Category Archives: Bishop Fenwick

April 7, 2022 · 11:55 pm

Newburyport gets 5-4 walkoff win over Bishop Fenwick

Owen Tahnk (3 hits) scores the game winner

(Newburyport) Twice Newburyport trailed but twice they rallied.

A walkoff single by Jack Fehlner was key in the final rally as the Clippers defeated Bishop Fenwick, 5-4, on Thursday afternoon.

“Credit Newburyport,” said Crusaders coach Matt Antonelli afterwards. “They were down two times, and they came back both times.”

Jack Fehner went the distance for the Clippers allowing five hits. His wild pitch, however, in the Fenwick seventh gave the visitors a 4-3 lead.

But Jack the pitcher is also Jack the hitter and in the bottom of the seventh he delivered a walkoff single to center that set off some serious celebrating by the Clippers.

“I wasn’t surprised at all by what Jack did,” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe post-game. “He’s that good.”

The Clippers had only four hits off the pitching of Mike Geissler and Marco Carrillo going into bottom of the seventh.

But after one out, the Clippers put four straight hits together to tie and then win the game.

Eli Suchecki had a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning

Pinch-hitter Eli Suchecki started the rally with a double and Owen Tahnk (3 hits) drove Eli in with another double to tie the score.

Max Puleo then singled sending Owen to third.

That collection of hits gave Jack his chance. Jack tried a squeeze bunt that nearly worked before singling to center to score Owen with the game winner.

“We came together in the bottom of the seventh,” said Jack. “It was a team effort. Eli, Owen, and Max got on to give me a chance. My hit was off a curve.”

The Clippers had the bases loaded in the second and third innings. Only one run resulted, and it was driven in by Charlie Forrest on a fielder’s choice in the second inning.

The Crusaders took the lead in the fifth inning. Two hits (Costa Beechin and Nick Villano), two stolen bases, an infield error, and a passed ball produced three runs. Chris Faraca and Nick Villano had the RBIs.

But the Clippers bounced back in their half of the fifth. Two hits (Luke Stallard and Jack Fehlner), two wild pitches, and an infield error led to two runs and a 3-3 tie. Max Puleo and Jack Fehlner had the RBIs.

Things unraveled for Newburyport in the seventh. A leadoff walk (Gianni Mercurio) was followed by two passed balls and a wild pitch and the Crusaders had the lead and were only three outs away from their first win.

Connor Stick walked leading off the bottom of the seventh for Newburyport but was picked off by reliever Marco Carrillo. However, the next four Clippers had hits and Newburyport had its first win.

“We won the game despite some things not going the way we wanted them to,” said Coach Rowe. “The kids were resilient. It was nice to get our first win against a very, very good team.”

“We’ve got to throw more strikes and make plays in the field,” said Coach Antonelli. The BF pitchers gave up seven walks.

Owen Tahnk drove in the tying run in the seventh inning for Newburyport. He finished the afternoon with three hits and scored the winning run.

Jack Fehlner had two hits and two RBI to go with his complete-game five hitter.

“My slider worked pretty well,” said Jack afterwards. “They have a lot of great hitters on that team. They pieced some balls off me for sure.”

Nick Villano led Fenwick with two hits and an RBI.

“We’re now 0-3,” said Coach Antonelli, “and the way to get out of it is to work hard in practice. We’ll work on defense and throwing strikes. It’s still early in the season.”

Nice catch by centerfielder Owen Roberts in the third inning.

The weather was miserable….40’s and windy. It was such a good game, however, that dwelling on the discomfort was minimized.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Connor Stick scores the 2nd Newburyport run

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, Newburyport

Tagged as Coach Matt Antonelli, Jack Fehlner, Nick Villano, Owen Tahnk

January 5, 2020 · 11:53 pm

Manchester-Essex bests Bishop Fenwick 76-74 in 2 OTs

Manchester-Essex celebrates win over Bishop Fenwick

Jason Romans defends AJ Pallazola

(Peabody MA) The two coaches called the game, “great” and “awesome,” and who could argue?

Manchester-Essex defeated Bishop Fenwick 76-74 in double overtime on Sunday afternoon.

There were fifteen lead changes and six ties and there could have been one more lead change if Jason Romans (27 points) had connected on the game’s final 3-point attempt.

The Crusaders (4-2) had four-point leads in both overtimes but the Hornets (6-0) just wouldn’t go away.

Kellen Furse (29 points) down the lane

Senior Kellen Furse (29 points) had ten of his points in the fourth quarter as ME rallied back from a seven-point deficit.

“We press and we fast break,” said Kellen post-game. “I was exhausted after the first quarter, never mind after two overtimes. Our ability to sub in our one-minute guys to give us a break is huge. Our depth is awesome.”

Fenwick led, 74-70, in the second OT after a Hornet turnover led to a Kobe Estes layup with 1:34 left. Those, however, would be the last points the home team would get.

A rebound basket plus one by ME junior Jack Shaw (15 points) and an AJ Pallazola layup after a BF five-second inbounding violation put the Hornets on top for good, 75-74. Kellen Furse would add a free throw in the closing seconds.

Jason Romans (27 points)

“We competed hard,” said Fenwick coach Kevin Moran afterwards. “That’s a credit to the players. Our execution probably wasn’t as good as it should have been. That one is on the coaching staff.”

A turning point in the game may well have been when Fenwick’s tallest player, junior Christian Loescher (12 points), fouled out in the first overtime.

“My eyes lit up when that happened,” said ME coach Tim St. Laurent post-game. “Christian is a very good player. With him out, I knew that we could go right at them.”

“When we lost Christian’s presence, it made a difference,” recalled Coach Moran. “He does tend to get himself in foul trouble once in a while. He’s one of the better athletic big guys around.”

Jack Shaw at the line late in the game

The two teams were tied 59-59 with three minutes left in regulation. Neither team could score in those last three minutes. The Hornets missed four straight free throws in the final ninety seconds; two each by Kellen Furse and Jack Shaw.

“We haven’t shot much from the free throw line in a tight game like this,” explained Kellen Furse. “Tomorrow at practice we’ll most definitely be running……..and shooting free throws!”

Sophomore AJ Pallazola covered high-scoring Jason Romans during most of the game. “He’s a very good player,” said AJ. “He can shoot and he’s tough coming off screens.”

Jack Shaw finished with fifteen points including seven in the first quarter. He had two 3’s.

Teammate Mason Paccone registered eighteen points. He had four 3’s and produced eight points in the second quarter.

The Crusaders turned a 26-25 deficit in the second quarter into a nine-point lead with a run of ten unanswered points. Both Jason Romans and Christian Loescher contributed two layups and Jason added two free throws for BF.

Manchester-Essex was down 40-32 in the third quarter before consecutive three’s (Mason Paccone, Alex Furse, Jack Shaw) put the Hornets ahead 41-40.

Max Grenert (13 points)

Fenwick had thirteen points from junior Max Grenert (three 3’s) and twelve points for junior Alex Gonzalez (two 3’s).

Bishop Fenwick used a zone defense while ME pressed full-court for the first half and went to a half-court man-to-man during the second half and in the two OT’s.

Coach Tom Comeau of Amesbury was in the house. The Indians, like Manchester-Essex, are in the Cape Ann League and will face each other twice.

ME and BF played twice last season. Both games were close.

Coach Moran: “Manchester-Essex is one of the top teams in D4. We knew that they would be competitive. They have seniors with lots of experience.”

Coach St. Laurent: “This was two of the best teams in Division 4 going at it. This was high school basketball at its best. Fenwick has great guard play and they have bigs that crash the boards.”

Kellen Furse: “This was such a big team win. They are an incredible D4 team. This gives us momentum going into our league stretch.”

AJ Pallazola: “It was very intense out there. They were banging us, and we were bumping them. We have to improve our foul shooting.”

Bishop Fenwick box

Manchester-Essex box

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

AJ Pallazola

Christian Loescher

Christian Loescher (33) blocks a shot

Frank Wood (23) and Alex Gonzalez (24) reach for a pass

Jack Shaw (15 points) to the basket

Jack Shaw surrounded by Crusaders

Mason Paccone (18 points) guarded by Alex Gonzalez

Max Grenert and Jason Romans double-team AJ Pallazola

Kellen Furse draws a foul on Christian Loescher

Kellen Furse in for two

Kobe Estes (10) puts up a three in the 2nd OT

Manchester-Essex traps

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, Manchester-Essex

Tagged as AJ Pallazola, Christian Loescher, Jack Shaw, Jason Romans, Kellen Furse, Mason Paccone

June 19, 2019 · 10:46 pm

Medway reaches D3 state final with 5-1 win over Bishop Fenwick

Nick Sheehan scores the Mustangs 5th run.

Justin Pratt gave up one run on four hits in five strong innings

(Lowell MA) Bishop Fenwick fell behind in their first four Division 3 tournament games……..and rallied to win.

That routine didn’t pan out against Medway Wednesday night at Alumni Stadium in the D3 state semi-finals and the Crusaders (18-8) were ousted, 5-1.

The Mustangs (17-6) will chase their first ever baseball title Saturday against Taconic.

Medway’s pitching (Justin Pratt & Eli Joyce-Vorce) kept BF’s normally loud bats very quiet. The Crusaders came in averaging 10+ hits per game. They had five tonight against the team from the Tri-Valley League.

“We’ve seen it all year,” said Medway coach Mike Coppinger afterwards, “it’s tough trying to get a bunch of hits in a row against us.”

“Pitching was great today,” said catcher Trent Flood. “Justin (Pratt) came in, hit his spots and threw strikes. Eli (Joyce-Vorce) came in and shut them down for two innings.”

Trent Flood had a hit, an RBI, and scored a run

The Mustangs put three, 2-out runs together in the first inning off BF starter Christian Loescher.

Trent Flood doubled over Angelo McCullough (LF) to score Sam DiPillo. Later, Justin Pratt’s half-swing brought Matt Kaplan and Trent home.

“It wasn’t the best piece I’ve had but I’ll take the runs,” said Justin with a smile post-game.

Angelo McCullough doubled leading off the Fenwick first, but the Mustangs escaped without being scored on. 3B Greg Assad got in front of a line drive for one out and shortstop Nick Sheehan handled a final-out grounder.

The team from the Catholic Central League got a run in the 4^th inning. Senior Trey DeLoury singled, took second on a wild pitch, and was sacrificed to third (Ethan Belt). Cory Bright’s double over CF Troy Newman’s head brought the run across.

The previous tourney script for Bishop Fenwick was for the bats to go from there and create some late-inning magic. But the Mustangs had too much pitching.

Medway ace Eli Joyce-Vorce warmed up in the 4^th and was likely coming into the game if there was trouble in the 5^th. But Justin retired BF in order in the 5^th.

Eli Joyce-Vorce pitched the final two innings

Eli finally did come on to start the sixth.

“I get them off-balance,” he told me afterwards, “and get ground balls. We’ve got a great defense.”

Eli orchestrated three straight ground outs in the 6^th.

The Mustangs cushioned their lead with two runs in the seventh inning. Troy Newman singled to lead off. Nick Sheehan’s fly to left was misjudged by junior Jake Murphy putting two runners in scoring position. Because the Crusaders pulled their infield in, Matt Peterson’s blooper over short added two runs instead of being an out. Medway now led, 5-1.

Fenwick got a runner (Scott Emerson) on second with two outs in the seventh but Harrison Brickett’s grounder ended things for the Crusaders.

Trey DeLoury came on for BF in the 4^th and at one point struck out four straight Mustangs.

Medway finished with eight hits. Tri-Valley Defensive Player-of-the-Year Nick Sheehan had two hits and started a double play.

Catcher Keegan O’Connor under a popup

BF Coach Russ Steeves: “We ran out of innings today. They were the better team. It was good hitting against good pitching. The sidearm kid (Eli Joyce-Vorce) came in and obviously he’s very good.

Justin Pratt: “To win this is crazy. It’s a great feeling. I was just trying to hit my spots and keep it low. Eli’s great. We can use him whenever we want. This is our first state final. We’re going to be so pumped.”

Trent Flood: “Our pitching staff is lights out. I love to catch them. If we get runs our pitching will win the game. What makes Eli so tough to hit is his arm angle. I hit against him like five times and it’s the weirdest things I’ve seen. You want to jump on it when it comes out of his hand.”

Eli Joyce-Vorce: “It’s pretty crazy to be heading to the championship game. We hadn’t even won a sectional before. Everyone has stepped up. I will be attending Temple University in the fall. No baseball there. I’ll play club.”

With Eli only being used for two innings against Bishop Fenwick you could expect that Taconic, in the state title game, will see quite a few innings of him.

Bishop Fenwick won a state title in 2004.

Trey DeLoury struck out four straight Mustangs

The Crusaders had seven players hitting at least .300.

Medway has only given up a total of two runs in the five tournament games they’ve played. That’s pitching and defense!

BF had won twelve straight before today’s loss.

Medway box

Bishop Fenwick box

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

Cory Bright and Nick Sheehan

Nick Sheehan (SS)

Double over CF Troy Newman

Scott Emerson (one hit)

Eli Joyce-Vorce (2 innings, 1 hit)

Ethan Belt (Clark commit)

Jake Murphy (LF) dives in the seventh inning

Justin Pratt (1 hit, 2 RBI)

Keegan O’Connor

Matt Peterson (1 hit, 2 RBI)

Nick Sheehan (SS) starts a double play

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, Medway

Tagged as Eli Joyce-Vorce, Justin Pratt, Matt Peterson, Trey DeLoury

February 19, 2018 · 11:30 pm

Bishop Fenwick edges Masco 33-32 in defensive struggle

Jennie Meagher blocks the final shot of the game

Bishop Fenwick celebrates the win

(Beverly MA) “This game literally came down to the last possession,” said Bishop Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis afterwards.

The Crusaders needed a stop against Masco and they got it to preserve a 33-32 win on Monday night in the finals of the McIntire Classic.

Mak Graves dribbled out Masco’s final fifteen seconds looking for an opportunity for some sort of shot but there were tall Crusaders inside and closely guarding Crusaders on the perimeter. Mak ended up in the right corner with the tallest of the Crusader (Jennie Meagher) nearby and had her shot blocked as the game ended.

Sammi Gallant guarded by Mak Graves

“It was two tremendous defensive teams,” said Masco coach Bob Romeo. “Every inch on the court was defended for thirty-two minutes. It came down to the play at the end.”

Junior Sammi Gallant had only three points but two of them were on a layup with twenty-one seconds left that turned out to be the game-winner.

“Unbelievable drive to the basket,” recalled Coach DeBaggis. “Sammi’s so tough. We hadn’t finished a number of drives, but we got that last one and it was huge.”

Close games have been part of the recent rivalry between the two teams. “Last year in the Xmas tournament we beat them 37-36,” said Coach DeBaggis. “This year it was them 35-33, and now this game.”

Sammi Gallant tries to get by Cally McSweeney

The Crusaders (11-9) used a zone defense and had the size and quickness to protect the rim and the perimeter. Masco was in a straight in-your-shirt, man-to-man defense.

BF was able to get to the foul line twenty-three times because of their willingness to drive to the hoop. Another reason this game stayed close? The Crusaders missed fourteen free throws.

The Chieftains had trouble getting good shots and got into trouble (twenty turnovers) forcing the ball in close to the basket.

There were twelve lead changes and six ties in this game.

Masco took a one-point lead (24-23) into the final quarter.

The team from Peabody ran the first seven points of the final quarter and led 30-24 with 3:21 remaining. Liz Gonzalez had a layup and a free throw while Sammi Gallant added a free throw in this segment. A crowd-pleasing three by senior Fredi DeGuglielmo ended the run of points for BF.

“We didn’t panic when we were down by six in the last quarter,” recalled Coach Romeo.

Morgan Bovardi (14 points) gives Masco the lead in the 4th quarter with this three

An NBA three by freshman Morgan Bovardi was followed by a Mak Graves steal that turned into two made free throws. Now down by one (30-29), Morgan put the team from Boxford in front with a three from in front of the Masco bench and suddenly they were ahead, 32-30, with 1:52 remaining.

The Crusaders didn’t panic either. On two straight possessions they got the ball in close. Jennie Meagher got a free throw out of one possession while teammate Sammie Gallant had the eventual game-winning down the right side with 21 seconds left. Between those two possessions Masco had its 20^th turnover.

Olivia DiPietro ended with ten points and was named the tourney MVP.

Jennie Meagher had only six points but her twelve rebounds and three blocks (including the one on the last shot) were important pieces in the BF win.

I was impressed by the way Masco freshman Cally McSweeney held her own against the older/taller Jennie Meagher. “She’s our only true big player,” said Coach Romeo. “We put her out there early and she didn’t give Jennie an inch. She ended up with thirteen rebounds.”

Morgan Bovardi (14) and Mak Graves (12) were the top Masco scorers. Morgan made the all-tourney team.

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

Jaxson Nadeau, Sammi Gallant, and Jennie Meagher with the championship plaque

Olivia DiPietro (tourney MVP) with Larry McIntire

Morgan Bovardi (All-Tourney)

Morgan Bovardi shoots a three over Olivia DiPietro

Mak Graves heads to the hoop after a steal

Paige Amyouny (5) tied up in the lane

Jaxson Nadeau swarmed by Masco defenders

Olivia DiPietro (tourney MVY) in the lane

Mak Graves (12 points) takes a 3-pointer

Mak Graves defended by Jaxson Nadeau

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, Masconomet

Tagged as Cally McSweeney, Mak Graves, Morgan Bovardi, Olivie DiPietro, Sammi Gallant

March 8, 2016 · 11:35 pm

Bishop Fenwick reaches D3 North finals again with convincing 56-40 win over St. Mary’s

Bishop Fenwick celebrates a win over St. Mary’s and a trip back to the D3 North finals

Sydney Brennan (17 points) hit four 3’s for the second straight tournament game

(Hathorne MA) Bishop Fenwick (20-4) had all the right answers as they eliminated St. Mary’s, 56-40, on Tuesday night at Essex Tech in the D3 North semi-finals.

The Crusaders had a glittering first period putting up seventeen points while the Spartans could manage only two points.

St. Mary’s (19-5) would get within ten (21-11) 3 ½ minutes into the second quarter but BF answered with eight straight points (layups by Ellen Fantozzi and Jaxson Nadeau, drive and jump shot by Fredi DeGuglielmo) before the quarter ended.

Fredi DeGuglielmo (14 points) defended by Kayla Carter and Katie Dixon

On a night when the Spartans struggled from long range (two 3’s) the Crusaders nailed seven. Senior Sydney Brennan (17 points) clicked four times from deep including two in the second quarter. Sophomore Fredi DeGuglielmo (14 points) notched two 3-pointers.

St. Mary’s 2-point first quarter surely brought back memories of the two team’s previous get-together on February 12^th. In that 45-27 loss the Spartans were held scoreless in the first half.

The Crusaders full-court pressure paid dividends garnering turnovers (eight in the first quarter) and forcing St. Mary’s to play much faster than they wanted to. The Spartans rushed their way into a bunch of high-percentage shot misses.

Colleen Corcoran uses an Ellen Fantozzi screen to drive to the basket

Key player in the game in my opinion was Colleen Corcoran. She got BF off to a good start with the game’s first two baskets. She ended up with nine points and eleven rebounds. To me her greatest value was being the outlet in the backcourt. St. Mary’s applied plenty of pressure too but when BF’s primary ball-handlers were in trouble Colleen was there to get the ball up the court for them.

St. Mary’s had five turnovers in the first two minutes. Most of the miscues were from bad passes.

BF went out 6-0 on two scores by Colleen and a runner by Sydney Brennan.

Olivia Nazaire (15 points) chased by Jaxson Nadeau

Senior Kayla Carter broke the ice for STM converting a rebound 4 ½ minutes into the quarter. It would be five minutes of game time before the team from Lynn would get more points.

And while the Spartans struggled to score, the team from Peabody struck three times from deep (Sam Mancinelli, Sydney Brennan, and Fred DeGuglielmo) before the first quarter was over.

Down by fifteen after one period, the Spartans moved to within ten after a layup by Kayla Carter and a three from Mia Nowicki. But the Crusader then ran eight unanswered and BF led by eighteen (29-11). Marnelle Garraud drained a three in the final minute but BF still led 29-14 at the half.

Sydney Brennan floats in for two

You might imagine that in the second half St. Mary’s would start making some shots, especially long-range, and that Bishop Fenwick would cool off. Didn’t happen.

Sydney Brennan doused any comeback plans by St. Mary’s with three 3’s in the first four minutes of the second half to usher BF into a 40-20 spread.

The Crusaders collected only one point in the final 4+ minutes of this game but the Spartans on this night couldn’t put any long-range accuracy together to get close.

Sophomore Olivia Nazaire (15 points) collected thirteen of her points in the second half.

What a season so far for Bishop Fenwick! They won their first Catholic Central League title since 1997. They also ended eight years of losing to St. Mary’s and have now defeated the Spartans all three times they met this season.

Colleen Corcoran gets one of her eleven rebounds

Bishop Fenwick moves on to the D3 North title game on Saturday. They will face the winner of the Latin Academy/North Reading game. The Crusaders lost in the D3 North title game last year to Winthrop.

To call Bishop Fenwick’s defense “swarming” may have been an understatement. There were very, very few open looks for St. Mary’s from anywhere.

BF had some breakaways from the Crusaders’ twenty turnovers.

Colleen Corcoran has committed to play basketball for the LeMoyne Dolphins (Syracuse NY) next year. LeMoyne is in the Northeast-10 Conference. Merrimack and Southern New Hampshire are also in that conference.

Eyeing a rebound

First time at Essex Tech for me. Impressive. The seating was steep but it gave everyone a good view of the game.

Bishop Fenwick box

St. Mary’s box

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

Sydney Brennan on the break

Jaxson Nadeau finishes a layup

Marnelle Garround chased by Sydney Brennan

Olivia Nazaire looks to score

Marnelle Garraud pressures Sam Mancinelli

Fredi DeGuglielmo looks for an opening

Colleen Corcoran in action in front the the Fenwick crowd

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, St. Mary's

Tagged as Colleen Corcoran, Ellen Fantozzi, Fredi DeGuglielmo, Marnelle Garroud, Olivia Nazaire, Sydney Brennan

November 15, 2015 · 11:29 pm

North Reading girls soccer wins D3 North 2-1 over Bishop Fenwick

2015 Division 3 North Champions (North Reading)

North Reading starts to celebrate

(Lynn MA) Sophomore Rachel Hill scored a goal in the first half and assisted on the game-winner in the second half as North Reading defeated #2 Bishop Fenwick, 2-1, to win the Division 3 North title on Sunday afternoon at Manning Field in Lynn.

The #5 Hornets (17-3-2) will face D3 South winner Medway (17-1-3) on Wednesday night (5PM) in the D3 state semi-finals at Manning Field. Medway was the #1 seed in the South.

The NR win avenges a 1-0 loss they suffered against the team from Peabody in late October.

Rachel Hill (#12 on the ground) sends a grounder past GK Merry Harrington into the net

Rachel Hill’s goal came very late in the first half. After getting a pass from Marissa Zarella, Rachel dribbled across the middle of the box from right to left. GK Merry Harrington moved over to cover and Rachel, as she was going down, hit a grounder past her. Rachel’s roller reached the far corner of the goal with less than two minutes to play in the half.

Bishop Fenwick mobs Colleen Corcoran after her game-tying goal

At 31:04 of the second half the Crusaders evened things. Seniors Colleen Corcoran and Danielle DelTorto combined nicely on the score. Danielle carried down the left side and sent Colleen a delicious cross into the box. Colleen got a straight-on blast off the sailed over GK Kat Hassapis’ head.

The Corcoran/DelTorto connection tallied the only goal in the Fenwick win over North Reading in the regular season.

Sixteen minutes later (15:36) North Reading put in the goal that keeps their season going. Rachel Hill sent junior Haley Nathan ahead along the left side. Haley had defender Emily Charette to her right. GK Merry Harrington moved over and out to protect the net. Haley was able to get off a shot that went by Merry and rolled into the goal.

Katie Welch and Colleen Corcoran

Both of the NR goals were on the ground with a lot less than lightning speed on the shots. It isn’t always the hardest hit shot that gets the job done, at least not in this game.

Colleen Corcoran hit a crossbar in the first half. Katie Welch had a near-miss for the Hornets from long range in the second half.

Beautiful day for mid-November in these parts……50’s and sunny.

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

GK Merry Harrington

Mary Gerdenich

header

Kristen Bradley dribbles

Danielle DelTorto goes over GK Kat Hassapis

Katie Welch and Abby Rocker

Marissa Zarella and Ellen Fantozzi

Rachel Hill and Emily Smith

battle for the ball

Goalkeeper Kat Hassapis

Giana Moscaritolo and Danielle DelTorto

Haley Nathan

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Filed under Bishop Fenwick, North Reading

Tagged as Colleen Corcoran, Danielle DelTorto, Division 3 North girls soccer, Haley Nathan, Kat Hassapis, Marissa Zarella, Merry Harrington, Rachel Hill

June 8, 2011 · 9:42 pm

Newburyport Defeats Bishop Fenwick 3-0 to Reach D3 North Finals

The scoreboard at Fraser Field at the end of the game Wednesday afternoon.

Pitcher Ryan O’Connor (#14) in the midst of the celebrating Clippers afterwards.

(Lynn) Newburyport is on its way to the D3 North finals on Saturday at LeLacheur Park in Lowell at 2PM after defeating Bishop Fenwick, 3-0, on sunny Wednesday afternoon at Fraser Field.

The Crusaders (18-7) were limited to four hits by Ryan O’Connor and only one of their runners reached second base.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth.

The Clippers (20-5) run came as Sam Barlow singled up the middle, stole second, and scored on Colby Morris’ single to right center.

Newburyport added two insurance runs in a wild sixth inning. Brett Fontaine and Jim Conway started the inning with singles. Drew Carter tried to sacrifice bunt the runners along but ended up with a single when the catcher (Gianni Esposito) chose to go for the force at third and was unsuccessful. That loaded the bases.

Drew Carter’s sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a key hit in the Clipper 6th.

Connor Wile fouled off a number of pitches before drawing a walk that forced in Run #2 (Brett Fontaine).

With one out, David Cusack tried a safety squeeze that nearly worked but went foul. Then the runner (Jim Conway) he was trying to squeeze got picked off third. Now taking a normal swing, David singled through the right side of the BF infield and speedy Drew Carter scored from second with Run #3.

With Ryan O’Connor pitching, those three runs held up. Ryan had six strikeout victims including the last batter of the game – Gianni Esposito.

Yankee Hall-of-Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez was credited with saying, “The secret of my success was clean living and a fast outfield.” That quote came to mind when I reflected on this game. Newburyport outfielders David Cusack and Sam Barlow made running catches that saved runs.

David Cusack had a great catch in the second and an RBI in the 6th.

David’s was in the second. Mike Cipriani was on first when Jake Bugler hit one deep into the right center gap. David brought that shot in on the dead run. On the Fraser Field turf that ball could easily have been a double with a run scored.

Sam’s turn for a great catch was in the seventh. This time it was a liner by Mike Cipriani that Sam speared on his way toward center field. If that ball gets into the gap it’s a double and possibly a triple. That catch was especially important because the next batter (Jake Bulger) hit a single.

In my opinion, those two outfielders saved at least two runs. In a 3-run win those plays were crucial to say the least. David Cusack was back at the top of the order after missing two games with an ankle injury.

Colby Morris, Brett Fontaine, and Jim Conway had two hits apiece for Newburyport.

Jake Bugler singled in the 7th

Dave Ruggiero, Mike Davis, Jake Bugler, and Kevin Church had the hits for Bishop Fenwick.

Ryan O’Connor is 9-2 for the season and has 109 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings. He’ll be attending Bentley University this fall.

The last time the Clippers played at LeLacheur Park was two years ago and I was there. They played Georgetown and lost a heartbreaker. This link is to my pictures from that game. Georgetown is in Division 4 this time around.

(I put together my own stats and take my own pictures. Mistakes happen ….. unintentionally.