Category Archives: Amesbury

June 26, 2021 · 10:18 pm

Liv DeLong hits walkoff winner

Amesbury Indians are the Division 3 North champions

Ella Bezanson hits home with the game winner

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury captured the Division 3 North title with a 3-2, eight-inning walkoff win over St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.

Amesbury takes on D3 South champs Case on Monday night at 5PM at the Amesbury Middle School.

Liv DeLong had the big hit for the (15-0) Indians. The hard-hitting junior drove in Ella Bezanson with the game-winner.

“I couldn’t have had a better setup in the eighth,” explained Amesbury coach Jacqui Waters post-game. “Those are my top two hitters.”

Amesbury had only five hits off the Spartans Lily Newhall but two of them came in the decisive eighth.

Earlier, Lauren Celia gave the Indians the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run single down the third-base line.

“It felt good to get a hit in a late-season game,” said Lauren.

But the runs didn’t hold up.

St. Mary’s (21-3) took advantage of two Amesbury miscues and tied the score, 2-2, in their half of the sixth inning.

“I liked the way we came back after being down 2-0,” said St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca afterwards.

The Spartans put the pressure on Amesbury in the seventh and eighth.

Felicia D’Alessandro singled with two out in the seventh.

Brooke Mohoney singled and reached second on a Jill Kirby sacrifice bunt with one out in the eighth.

In both situations, Amesbury pitcher Alana Delisle had the defense behind her to keep St. Mary’s from scoring.

“We had an opportunity in the eighth inning and didn’t take advantage of it,” said Coach Pagliuca. “Amesbury had the same opportunity in the eighth inning and took advantage of it.”

That similar situation was having a runner on second base with one out.

After an Ella Delisle popup leading off the decisive eighth, the Indians had their two best hitters whack the two hardest hits of the game.

“I felt it on the end of my bat,” explained Ella Bezanson who doubled to the right centerfield fence, “and I knew it was a good hit.”

In the sixth inning, Amesbury had runners on second and third with two outs. On that occasion St. Mary’s decided to pitch to Alana Delisle even though there was an empty base. The strategy worked perfectly as Spartans’ ace Lily Newhall struck Alana out to end the inning.

Now in the eighth inning, with Ella Bezanson on second base, the option of walking the next batter (Liv DeLong) was again available.

There was a long conference on the mound as the Spartans planned what they would do.

They would pitch to Liv DeLong.

“Liv told me that she was going after the first pitch,” said Coach Waters.

“I was up there ready to hit,” recalled Liv. “I was ready to swing at anything. I saw the first pitch coming and I said, ‘this is it.’”

Liv hit a rope to center field. It hasn’t rained much lately, and the ground out there is hard. Liv’s hit took an up bounce on St. Mary’s CF Marina D’Biasio and Ella was on her way home.

Liv DeLong’s hard hit bounces up on CF Marina D’Biasio in the 8th iinning

“When Liv hit that ball, I was jumping up-and-down inside,” said Ella.

I asked Coach Pagliuca about choosing not to walk Liv DeLong: “I won’t comment on what I told the pitcher. The girl hit the ball. It is what it is at this point. Liv is a good player, and she took advantage of the opportunity.”

The pitching of St. Mary’s Lily Newhall and Amesbury’s Alana Delisle was very impressive.

“Lily kept a powerful lineup off-balance all game,” said Coach Pagliuca.

Lily gave up five hits and had eight strikeouts. The junior had a no-hitter through four innings.

Alana also yielded five hits but had ten strikeouts.

“Alana is probably the hero of the game,” said Coach Waters. “I had no doubt that I was pitching her today.”

“Alana did so well today,” said her sister Ella who is the team’s catcher. “She hit every spot. She’s so good.”

Ella calls the pitches for her older sister.

“Rise balls and changeups were working, as well as a few screwballs,” said Alana. “Ella was smart about how we used them.”

St. Mary’s had won twelve straight. Their losses were to Gloucester and Bishop Feehan.

This season Amesbury has rolled through the Cape Ann League getting no-hitters from Alana Delisle and Liv DeLong as well as mercy-rule endings in most games.

The weather was pleasantly warm.

Good turnout with the spectators located beyond the outfield fence.

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

Ella Bezanson and Liv DeLong with the team about to join

Alyssa Grossi on her way home with the Spartans 2nd run

Brooke Moloney scores St. Mary’s first run

Olivia Levasseur scores Amesbury’s 2nd run

Izzy Levasseur scores Amesbury’s first run

Lauren Celia tagged out at second by SS Sam Porazinski

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Filed under Amesbury, St. Mary's

Tagged as Alana Delisle, Alyssa Grossi, Brooke Mohoney, Ella Bezanson, Lauren Celia, Lily Newhall, Liv DeLong

June 15, 2021 · 10:10 pm

Georgetown defeats Amesbury in surprising fashion

Iain Kantorski tagged out at home by catcher Tim Gilleo

(Amesbury MA) Georgetown certainly didn’t do it the easy way.

The Royals had two runners thrown out at home.

They had two others caught at third.

Didn’t matter, Georgetown still came away with a satisfying, 6-3, season-ending win over Amesbury on Tuesday afternoon.

The sunny skies at the start gave way to dark clouds, thunder, and then game-ending lightning as the Amesbury half of the sixth inning was about to start.

I usually talk to coaches and some players afterwards but not today. That lightning changed my plans and had me and my camera equipment beelining it immediately for the AHS parking lot.

Ayden Kent was one of six Royals pitchers

Not only did Georgetown (6-10) run into outs on the bases but they also used a different pitcher in each inning. Those frequent pitching changes would seem to have been a recipe for disaster sooner or later but not on this afternoon.

We’ll never know what the Indians (8-7) might have done with two more innings of batting, however. I’m betting though that we would have seen two more Georgetown pitchers.

The Royals had eleven hits, at least one in every inning, off Amesbury pitchers (Trevor Kimball & Josh Sorgini).

Georgetown got off to a great start with RBI doubles by Nick Gaeta (two hits) and Jack Lucido in the first inning.

That inning ended with Jack getting caught trying to steal third base.

Amesbury got a run back in their half of the first inning. Jeremy Lopez (three hits, two RBI) doubled home Shea Cucinotta.

Drew MacDonald was caught stealing in that inning.

Georgetown continued to hit during the next three innings but ran themselves into outs on the bases that kept them from scoring runs.

Great throws by LF Drew MacDonald (2^nd inning) and RF Drew Scialdone (3^rd inning) were key plays for the Indians in staying close on the scoreboard.

In the fourth inning, Garrett Sedgwick tried to go to third (from second) on an infield out but was thrown out at third on a good throw by 1B Tiernan Bentley.

I thought that the wasted opportunities might catch up to Georgetown, but it didn’t happen.

New pitchers came and went each inning for the Royals, yet the one-run lead stayed in place.

The Indians loaded the bases against Ayden Kent in the third inning but a two-out liner by Trevor Kimball was snagged by 1B Nick Gaeta to end the threat.

The Royals finally scored more runs in the fifth inning. RBI by Iain Kantorski & Carter Lucido finished starter Trevor Kimball’s afternoon.

Josh Sorgini came on in relief.

Twice Georgetown, with runners on first and third, sent the runner on first and were able to score the runner from third and add two more runs to their total.

Amesbury did not recover completely from those four additional runs. They did score two runs, however.

Jeremy Lopez doubled to the rightfield corner sending home Drew MacDonald. Later, Jeremy stole third and came across when the throw (from the pitcher) to third was wild.

That 6-3 score turned out to be the final as the threatening weather kicked in.

Everyone in Georgetown’s starting lineup had at least one hit. Rob Popielski and Nick Gaeta each had two hits for the Royals.

Jeremy Lopez had a perfect day going three-for-three with two RBI.

Drew MacDonald and Trevor Kimball each had two hits for the Indians.

The Georgetown season ends on an upswing as they finished winning three of their last five.

Amesbury will be in the post-season tournament. They suffered losses yesterday and today.

Amesbury defeated Georgetown, 5-4, in early May at Georgetown.

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

Ayden Kent caught off 3B by Josh Sorgini

Drew MacDonald – 2 hits and an outfield assist

2B Jake Harring tags out Nick Gaeta as a run scores

Shea Cucinotta, Jake Harring, and Trevor Kimball wait on a pitching change

Rob Popielski scores a run for Georgetown

Baserunner Iain Kantorski and SS Shea Cucinotta

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Iain Kantorski, Jack Lucido, Jeremy Lopez, Nick Gaeta

May 27, 2021 · 10:09 pm

Last-inning rally earns Amesbury 6-5 walk-off win vs Lynnfield

Shea Cucinotta (white helmet) singled in the game winner for Amesbury

(Amesbury MA) Lynnfield gave Amesbury (6-3) too many chances and it finally caught up to them in the last inning.

The Pioneers had issued seven walks and had hit two batters through six innings. However, they had a 5-3 lead.

That lead vanished after the Indians got two more walks in their half of the seventh. Senior Tiernan Bentley drove both walkers (Tim Gilleo & Trevor Kimball) in to tie the score.

“I haven’t been hitting all that well this season,” said Tiernan afterwards. “It felt good to get one.”

Two hit-batsmen followed (Luke Arsenault & Jake Harring) loading the bases with one out and Shea Cucinotta the batter. Shea had a hit the previous inning.

With a chance to seal the outcome, Shea delivered a shot to the outfield that scored pinchrunner Donovan Landry and the celebrating began for Amesbury’s 6-5 walk-off win.

Pinchrunner Donovan Landry home with the game winner

“I’m not going to lie,” explained Shea, “I was a little nervous coming up in that situation. My heart was beating out of my chest! I knew that I just had to put the ball out there somewhere to score the run. It felt great.”

“Give Amesbury credit,” said Lynnfield coach John O’Brien post-game. “They hung in there and got the big hit when they needed it.”

“We just can’t walk people and hit people,” added Coach O’Brien. “You need to throw strikes and let the guys make the plays.”

Despite the loss, Lynnfield senior Evan Balian had an impressive afternoon. He came to bat in the seventh inning with a chance to hit for the cycle.

Evan hit a homer (3^rd inning) over the rightfield fence and a triple (fifth inning) over the rightfielder’s head. He had a single in the first inning. Evan had three RBI.

A key moment in this game was the Lynnfield seventh. The Pioneers (3-6) had the two-run lead but Amesbury reliever Tiernan Bentley was able to retire the side in order. Tiernan got the dangerous Evan to ground out to first to end that inning.

Tiernan Bentley drove in 2 runs in the 7th to tie the score

“Coach (Brierley) told me to go out there and throw strikes and that’s exactly what I did,” said Tiernan.

Lynnfield got two runs in the top of the first. An RBI by Evan Balian and a wild throw to third on a steal attempt accounted for the LHS runs.

The Indians managed to get both those runs back thanks to six walks and a hit batsman in the first two innings. They did strand six runners.

“We gave them runs early and we left the bases loaded in the first two innings,” said Coach Joel Brierley. “We have to do better.”

The Pioneers got out of that second inning on an unusual play. Tim Gilleo’s popup into short left attracted both 3B Trent Balian and SS Nick Razzaboni. The fielders collided but Nick was able to stick out his hand and make a diving catch to save multiple runs from scoring.

Tim Pivero started the third inning in relief of starter Blake Peters. A nice throw (LF Aidan Burke) and tag (catcher Evan Balian) nailed Trevor Kimball at the plate for the final out of that inning.

Lynnfield built their lead to 5-2 in the sixth. A wild pitch (Drew Scialdone) allowed Luke Martinho to score. RF Luke Arsenault tossed out Nick Razzaboni at the plate trying to score on Jack Bird’s single, to record the final out of the inning.

Amesbury got that run back with a Luke Arsenault triple and a sacrifice fly by Jake Harring in their half of the sixth inning.

Amesbury then took advantage of the walks and HPB’s in the 7^th and rallied to earn a walk-off win.

The Indians collected all their six hits in the final four innings.

“Once we get to see a pitcher for a second or third time, that’s when we score our runs,” explained Coach Brierley. “Even when we’re down, I know we’ll find ways to score.”

“We wanted the top of our order (Jake Harring, Shea Cucinotta, Jeremy Lopez) to get up in that final inning,” said Coach Brierley. “The walks and hit-batsmen enabled it to happen.”

Winning pitcher Tiernan Bentley is a senior. “I plan to go to UConn in the fall and play rugby.”

Lynnfield starter Blake Peters collected two hits. “Blake has pitched three or four really nice games,” said Coach O’Brien. “It wasn’t his day today.”

Trevor Kimball started for Amesbury.

Weather was good with low 80’s and a breeze.

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

Shea Cucinotta up with the bases loaded in the 7th

Trevor Kimball scores the tying run in the 7th

Pitcher Tim Pivero beats Drew MacDonald to 1B

Luke Arsenault scores the 3rd Amesbury run

Blake Peters had two hits and scored two runs

Aidan Burke scores the first Lynnfield run

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Tagged as Aidan Burke, Evan Balian, Jake Harring, Shea Cucinotta, Tiernan Bentley

May 25, 2021 · 11:27 pm

Amesbury scores ten runs in the first inning and defeats Ipswich 15-5

Shortstop Shea Cucinotta saw his first action today in Amesbury’s big win

Evan Stein scores the second Ipswich run

(Amesbury MA) Ipswich was coming off their first win.

Amesbury was coming off two tough late-inning losses.

Two teams trending in opposite directions.

And Ipswich kept trending in a positive direction with a three-spot in the top of the first inning.

But that’s where it ended for the Tigers.

Amesbury responded with ten runs in their half of the first inning and cruised from there to a 15-5 victory.

The mercy rule kicked in during the Amesbury fifth inning.

“We needed this after last week,” said AHS coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “However, we didn’t plan on beginning the way we did today.”

“We started today thinking that we would win,” said shortstop Shea Cucinotta post-game. “You just can’t take a team for granted. But we did pull together and get a victory.”

Special game for Shea because it was his first of the season. The Cape Ann League All-Star has been missed by the Indians (5-3) for sure.

“Now we have Shea back as well as our senior catcher (Tim Gilleo),” said Coach Brierley. “So we have a couple of weeks to put everything together before the tournament.”

The Amesbury hitting has been good and continued to be just that today.

The Indians had fourteen hits to go with the fifteen runs in only 4+ innings.

Eight of the nine AHS starters had hits. Luke Arsenault had three hits, while Trevor Kimball and Jake Harring added two hits.

The biggest hit in the game may well have been Jeremy Lopez’s in the big first inning. The Amesbury senior cleared the bases with a two-out triple to right.

That opening inning had all sorts of nightmarish ingredients for the Tigers (1-8). There were two outfield errors, two hit batsmen, and two walks. That’s a mix that will get a team in serious trouble for sure………and it did in the visitors.

Ipswich was coming off an exciting 9-8, last-inning, win over Pentucket. Their bats were still hot at the outset of today’s game.

Two batters in they had a run after Finn MacLennon doubled and Evan Stein singled. A few batters later Wes Smith drove in another run with a single. A fielder’s choice (Jake Reily) led to the third run.

Jeremy Lopez drove in 3 runs and scored 2 runs

Great start for Ipswich but it didn’t continue. AHS starter Drew MacDonald pitched clean innings in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings. Tiernan Bentley took care of things in the 4^th and 5^th innings.

The Indians needed a run in their fifth inning to activate the mercy rule. They got what they needed. Will Arsenault doubled. Josh Sorgini’s fielder’s choice moved Will to 3B. Tiernan Bentley’s single brought home the game-ending run.

“We came out here and we wanted to have some fun today and that’s what we did,” explained Drew MacDonald.

Drew claimed that he knew the source of Amesbury’s good hitting. “We’ve been having Jeremy’s older brother throw some BP. I think he’s our good-luck charm now.”

Shea Cucinotta was excited to be playing again after being injured playing football. “It was great to go out there with the boys. I missed it. Getting in for the next half of the season is going to be real good. I was a little rusty out there today, but it feels good to be moving again.”

Ipswich finished with six hits. Wes Smith had two of them to go with an RBI.

The Indians added three runs to their ten runs in the second inning. Jake Harring’s double brought in two of the runs.

Ipswich had single runs in the fourth (Finn MacLennon rbi) and the fifth (Drew Lane rbi).

Jake Harring, Shea Cucinotta, Jeremy Lopez, Drew Scialdone, Aidan Donovan, and Luke Arsenault each scored twice.

Jake Reily started for Ipswich and gave way to Drew Lane in the first inning.

The weather was splendid. Temperatures were in the 70’s with a nice breeze.

There will be a tournament at the end of the season. “It will be different this year because any team, no matter what their record is, can be in the tournament,” said Coach Brierley. “We want to be over .500 and deserve to be there.”

The tournament won’t START until June 15^th. Amesbury gets out of school on June 17^th. “Our guys are completely okay will playing after school is over,” said Coach Brierley.

Amesbury faced Ipswich at Ipswich a week ago. Drew MacDonald pitched a complete-game three hitter with seven strikeouts. AHS won, 11-0.

Nice running catch by Amesbury CF Cam Stanley.

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

Tiernan Bentley did some late-game pitching and hitting

Drew Scialdone had a hit and scored two runs

Drew MacDonald scores the 4th Amesbury run

Shortstop Nate Baise and baserunner Jake Harring

Shortstop Shea Cucinotta and baserunner Evan Stein

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Evan Stein, Luke Arsenault, Shea Cucinotta, Tiernan Bentley

May 22, 2021 · 5:22 pm

Undefeated Newburyport gets 7-6 walkoff win over Amesbury

Amesbury catcher Will Arsenault can only watch as Luke Stallard crosses with the winning run

(Newburyport MA) If it wasn’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.

Nice song but today we could apply it to the Amesbury Indians.

Twice in three days Amesbury has been close to a win only to have their hopes dashed in the late innings.

On Thursday it was a loss in extra innings to Hamilton-Wenham.

Today, it was a, 7-6, walk-off loss to Newburyport at Pettingell Park.

The undefeated Clippers (7-0) are into a remarkable season.

“Our team never feels as if they’re out of any game,” said NHS coach Mark Rowe afterwards, “There is something special going on.”

This game definitely required some of that “special” stuff for Newburyport because Amesbury was up, 6-0, after 4 ½ innings thanks to a five-run fifth inning.

“The third time through the lineup we started hitting the ball and we scored some runs,” said AHS coach Joel Brierley afterwards.

Newburyport, however, answered with five runs in the bottom of the 5^th. Jake Buontempo’s 3-run, two-out homer was the big shot.

“I was down 2-2 so I had to protect the plate,” explained Jake. “I choked up on the bat. I think it was a fastball away. I got all of it.”

“Jake’s homer was huge,” said Nick White. “The momentum after a home run is like nothing else. It gets the whole dugout fired up.”

The Clippers tied the score in the sixth. Quinn Fortuna (two hits) started the inning with an infield single. Freshman Connor Stick was inserted as a pinch-runner. Connor stole second and came home on Ryan Archer’s single up the middle.

Jake Buontempo (gold helmet) had a 3-run shot during the Clippers’ rally

The Indians (4-3) had the go-ahead run on second with one out in the top of the seventh, but reliever Charlie Forrest got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.

Newburyport won the game in their half of the seventh inning.

Luke Stallard singled off reliever Josh Sorgini and stole second. Jake Buontempo walked. Quinn Fontana’s deep grounder to short would have loaded the bases but a wide throw to second allowed Luke to score from second with the game-winner.

“That last play was a hit,” recalled Coach Brierley. “The throw probably should have gone to third base because it was in front of him. He’s a good kid. He’ll learn from it.”

Amesbury took a 1-0 lead in the 4^th inning on a Jeremy Lopez home run over the rightfield fence. It was the senior’s first varsity homer.

“Jeremy’s our leader on the field, on the mound, and at the bat,” said Coach Brierley.

The Indians had five runs in the fifth inning on five hits. Tim Gilleo cleared the bases with two-out double. Before Tim’s hit, Drew MacDonald had singled in a run. After Tim’s hit, Trevor Kimball drove in a run.

Amesbury looked in good shape, with a six-run lead, to pin a loss on Newburyport, but the Clippers rallied and remain undefeated.

“We have a lot of good hitters,” said Coach Rowe. “I now kind of expect something good will eventually happen.”

Drew MacDonald and Trevor Kimball paced Amesbury with two hits each. Will Arsenault, Jeremy Lopez, Tim Gilleo, and Drew Scialdone each had a hit.

Quinn Fortuna led Newburyport with two hits. He also got the “cooler” treatment after his single contributed to the winning run being scored.

It was hot and humid enough that we all could have used some cooling off.

Newburyport’s other hits were by Jax Budgell, Tony Lucci, Luke Stallard, Jake Buontempo, and Ryan Archer. Jax, Luke, and Ryan each had an RBI.

Luke Stallard started for the Clippers and went 4 2/3. Charlie Forrest took it from there.

Charlie came on in the fifth inning with two-on, two-out, and five runs already in for Amesbury. He got a ground out to end the inning.

“It hurt us to leave those two runners on,” said Coach Brierley.

Jeremy Lopez went five innings for Amesbury. Josh Sorgini followed and pitched into the seventh.

“It was great to catch sophomore Charlie Forrest,” said Nick White. “I think it was his first time pitching varsity.”

Nick will be attending Clemson in the fall. He assured me that it had nothing to do with the weather! “I have family down there, and they have a good business program. I might try to play club baseball.”

Jake will be playing baseball at Framingham State next year. “I will be majoring in criminology,” he said.

Coach Brierley: “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but we’ll bounce back.”

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

Tiernan Bentley congratulated after scoring

Tim Gilleo scores as catcher Nick White corrals the throw home

Celebrating the win begins for the Clippers

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Jake Buontempo, Jeremy Lopez, Quinn Fortuna, Tim Gilleo

May 17, 2021 · 9:31 pm

Excellent pitching and hitting send Amesbury past Ipswich 15-0

Alana Delisle allowed 1 hit to go with 14 K’s

(Amesbury MA) Consider yourselves warned future opponents.

Amesbury has a terrific softball team.

Ipswich (2-3) found that out today losing 15-0 on Monday afternoon via the mercy rule.

The Indians (3-0) have a brand-new field to play on and unlike their nearby former field, this one has a fence.

“This is the first time we’ve had an actual fence,” said junior Liv DeLong afterwards. “It was really exciting to see three home runs go over it.”

Liv had one of the long ones and Ella Delisle and Ella Bezanson had the other two.

AHS had fifteen hits and all of the Amesbury starters scored at least one run in the 4 ½ innings played.

Ella Bezanson had the first of 3 Amesbury homers

The Indians had a six-run second inning and a seven-run fourth inning.

And then there was the pitching of AHS starter Alana Delisle.

Amesbury coach Jacqui Waters told me afterwards that she had originally planned on using several of her pitchers in each game.

Today she couldn’t do it as Alana put on a show.

“She was on fire,” said Coach Waters, “I wasn’t taking her out.”

Alana struck out fourteen Tigers and allowed just one hit.

“She took control of the whole game with fourteen strikeouts,” said Coach Waters. “She was outstanding.”

“Alana was awesome today,” said her sister Ella, who was the catcher. “Everything she had worked.”

The combination of Alana’s pitching and an offense, that on this sunny afternoon had hits and loud outs, made it tough for Ipswich.

Cassidy Smith dropped in the only Ipswich hit

Leftfielder Alexa Eliopoulos and shortstop Lexi James made outstanding plays in the field, but the sheer volume of tough chances made it difficult for the visitors to stop the runs from coming.

The Indians didn’t bunt, just hacked away. Ella Bezanson and Izzy Levasseur each had three hits for Amesbury. Ella Delisle had four RBI.

Alana struck out the first eight batters she faced before walking Piper Reily in the third inning.

In the Ipswich fourth, Cassidy Smith dropped a short popup over Alan’s head and just in front of charging shortstop Liv Levasseur. That was the Tigers first and only hit.

One thing I didn’t learn about today was the quality of the Amesbury defense. Not one ball got out of the infield. Alana got an assist on the final out of the game but there were no other infield chances other than Cassidy Smith’s hit.

Impressive, to say the least.

The new field has bleachers beyond centerfield although most spectators chose the 3B/LF foul territory to view from.

Coach Waters: “We owe this field to the alumni. They raised some money. The infield cost $16,000. We needed a new field. The other one was a mess. Mayor Gove came through with funds for the backstop and all the fencing. We have a brand-new scoreboard which is not in yet. It was a gift from the Newburyport Institution for Savings.”

Alana Delisle: “Today was really fun. Ella did a great job catching. Everyone hit. Ella calls the pitches. I just throw them.”

Ella Delisle: “I’ve been catching her my whole life. Her curve was moving really well.”

LF Alex Eliopoulos made several nice catches in the outfield

The Indians haven’t given up a run yet in three starts. Liv Delong had fifteen strikeouts in the season opener against Rockport.

Coach Waters informed me that there will be a state tournament following the regular season. How far can the Indians go?

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

Ella Delisle celebrates her 3-run homer in the fourth inning

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich, Uncategorized

Tagged as Alana Delisle, Ella Bezanson, Ella Delisle, Liv DeLong, Liv Levasseur

May 13, 2021 · 10:33 pm

Amesbury gets one-hitter from Jeremy Lopez in 5-3 win over North Reading

Senior Jeremy Lopez allowed one hit and struck out five Hornets

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury pitcher Jeremy Lopez knew that he had something special going.

Jeremy Lopez congratulated at game’s end

But Coach Joel Bierley didn’t.

“I was too busy yelling at him for walking kids,” said Coach Bierley.

Jeremy finished with a one-hitter as the Indians (3-1) defeated North Reading, 5-3, on Thursday afternoon at Amesbury High School.

Jeremy carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

“I knew in the back of my mind that North Reading didn’t have any hits but then I hung one and he (Alex Carucci) took it for a ride,” said Jeremy.

“I’m happy with the win,” added Jeremy.

Amesbury took advantage of NR starter Nick Doucette’s first-inning wildness to get off to a 3-0 start.

Joe Giacalone stole two bases and scored a run

The Hornets (1-2) may not have been hitting but they turned walks and aggressive baserunning into single runs in the third and fourth.

“We struggled in the first inning, but we bounced back after that,” said NR coach Eric Archambault post-game.

The Indians had three runs but only two hits through four innings. That changed in the fifth inning. Consecutive doubles by Drew MacDonald, Jeremy Lopez, and Trevor Kimball added two runs to the AHS total and the Indians led, 5-2.

“We got our bats going the third time through the lineup,” said Coach Bierley. “We swing the bats well.”

Drew MacDonald had a hit and scored twice

“Those three doubles were huge,” added Jeremy. “Those two runs put us over the top and gave us the edge.”

The Hornets, however, refused to go away quietly. Their first hit (Alex Carucci double) was followed by a Matt Ryan bunt in the same 6^th inning that was mishandled giving NR their third run.

A key play in that sixth inning was AHS shortstop Jake Harring catching a North Reading baserunner off third base.

Jake also assisted on the final out of that inning with Hornets on second and third.

“This is Jake’s first year with us,” said Coach Bierley. “He has a high baseball IQ.”

Once NR starter Nick Doucette got over his wildness in the first inning, he was terrific. The Hornets junior struck out eight of the next twelve batters he faced.

“Nick settled down for sure,” explained Coach Archambault. “He’s a really good pitcher and this was his second varsity start. I expect him to bounce back.”

Joe Giacalone, who had three steals against Lynnfield, added two more against Amesbury.

The Indians ran into two outs at third base in their half of the sixth inning.

Sophomore Jake Harring collected two of Amesbury’s seven hits.

Jeremy Lopez: “The defense made the plays. The coach told me to throw strikes.” (Jeremy had five strikeouts.)

Jeremy Lopez won his second game of the season

Coach Archambault: “Hats off to their pitcher. He pitched a heckuva game. He threw strikes.”

Jeremy Lopez about to tag out Matt Ryan at first

Jeremy Lopez: “My curve was definitely on today. It’s a favorite of mine and I’ve learned to throw it a lot more. My fastball was pretty good. I thought I was getting squeezed a bit, but I didn’t let it bother me. I kept throwing strikes and the defense made the plays.”

Jeremy told me that he plans to repeat his senior year at Winchendon School where he expects to continue playing baseball.

Weather was nice.

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

3B Aidan Donovan had an RBI and 3 assists

Trevor Kimball had an RBI and scored a run

Senior Tim Gilleo drove in the first Amesbury run

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Filed under Amesbury, North Reading

Tagged as Alex Carucci, Jake Harring, Jeremy Lopez

April 30, 2021 · 7:28 pm

Baseball is back

Newburyport’s Mark Rowe and Amesbury’s Joel Bierley meet pregame

(Newburyport MA) It’s been nearly two years for the Cape Ann League.

Today baseball resumed and I decided to catch a look.

Didn’t keep score because it was only a Friday afternoon scrimmage at Pettingell Field.

But it was high school baseball between familiar foes Amesbury and Newburyport.

The players were not in game shirts and the scoreboard was not being used. The atmosphere was relaxed.

The scrimmage was the first chance to get back doing something the participants, including the coaches, missed badly.

Baseball in April around here? You know the weather will be a factor! Today, we had cloudy (Will it rain?) mixed with sunshine (Is it June?). The wind didn’t disappoint. Gusty at times, causing outfielders to misjudge flies in right field. The Clippers, in fact, collected two runs on a wind-influenced single to right.

Without rosters I won’t attempt to put names to all the pictures. I am, however, planning to post the pictures from this blog entry onto my Instagram site (@mcclellandmiscellanea) and if I get identifications, I’ll edit them into captions on this entry. Give me some help, would ya!

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

Killian Cronin questions the call after being picked off second by Tony Lucci

Nick White and Jake Buontempo listen to Coach Mark Rowe between innings

Josh Sorgini and Cam Stanley in the Amesbury dugout

Jaken Harring takes the throw as Finn Sullivan steals second

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Coach Mark Rowe, Drew MacDonald, Jack Fehlner, Jeremy Lopez, Kienan Hague

April 17, 2021 · 9:16 pm

Amesbury unveils more weapons in 22-0 win over Pentucket

Nick Marden brings Andrew Melone to a halt

Kyle Donovan follows blocker Jarrid Schwindt

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury is good and appear to be getting even better.

Today the Indians (4-1) made it look easy as they defeated Pentucket, 22-0, on Saturday afternoon.

The significant issue for Amesbury ahead is whether or not they will play another game.

Next Friday they were scheduled to face Newburyport but the Clippers, for Covid-19 reasons, have cancelled that game and therefore the rest of their season.

Amesbury will try to find an opponent to fill that final slot.

“It’s a shame what happened to Newburyport,” said AHS coach Colin McQueen afterwards. “We just want to keep playing if we can.”

Kyle Heidt tackles Johnny Igoe near the Pentucket sidelines

The Indians might scare off possible opponents if the livestream of this afternoon’s game is seen.

Amesbury now has three straight shutouts and appears to be getting stingier each week.

“Our defense loves running to the football,” said Coach McQueen. “They take pride in it. They watch a lot of film and they understand the game. They have a good idea what the other team is trying to do.”

I don’t keep “official” stats, but I think Pentucket had only one first down all afternoon.

Kyle Donovan powers toward a 2-point conversion

Five of the Sachems six series ended in punts. The other series was done after a fumble.

“Amesbury was tough,” said Pentucket coach Steve Hayden postgame. “It was what it was.”

The Indians scored on both possessions in the first half and were on the Pentucket two when the half ended.

Amesbury loves to run the ball and run the clock. Teams that can’t stop the run are likely to get a non-stop dose of it.

That’s what happened to Pentucket early on.

The Indians reached the Pentucket 32 on run after run (three first downs).

JT Tilton on his way to the first Amesbury TD

A fake inside and JT Tilton went around the left side to open the scoring for his second TD of the season.

“That buck sweep today for the first touchdown may have been executed as well as we’ve done it during the four years I’ve been here,” said Coach McQueen.

“We kept on our blocks and the back let the blocks develop. He cut up like he was shot out of a cannon!”

Senior Kyle Donovan plunged over right tackle for the 2-point conversion. Amesbury was in front, 8-0, at 3:40 of the first quarter.

The AHS second touchdown drive was the one that surely would get a future opponent’s attention.

The key to the second drive was the passing of QB Drew MacDonald. Who saw this coming? To date, the AHS passing attack had been as ineffective as the running game had been effective.

QB Drew MacDonald (10) has Tyler Mazzaglia (9) open

“Drew told us pre-game that he felt good,” said Coach McQueen. “He played with confidence. He threw some awesomely catchable passes. It was certainly his best passing game.”

Completions to Kyle Donovan and Tyler Mazzaglia put Amesbury in the Red Zone. Runs by JT Tilton, Jeremy Lopez, and Kyle Donovan (1 yard score) took it the rest of the way. This was Kyle’s sixth touchdown of this season.

Drew’s pass to all-alone Kyle Donovan gave Amesbury the 2-point conversion and a 16-0 lead with 4:24 to go in the second period.

“We wanted them to pass, and we made them go to the air more than they usually want to,” said Coach Hayden.

Unfortunately, for the visitors from West Newbury, the Amesbury passing game was very good on this afternoon.

“We did pass more than we usually do,” confirmed Coach McQueen. “It’s all about what the defense will give you. They were stout in the middle and were moving defensive linemen and slanting a little bit. It was difficult at times for us to do what we wanted to do.”

The “difficulty” seemed a minor hindrance on an afternoon when the home team moved the chains twenty-two times, by my count.

The Pentucket defense had their best moments in the third quarter. On Amesbury’s first second-half series, junior Will Sutton intercepted a pass at the goal line. On AHS’s next series the Sachems were able to take over on downs.

Coach Steve Hayden and Joe Lynch at halftime

On Amesbury’s third possession of the second half, Pentucket wasn’t as fortunate. A heavy dose of Brady Dore’s running led to a score. Brady ran for three first downs in the drive and finished the final eight yards on a sweep left for his second TD of the season.

The two-point conversion attempt was easily Pentucket’s best defensive effort of the day. Drew MacDonald tried to roll right but at least five of the Sachems had the play figured out and drove him out of bounds with authority.

The Amesbury lead was 22-0 with 7:40 left in the game.

After Andrew Melone’s fifth punt, the Indians went heavily to their reserves.

“It’s the best when you can get everyone in,” explained Coach McQueen. “We don’t have many bodies, so everyone is involved in some capacity. They work and prepare just like the starters. I’m proud to see how happy our team was to see them out there.”

Pentucket (0-4) will get another chance to get that elusive first win on Friday against Triton.

Derek Couture celebrates a fumble recovery

Pentucket had won six of the previous seven meetings against Amesbury.

Taking pictures of the Amesbury offense in action is particularly challenging. There are often fake handoffs and many of those fakes worked against ME!

I asked Drew MacDonald about the steady flow of deception, that he’s a big part of, after the game: “It is the whole point of this offense. If the defense doesn’t know where the ball is, then they can’t stop it.” Or get many good pictures of it…..in my case.

Pentucket fumbled on the first play of three drives and were able to recover two of them.

Derek Couture had a fumble recovery for Amesbury.

It was a cloudy day, but it didn’t rain. Surprised a bit by the teams that opted to play in the bad weather of Friday night.

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

Runner J’Quan Neal faces tackler Frank Majewski

Henry O’Neill follows blocker Jarrid Schwindt

Luke Arsenault (3) takes over at quarterback

Runner Jeremy Lopez faces tackler Will Sutton

Drew MacDonald scrambles for a first down

Kyle Donovan hands the ball over after scoring

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Filed under Amesbury, Pentucket

Tagged as Brady Dore, Drew MacDonald, JT Tilton, Kyle Donovan

February 12, 2021 · 9:52 pm

Pentucket’s efficient defense leads to 42-23 win over Amesbury

Megan Reading (10 points) turns defense into a layup

McKenna Hallinan tries the baseline against Gabby Bellacqua

(Amesbury MA) “This was the cleanest game we’ve played defensively this season,” said Pentucket coach John McNamara post-game.

“What we talked about they executed really well,” he added.

The Sachems (9-1) challenged every Amesbury pass, dribble, and shot and coasted to a, 42-23, win on Friday night.

The Indians (7-3) went down, 9-1, in the first quarter and never recovered.

“Pentucket is very good,” said AHS coach Gregg Dollas afterwards. “They’re very organized. Very structured. We just couldn’t gather ourselves.”

“We’ve had four practices in three weeks,” added Coach Dollas, “and at times in this game that lack of practice showed.”

Avery Hallinan shoots as Arielle Cleveland defends

That lack of practice was most apparent in Amesbury’s turnover number. The Indians lost the ball on twenty-eight possessions without getting off a shot. Plenty of wasted opportunities for Amesbury.

“We had way too many turnovers,” admitted Coach Dollas. “Plenty of silly passes and things like that.”

Senior Megan Reading led all scorers with ten points including several outside shots.

“My teammates made drives which set up the rest of us for nice open looks,” explained Megan.

And there were plenty of those open looks for Pentucket. Amesbury was blessed that the Sachems were off from the outside and hit only four 3’s.

The Indians had as many three’s as Pentucket. The home team had long one’s from McKenna Hallinan, Liv DeLong, and Meagan McAndrew in the last quarter.

Arielle Cleveland covered by Gabby Redford

Two years ago, Pentucket won at Amesbury by only two points. Four years ago, it was a three-point game. As a result, the one-sidedness of today’s game was surprising. However, Covid-19 has taken the “normal” out of everything, including basketball.

“Amesbury is a good team,” said Coach McNamara. “The score doesn’t indicate it. They got off to a slow start and we were in control most of the way.”

The Sachems lead was 21-10 with three minutes left in the first half. The next seven points belonged to Pentucket. Freshman Gabby Bellacqua drained a three. Senior Greta Mauer stole a pass and went for a layup. Sophomore Audrey Conover drove from end-to-end.

This offensive collection elevated the Pentucket advantage to 28-10 in the early part of the second half.

Mackenzie Currie (9 points) splits Gabby Redford and Liv DeLong

Mackenzie Currie (9 points) and Arielle Cleveland (8 points) were the other two top scorers for the Sachems.

Gabby Redford paced Amesbury with six points.

When McKenna Hallinan got into early foul trouble, Gabby took over the point. “I thought that Gabby stepped up in terms of controlling the ball,” said Coach Dollas.

The Indians three losses have been to Newburyport (twice) and Pentucket (once). Neither of those teams are in Amesbury’s division in the Wednesday/Friday tournament of this coming week. You have to like their chances.

Pentucket’s only loss has been to Newburyport. Those two teams could well be facing each other for a second time in next Friday’s divisional championship.

Arielle Cleveland (8 points) breaks in with Ciara Sullivan in pursuit

In the February 3rd meeting, Pentucket’s top scorer (Arielle Cleveland) missed most of the game with an injury. The Sachems squandered a lead in the last minute, falling, 58-54. A rematch with the undefeated Clippers has “must-see” written all over it!

Megan Reading (senior): “I want to study kinesiology or exercise science. I want to get into the sports medicine field.”

Megan’s top school choice is Michigan. “I have been accepted at Delaware, Maryland, Temple, and Penn State so far with a few more to hear from.”

Megan explained that her knee injury played a part in her interest in sports medicine. “I got to experience that side of things with the injury.”

In the closing seconds of the game, reserves Ally Cacciapuoti (Pentucket) and Meagan McAndrews (Amesbury) nailed three’s.

Amesbury box

Pentucket box

The link to this game will appear on Twitter (mcclellandpeter) and Mascores. Tomorrow I plan to post pictures on Instagram (mcclellandmiscellanea).

All of the pictures above and below should enlarge considerably if you click on them.