layup drill getting ahead of the pack or loose underneath for ten baskets in the third quarter alone.

By then this game was begging for a basketball mercy rule like softball has. The point separation did give Coach Willis a chance to give all of his players tournament experience.

Leslie Del Carman (20), Zedekzka Berlingeri (14), and Stephany Rodriguez (21)

#7 seed Amesbury will now take on #2 seed Bishop Fenwick at St. John’s Prep (Danvers) on Friday night (7PM). The Indians will have their hands full in that one.

Charlestown ended their season losing seven of their last nine games.

Amesbury finished 7-2 at home. Good turnout in support of the Indians including the boys basketball team. The boys play at home on Wednesday against Saugus.

The Indians shot well from the outside early on but cooled off significantly during the last three quarters. They will definitely need outside shooting against a tall Bishop Fenwick team.

Flannery O’Connor, Megan Reid (12 points), and Julie LaMontagne (12 points) were strong on the boards for Amesbury.

Charlestown finished winless against the Cape Ann League in five attempts. None of the games, including tonight’s, were close. #1 seed North Reading had 71-20 and 59-19 victories over the Townies.

Amesbury boxscore

Charlestown boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Rae Miles-Willis guarded by the entire Amesbury team

Abbie Sartori

Game on!

Maddie Napoli guards Rae Miles-Willis

Maddie Napoli gets a layup

Rae Miles-Willis

Flannery O’Connor in heavy Charlestown traffic

Julie LaMontagne (12 points)

Flannery O’Connor

Rae Miles-Willis shoots in the lane

Zoe Fitzgerald

Abbie Sartori and Maddie Napoli chase Rae Miles-Willis

Megan Reid (12 points)

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Filed under Amesbury, Charlestown

Tagged as Flannery O'Connor, Julie LaMontagne, Maddie Napoli, Megan Reid, Rae Miles-Willis

January 22, 2016 · 11:02 pm

Pentucket hangs on to edge Amesbury 54-53

All eyes on Riley O’Connor’s last-second shot over Lucas Chory

Spencery Pacy (#31) and Ben Thornton (#51) double-team Dan Welch

Spencer Pacy (#31) and Ben Thornton (#51) double-team Dan Welch

(Amesbury MA) This game came down to the last shot.

Amesbury’s Riley O’Connor let it fly from very long range with Pentucket’s Lucas Chory defending.

The shot hit the rim and bounced away giving Pentucket an exciting 54-53 win at Amesbury on Friday night.

Pentucket (6-6) has now won four of their last five games.

Amesbury (5-6) has squandered a terrific start and now has lost five straight.

The Indians had size advantages at almost every position and worked the inside nicely early on. Dan Welch found open space three times and Riley O’Connor cashed in from long range twice giving the home team a 25-18 advantage 2 ½ minutes into the second quarter.

Amesbury timeout with Coach Tom Comeau

But over the next eight minutes of playing time things changed entirely. Amesbury had all kinds of trouble scoring while Pentucket, despite six turnovers, tallied fifteen straight points.

That run of consecutive points took the 25-18 Indians lead and transformed it into a 33-28 Sachem advantage 2 ½ minutes into the third quarter. Jimmy Cleary (12 points) notched a 3-pointer and a left-handed hook in the lane during Pentucket’s lengthy run.

The Sachems would elevate their lead to eight (38-30) before Amesbury suddenly found their game and took a 10-2 run to the end of the third quarter tying Pentucket at 40-40. Ryan Foley (15 points) turned a steal into a layin during the Amesbury comeback.

The final quarter was truly back and forth. There were four lead changes in the first 4+ minutes. A three by sophomore Spencer Pacy (13 points) knotted the score at 50-50 at 3:21.

The Sachems ran several nice backdoor plays during the game and none more important than the tie-breaking one late in the game that saw Conor O’Neil send Jimmy Cleary in for a layup.

Jimmy Cleary gets a backdoor layup after a pass from Conor O’Neil (#11)

Pentucket added another layup on their next possession when Conor O’Neil (15 points) exploded to the rim for two. I suspect that many of the Amesbury partisans wondered where the help defense was on that play.

Both teams struggled at the foul line

Now down by four points, Amesbury got two points back on a Freddie Halloran layup and another point back on a Dan Welch free throw in the final minute but the Indians needed more. Not on this night.

Plenty of tight defense all night long. Pentucket collapsed all over 6-5 Dan Welch and kept him from turning to the basket most of the game.

Amesbury jumped passing lanes very effectively causing twenty-two turnovers by my unofficial count.

Free throw shooting was a nightmare for both teams. Final quarter Amesbury was 2-for-8 and 9-for-19 overall. Pentucket was able to win the game despite making only four-of-eleven freebies and missing along the way the front end of FIVE one-and-one’s.

Ryan Foley paced Amesbury with fifteen points. Three of those points came on a last-second prayer with the shot-clock buzzer sounding in the final quarter.

The surprise to me in the Pentucket scoring was sophomore Spencer Pacy with thirteen points. I saw Pentucket’s opening win over Newburyport and Spencer only played in the second quarter. His three in the final quarter tied the score at 50-50.

Next game for Amesbury is at Newburyport on Tuesday night. Pentucket hosts Ipswich on Monday for their next game.

Amesbury box

Pentucket box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Race to the basket

Kyle Martin in Pentucket traffic

Nate McGrail lifts a floater

Conor O’Neil (15 points)

Game on!

Nate McGrail

Jimmy Cleary (12 points)

Amesbury cheerleaders

Ryan Foley (15 points) launches a three

Dan Welch at the rim

Spencer Pacy (13 points) contests Riley O’Connor’s layup attempt

Kyle Martin surrounded by Sachems

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Filed under Amesbury, Pentucket

Tagged as Conor O'Neil, Jimmy Cleary, Ryan Foley, Spencer Pacy

December 21, 2015 · 11:15 pm

Cold shooting Georgetown falls to Amesbury 47-35

Abbie Sartori (16 points) had a big night on offense and defense for Amesbury

Rory Donoghue tries to get by Zoe Fitzgerald

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury started in a zone and stayed in a zone defeating Georgetown, 47-35, on Monday night in Cape Ann League play.

If you want to get a team out of a zone, you hit from the outside. The visiting Royals (2-2) only connected from long-range three times and that was not nearly enough to discourage the packed-in Indians (2-1).

Amesbury never trailed and when they put a 16-4 run together an anybody’s game (6-5) got out of reach (22-9) one minute into the second half.

G’Town’s missed three-pointers created long rebounds and Amesbury led by Maddie Napoli were quick to race ahead for layups.

Abbie Sartori (16 points) led all scorers. The AHS junior was on the payoff end of several of the Indians breakaways.

It was a long night for the Royals. The Amesbury zone keyed the passing lanes and harassed Georgetown’s outside shooters. It also seemed that every G’Town possession in close drew at least two defenders.

Hailey Bonia defended by Julia LaMontagne

A telling stat was sixteen Georgetown turnovers in just the first half. Combine cold outside shooting with miscues trying to get inside looks and you can understand the Royals getting only nine points in the first half and behind by eleven.

The Indians had a much better time against the zone used by G’Town. They were able to get the ball into open looks in the corners. There were also some terrific feeds from the corners into Megan Reid (9 points) cutting down the lane.

The Royals closed to within nine points (30-21) after senior Cayla Durkee hit two free throws with three minutes left in the third quarter. But Amesbury answered with a run of seven straight to gain significant separation (37-21). Scorers for the Indians in this segment were Zoe Fitzgerald, Julia LaMontagne, and Abbie Sartori.

Next for Amesbury will be Ipswich at home (6:30PM) on Wednesday.

Next for Georgetown is Hamilton-Wenham at home (6:30PM) on the same night.

Georgetown wanted to full-court press but couldn’t put enough good offense together to get into it.

Maya Spence pursued by Abbie Sartori

Amesbury, 8-12 in 2014-15, looks ready to do better than that this season.

Hamilton-Wenham defeated Amesbury 57-53 three days ago by forcing twenty Amesbury turnovers and making eleven three’s. The Indians may have had twenty turnovers versus Georgetown but they weren’t stung from long range.

Good work by the Amesbury student section. Looked to me as if a number of the members of the boys basketball team were on hand. Nice to see that kind of support.

Amesbury boxscore

Georgetown boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Abbie Sartori

Cayla Durkee

Amesbury student section in synch

Maeve McNeill, Megan Reid, and Hailey Bonia battle

Julie LaMontagne (#10) gets off a shot inside

game on!

Flanner O’Connor runs into some Rory Donoghue defense

Megan Reid defended by Cayla Durkee

Maddie Napoli swings down the lane

Freshman Flannery O’Connor gets to the rim

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Abbie Sartori, Cayla Durkee, Julia LaMontagne, Maddie Napoli, Megan Reid

October 31, 2015 · 9:03 pm

Manchester-Essex (girls) and Masco (boys) win Cape Ann League XC championships

Masconomet captains with 2015 championship plaque

Manchester-Essex: 2015 Cape Ann League cross country champions

Maddie Quigley (Triton) finishes first

(Topsfield MA) The Manchester-Essex girls and the Masconomet boys came out winners at the Cape Ann League cross country championships held Saturday at Bradley Palmer State Park.

Maddie Quigley (Triton) and Joe Molvar (Newburyport) were the top finishers in each division.

The ME girls edged arch-rival Hamilton-Wenham in several head-to-head races within the race to get the title, 40-50. During the regular season HW got by ME by a one slim point to keep their dual-meet streak (129 straight) alive.

The Masco boys had too much depth for the rest of the CAL field. Newburyport took the top two spots (Joe Molvar and Jack Carleo) but the Chieftains still won, 60-73. Masco’s Daniel Cosgrove finished third.

Senior Maddie Quigley was behind fast-starting Emily DeMarco (Ipswich) for part of the race but had a good lead over Eve Feuerbach (ME) at the finish. Maddie finished 7^th in 2014.

Joe Molvar near the finish

Senior Joe Molvar trailed teammate Jack Carleo for part of the boys’ race but also ended up with a commanding lead over his Clippers’ teammate at the end.

An important last-second rally by ME’s Holly Fossa got her past HW’s Olivia Horgan and into sixth place.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Boys top finishers

Jack Carleo and Joe Molvar

HW coach Steve Sawyer gets “special” award

Maddie Quigley comes forward to get award afterwards

Grace Sousa (Georgetown) 10th

Girls top finishers

Jack Carleo (Newburyport) 2nd

Daniel Cosgrove (Masco) 3rd

Eve Feuerbach (ME) 2nd

Grace Moroney (HW) 4th

Evelyn Lantz (ME) 5th, Olivia Horgan (HW) 7th, Holly Fossa (ME) 6th

Hailee Gibadlo (Amesbury) 9th

Chris Chabot (Amesbury) won the boys JV title

Emily DeMarco (Ipswich) 10th

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Filed under 2015 Cape Ann League XC Championships, Amesbury, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester-Essex, Masconomet, Newburyport, North Reading, Pentucket, Triton

Tagged as Eve Feuerbach, Jack Carleo, Joe Molvar, Maddie Quigley, Manchester-Essex, Masconomet

June 8, 2015 · 10:19 pm

Amesbury rallies past Rockport 6-4 in D3 North softball quarterfinals

Miranda Roller and Emily Robinson collide at second base

Kayla Parisi scores the 4th Rockport run

(Amesbury MA) Rockport built up a 4-run lead after three innings but the #1 seed Amesbury took over from there getting a 6-4 decision on Monday afternoon.

The Indians (19-2) now advance to the D3 North semifinals on Wednesday afternoon (4PM) against Winthrop at Martin Field in Lowell.

#9 seed Rockport (14-6) hit the ball hard (six hits in the first three innings) and benefited from two Amesbury defensive lapses to get ahead 4-0 after three innings.

But after the third inning Amesbury tightened up their defense and took advantage of errors and wild pitches to get the lead in the fifth. An insurance run was added in the sixth.

Hayley Catania – 2 RBI & complete-game win

Hayley Catania, after not holding a runner on third which allowed her to score in the Rockport second, was masterful thereafter. In the fifth Hayley, protecting a one-run lead with a runner (Miranda Roller) on third, got a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.

Hayley at the bat? Timely. The freshman had two-out, RBI singles in the 4^th and 5^th.

The game ended on a play at third. Jess Collins grounded out shortstop-to-first with one out but baserunner Miranda Roller (on second) decided to try for third after the out at first. Unfortunate decision. First baseman Zoe Fitzgerald fired a strike to teammate Autumn Kligerman at third and Miranda never came close to reaching the base.

In the Rockport second, Rachel Balestraci doubled in Emily Faulds. Rachel was sacrificed to third by Allie Davis with one out. Allie’s sister Rachel grounded back to AHS pitcher Hayley Catania. Instead of looking the runner back at third, Hayley threw to first which allowed Allie to score Rockport’s second run.

In the Rockport third, an Emily Faulds’ single to right with two outs drove in Miranda Roller. On the same play Kayla Parisi reached third and literally stole home unnoticed by the Amesbury infield. Meagan Aponas made a nice catch in center to end that inning.

In the Amesbury fourth, Autumn Kligerman’s sinking fly to left fell off Allie Davis’ glove allowing Autumn to get second with two outs. Hayley Catania delivered Autumn.

CF Rachel Haselgard about to save a run with a terrific catch

The Vikings still held a 4-1 lead but the Amesbury fifth would give them the lead. A walk, a play that wasn’t made at second, and a wild pitch all led to Indians’ runs. It was only a great running catch by RHS centerfielder Rachel Haselgard for the final out that kept the damage to four runs.

In the Rockport sixth, the Vikings had two on and two out when Rachel Haselgard drilled a liner to AHS shortstop Maddie Napoli.

Now up 5-4 after five, the Indians added one more. Megan Reid reached on an error but was cut down on Lauren Fedorchak’s fielder’s choice. From there Lauren stole second and went to third on a wild pitch with two outs. Maddie Napoli’s ground single to deep third scored Lauren.

Meaghan Wonson was injured (nose) during Rockport’s pre-game infield practice but recovered in time to play the game. Yet another reason for infielders to wear masks.

Rockport catcher KT Favoloro made several nice plays on foul pops.

Amesbury defeated Rockport in April (14-9) and May (10-5).

Miranda Roller had a 3-run homer in Rockport’s opening round win over Greater Lawrence.

Amesbury box

Rockport box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Miranda Roller

Meaghan Wonson gets treatment

close play at first

Lauren Fedorchak

Catcher Caity Baker comes out after a bunt

Jess Collins pitched for Rockport

Rockport coach Diane Parisi in front of the crowd

trouble in the Rockport outfield

Miranda Roller and Autumn Kligerman

AHS coach Chris Perry

close play at second

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Filed under Amesbury, Rockport

Tagged as Allie Davis, Autumn Kligerman, Emily Faulds, Hayley Catania, Kayla Parisi, Lauren Fedorchak, Maddie Napoli, Meaghan Wonson, Rachel Haselgard, Zoe Fitzgerald

June 6, 2015 · 9:50 pm

Amesbury recovers to win First Round softball 14-5 over Lynnfield

Zoe Fitzgerald races to first with the final out.

Annika Han scores the first Lynnfield run

(Amesbury MA) The #1 seed Amesbury recovered from a 3-run Lynnfield first inning and went on to defeat the Pioneers, 14-5, in Round One of the D3 North softball tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The Indians (18-3) will now face another Cape Ann League team (Rockport) in the quarterfinals on Monday afternoon at Amesbury’s newly named Chris Perry Field.

The #16 seed Pioneers (13-9) came out of the gates hitting AHS starter Hayley Catania hard getting three hits and three runs in the first inning. After that the Indians freshman scattered five hits (and two runs) while striking out five.

Meanwhile the Amesbury bats were loud and never seemed to quiet down against LHS starter senior Sadie Oliver. Everyone in the Indians lineup had hits in Amesbury’s fourteen-hit afternoon. Also, every batter scored at least one run. It was quite the hitting show.

Sam Stone paced Amesbury with three hits. Autumn Kligerman and Zoe Fitzgerald each homered. Autumn’s was down the left-field line and seemed to roll forever. Zoe’s was a blast over leftfielder Leigh Guerra.

Seniors Hannah Travers and Kelly Hosterman each had two hits for Lynnfield.

Very impressed with LHS centerfielder Annika Han. The Lynnfield junior had a quick jump on fly balls and registered six putouts.

Maddie Napoli on her way to a terrific running catch

Another defensive standout was Amesbury shortstop Maddie Napoli. The AHS sophomore recovered from a first-inning bad throw to stay clean the rest of the way. Maddie turned in the play-of-the-game in the 4^th inning with a running catch toward the left-field foul line off the bat of Olivia DeLuca. In the promising Pioneers’ (two on, nobody out) sixth, Maddie caught an LHS baserunner off second base.

Sadie Oliver tossed a 2-hitter in Lynnfield’s 12-0 win over O’Bryant in the preliminary round.

Amesbury defeated Lynnfield in April (8-3), May (9-1), and today in June.

Amesbury box

Lynnfield box

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Hayley Catania was the complete game winner

Hannah Travers had two hits for Lynnfield

Kelly Hosterman had two hits

AHS shortstop Maddie Napoli

LHS pitcher Sadie Oliver

Lauren Fedorchak

tough chance in left field

LHS coach Peter Marinelli visits his pitcher

Kelly Dillon (#6) after interfering with Lauren Fedorchak (#15)

close play at second

AHS coach Chris Perry puts the stop on baserunner Hayley Catania

Kelly Dillon fires to first

Autumn Kligerman jumps for joy at the end of the game

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Filed under Amesbury, Lynnfield

Tagged as Annika Han, Autumn Kligerman, Hannah Travers, Hayley Catania, Kelly Hosterman, Maddie Napoli, Sadie Oliver, Sam Stone, Zoe Fitzgerald

May 11, 2015 · 8:51 pm

Undefeated Amesbury (12-0) edges Georgetown 4-2 in CAL softball

Zoe Fitzgerald gets third as throw escapes Brenna Donoghue

All eyes are on a two-out fly ball to left in the fourth inning

(Amesbury MA) That’s a dozen and counting.

Amesbury got past scrappy Georgetown, 4-2, on cool, windy Monday afternoon in Cape Ann League action.

Freshman Hayley Cantania tossed a 4-hitter with 9 strikeouts for Amesbury.

The Indians (12-0) put three runs together in the decisive second inning. Lauren Fedorchak delivered runs 2 & 3 with a double to left center.

Three Amesbury popups in that crucial 2^nd inning were significant. Two of the popups (Emily Robinson & Haley Catania) fell for hits in short rightfield while the other one was a foul ball that wasn’t caught.

The wind was a player all game turning routine plays into adventures for both teams.

The Indians added a run in the fourth. Meagan Aponas beat out a grounder to second and later reached third on a throwing error by G’Town pitcher Danielle Quercia. Meagan was able to score Amesbury’s 4^th run when Sam Stone’s fly ball to left was dropped by Maggie Noelk.

Danielle Quercia

Later in the Amesbury 4^th the Indians loaded the bases with one out but Danielle Quercia got a popup and a strikeout to escape with just one run allowed.

The visitors cut their 4-0 deficit in half in the fifth inning. Kylie Hayward singled and stole second. Jen Nutter walked on a wild pitch and Kylie reached third with two outs. Jen’s steal attempt drew a throw from catcher Caity Baker allowing Kylie to score when Jen was ruled safe at second. Kate Irons’ wind-influenced popup fell between first and second enabling Jen to get Georgetown’s second run.

That was it for the scoring. Georgetown (6-6) had a runner on in both the 6^th and 7^th but couldn’t find a big hit.

Best play of the game? Last out of the game. Kate Irons hit a hot shot to 3B Autumn Kligerman’s left. Autumn dove for it, stopped it, and threw to first. 1B Zoe Fitzgerald scooped the hurried throw and the game was over.

Both team’s shortstops had defensive gems. Maddie Napoli (Amesbury) ranged left to backhand a grounder then threw out the runner. Kylie Hayward (Georgetown) took charge on a popup near the mound and made a nice running catch.

Lauren Fedorchak – two rbi in the second inning

Danielle Quercia pitched well enough to win. However, misplayed popups and throwing errors cost the Royals dearly.

The two teams met on April 8^th. The snow was flying and Amesbury came away 8-6 winners in a weather-shortened five inning game.

Maddie Napoli, Emily Robinson, and Hayley Cantania each had two hits for Amesbury.

Kylie Hayward, Jen Nutter, Kate Irons, and Dana Edwards collected Georgetown’s four hits.

The Royals have won four of their last six games. Next for them is a trip to winless Ipswich on Wednesday.

Amesbury hasn’t lost since last June. Who beat them? St. Mary’s in the D3 North finals.

Amesbury’s next game is at Lynnfield on Wednesday.

Weather? Ninety degrees Sunday afternoon turned into sixty degrees a day later! One of the attractions to this area we live in is that we have four seasons. I didn’t know you could have all of them over a 2-day stretch.

One of the numerous popups landed on a very startled Augie in foul territory.

Amesbury box

Georgetown box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)