Category Archives: Cape Ann League

April 19, 2014 · 3:54 pm

Pat Slack and Georgetown hitting attack lead to 5-0 win over Amesbury

Pat Slack and teammates celebrate his two-hit shutout

Colby Ingraham about to cross home with the first Royals run

(Amesbury MA) Now, that’s more like it! (That was a reference to the weather.)

Georgetown had everything go their way as they defeated Amesbury, 5-0, on a sunny Saturday morning of Cape Ann League baseball.

The Royals (4-1) rode the arm of senior Pat Slack (two hitter) and a non-stop hitting attack (nine hits) to the victory.

While G’Town had hits and stranded baserunners (nine) in every inning, the Indians went through 4 1/3 innings without a baserunner. Nick Hawrylciw was the first to reach for Amesbury beating out (barely!) a grounder to shortstop Colby Ingraham. Later in that fifth inning Spencer Fournier would get a no-questions-asked single to right center. But those two hits were all that Amesbury (3-3) could muster.

Spencer Fournier (#8) had one of two Amesbury hits

Spencer Fournier’s hit to right center was only one of two balls to reach the Georgetown outfield. Pat Slack was that dominating in the complete game shutout. He had four strikeouts and kept the ball down. First baseman Nick Correnti ended up with ten putouts.

Junior Sam Burnham pitched six innings for Amesbury (3-3) in his first varsity start. Levi Burrill covered the last inning for the Indians.

Sam Burnham was charged with five runs but only two of them were earned.

The first of the unearned runs opened the scoring for the visitors in the first inning. After Colby Ingraham doubled with two outs, AHS shortstop Ben Cullen booted Kyle Nelson’s grounder allowing Colby Ingraham to get home.

Three more runs came across for the Royals in the second inning. Kevin Terban singled to left and was driven home by Chris Chiklakis’s triple to right center. An infield hit to deep short by Ben Noelk enabled Chris to get G’Town’s third run. A two-out throwing error by shortstop Ben Cullen followed adding a fourth run to the Royals’ total.

Sam Burnham

Georgetown’s third unearned run came in the sixth inning. Left fielder Brad Kelleher had trouble retrieving Mike Goddu’s single and as a result Mike reached second. Sam Burnham balked Mike to third. Sam would have gotten out of the inning but another infield error (second baseman Jared Dupere) gave Georgetown its fifth run.

So despite all the Georgetown hits and baserunners, this could have been a much closer game minus the five Amesbury miscues.

The Royals, meanwhile, were flawless in the field with few tough chances. Amesbury’s hardest shot, other than Spencer Fournier’s single, was a line drive toward second by Mac Short that Kevin Terban snared about shin level in the fourth inning.

Pat Slack (three hits) had two doubles that were part of Georgetown’s four extra-base hits.

Amesbury starter Sam Burnham took a hard shot off the shin in the third inning but recovered to toss the hitter out at first.

Colby Ingraham

Cape Ann League All-League performer Colby Ingraham is back. He suffered a torn ACL in football. He has a noticeable limp but still has enough range to handle the shortstop position. Colby almost got himself into trouble with the first base umpire when he had a loud reaction to his throw in the 5th inning that didn’t result in an out at first. GHS coach Justin Spurr was quick to pay a visit to the field to cool things down.

Mac Short, Colby Ingraham, and Ben Noelk were Cape Ann League All-League players in 2013. Pat Slack was a CAL All-Star last year.

Kevin Terban had two hits and scored two runs for the Royals.

Ben Cullen showed terrific range tracking down a first inning foul popup down the third baseline.

I’m guessing on this one but I believe that Amesbury sophomore second baseman Jared Dupere is the brother of Sarah Dupere the very talented senior softball pitcher at Governor’s Academy. I saw Sarah K seven Pingree batters and get three hits herself in a 13-0 shutout against the Highlanders.

Next game for Georgetown in Tuesday (10AM) hosting Hamilton-Wenham. Amesbury will host Pentucket (3:45PM) on the same day.

The weather was terrific. There was a pretty good crowd on hand and almost all of them were over-dressed. It’s just hard to believe so far this season that sunny, breezy, and 60’s could all come together in a pleasant outdoor experience!

Georgetown box

Amesbury box

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

Pitcher Sam Burnham recovers after taking a shot to the shin

Jared Dupere

Levi Burrill

Pat Slack

Nick Correnti stretches for his 10th putout

Ben Cullen tracks down a foul popup

Pat Slack caught in a rundown in the third inning.

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Filed under Amesbury, Cape Ann League, Georgetown

Tagged as Ben Noelk, Coach Justin Spurr, Colby Ingraham, Kevin Terban, Pat Slack, Sam Burnham

April 17, 2014 · 10:37 pm

Masconomet stays undefeated with 5-2 win against Newburyport

Tom Budrewicz (#11) heads home with second Masco run on Scott Webster balk

Will Twiss (six hitter with eight strikeouts)

Will Twiss (six hitter with nine strikeouts)

(Newburyport MA) Both teams continued to go in the direction they have been going.

Masconomet ran its winning streak to five as they defeated winless Newburyport, 5-2, in a cold Thursday afternoon/evening of Cape Ann League baseball.

The inexperienced Clippers (0-4) hung with Masco through four innings (2-2) before the Chieftains tallied two in the 5th and one in the sixth to pull away.

A key to the Masco win was the pitching of senior Will Twiss. Will allowed six hits with nine strikeouts and retired the last seven Clippers he faced. He only walked one batter.

Scott Webster started for NHS and lasted 4 1/3 innings. The sophomore struck out seven but also allowed six walks. During his stint runs were scored on a balk and a wild pitch. It was feast or famine!

Leighton Paradis tossed the final 2 2/3 for Newburyport and he was charged with an unearned run. Elias Varinos’ sharp single to left in the sixth inning got past Tom Isabel allowing Sam Hamburger to score all the way from first with Masco’s fifth run.

Caleb Stott leads off third in the first inning

Newburyport put up a run in the first. A double by Caleb Stott and a bloop single by Ryan Furlong had the Clippers in nice shape with no outs. Masco gave up an unearned run when catcher Mike Manni’s throw to second, as Ryan Furlong attempted to steal, was wild and Caleb Stott reached home from third. Will Twiss retired the next three batters (2 K’s and a groundout) to limit the damage.

The Chieftains took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Joe Klingensmith singled and stole second. Tom Budrewicz tripled to the fence in right center scoring Joe. Pitcher Scott Webster balked Tom home. Masco would load the bases after that with two walks and a hit batsman but Scott Webster K’d Dan Dempsey and had Sam Hamburger fly out to end the threat.

The Clippers pulled even in their half of the fourth inning. A walk and steal by leadoff batter James Nutter was followed by a single by Scott Webster. Tom Isabel put the ball in play and James came in from third with the tying run.

Elias Varinos caught in a rundown after driving in the 5th Masco run

The visitors collected the game winners in the fifth with two runs. Elias Varinos (2 hits) doubled to the right field corner leading off. Scott Webster then served up a wild pitch, a walk (Joe Klingensmith), and another wild pitch and Elias was home with Run #3.

Leighton Paradis relieved Scott Webster and walked Mike Manni to load the bases. Chris Rich’s sacrifice fly delivered Joe Klingensmith with the fourth Masco run.

The Chieftains collected their fifth run after a single and an outfield error in the sixth inning.

Scott Webster (seven strikeouts)

Newburyport pitching only allowed four hits but the walks (nine) and pitching miscues (wild pitches/balk) spoiled things for the Clippers.

The Clippers return tomorrow (Friday) for a 10AM game versus nonleague Beverly (2-3). Maybe that elusive first win will turn up.

Ryan Furlong paced the Clippers with two hits. Sophomore Elias Varinos had two of Masco’s four hits.

Masco was 19-6 last season and reached the Division 2 state semi-finals. They have won the Division 2 North title three times in the last six years. Their last state title was in 2000.

Joe Klingensmith and Tom Budrewicz made the Cape Ann League All-League team last year. Greg Dougherty was a CAL All-Star.

Greg was rung up three times by Newburyport pitching.

Masco’s next game is at 10AM on Saturday at Saugus.

Tom Isabel made a terrific catch in the first inning on a deep fly to left center by Greg Dougherty. The wind may have helped keep it in the park.

Joe Klingensmith (D1 scholarship to UMass Amherst)

Joe Klingensmith has a scholarship to D1 UMass Amherst next season. He had four homers and seventeen RBI last season. He had a hit (single) and scored two runs today against the Clippers.

You get used to fans complaining about balls and strikes even though they’re usually in poor position to see where the pitch ends up. Today the complaints were a bit different: “That was a strike. It’s cold out here!”

And cold it was. Winter is not over. Even the sun doesn’t help if the wind is blowing. “You want some cheese with that whine?”

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

Joe Klingensmith about to turn third

Tom Budrewicz (CAL All-League)

Dan Dempsey

James Nutter slides into second

Tom Isabel takes a cut

Leighton Paradis

Greg Dougherty (CAL All-Star in 2013)

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Masconomet, Newburyport

Tagged as Caleb Stott, Greg Dougherty, Joe Klingensmith, Leighton Paradis, Scott Webster, Tom Budrewicz, Will Twiss

April 14, 2014 · 10:20 pm

Newburyport gets wild 16-15 walkoff win over Amesbury

Morgan Johnston walks home the winning run for Newburyport

Maddie Napoli puts the tag on Lauren Singer

(Newburyport) Newburyport batted around in two of the last three innings and overtook Amesbury, 16-15, on a very windy Monday afternoon in Cape Ann League softball.

The Clippers (2-2) were down by two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but a two-run single by Lauren Singer tied things at 15-15. A catcher’s interference call followed loading the bases and pitcher Rachel Cyr’s walk to Morgan Johnston forced across the game winner.

This game was anything but smooth. The 20-30 MPH gusty winds made every ball in the air an adventure. Infield popups dropped among players. Outfield flies sailed over the heads of outfielders. In fact, line drives right at players were dropped.

Lucy Scholz races to third

Things weren’t much better on the ground. Part of the trouble for the infielders was the steady collection of baserunners serving up distractions. There were way too many throws to the wrong bases.

The Indians (2-1) dominated the first four innings. They led, 8-3, and already had eleven hits off of NHS starter Vicki Allman while AHS starter Rachel Cyr was limiting the Clippers to just three hits.

Newburyport turned things around in the fifth inning. They sent twelve players to the plate and collected eight runs on just four hits. Junior Morgan Kelley tripled in two of the runs. Amy Sullivan scored twice.

Alexi Boswell

Amesbury hit the ball hard all game and finished with seventeen hits. Five of the hits came in their sixth inning and they made Newburyport’s 11-8 lead disappear in a six-run inning. The Indians sent eleven batters to the plate. Alexi Boswell had two hits in the inning.

Newburyport went quietly in their sixth inning and trailed, 14-11.

The Indians added another run in the seventh as Amanda Schell hit a ball sharply to right. NHS rightfielder Morgan Johnston looked to have a chance on the ball but it got by her to the fence. Amanda was able to circle the bases for Amesbury’s fifteenth run.

Sammy Stone pitched the scoreless sixth for the Indians and 2/3 of the seventh inning.

In the seventh Newburyport got down to its final out before five straight Clippers reached to win on a walkoff walk by Morgan Johnston.

One reason for the Clippers win may well have been that despite getting hit hard pitcher Vicki Allman only walked two.

Carly Siemasko catches a popup

Sixteen players scored runs in this game. Thirteen players had RBIs.

Rachel Cyr drove in four runs while Molly Kelley and Lauren Singer drove in three each.

Amy Sullivan scored three times.

Alexi Boswell led all players with four hits, while teammates Lucy Scholz and Rachel Cyr had three apiece.

Meagan Aponas catches a fly just beyond the reach of Maddie Napoli

Lauren Singer had four hits for the Clippers including two triples.

Meghan Stanton looked good taking over for Kendra Dow at shortstop for Newburyport.

Weather? No question it was windy but it was also warm.

Next game for Amesbury will be hosting Rockport on Wednesday. Newburyport will be traveling to Saugus on the same day.

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

Lauren Singer triples over Alexi Boswell

Amy Sullivan scores as the ball gets by catcher Amanda Schell

Jade Carpenter fires to first

Lauren Fedorchak

Amanda Schell near home after circling the bases

Amy Sullivan and Coach Lori Solazzo

Shelby OBrien

Vicki Allman

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Filed under Amesbury, Cape Ann League, Newburyport

Tagged as Alexi Boswell, Amanda Schell, Amy Sullivan, Lauren Singer, Morgan Johnston, Rachel Cyr, Vicki Allman

April 9, 2014 · 9:21 pm

Amesbury experience shows in 5-1 softball win over Georgetown

Zoe Fitzgerald (#21) gets cheers from her teammates after circling the bases in the sixth inning.

Autumn Kligerman sets to fire to first

(Amesbury) Experienced Amesbury opened their 2014 season with a 5-1 victory over Georgetown on a blustery Wednesday afternoon in Cape Ann League softball.

The Indians (1-0) were flawless in the field and capitalized on the inexperience of the Royals (0-1) especially in the outfield.

Minus graduated hitters such as Ashley Valme, Janine Fatal, Erin Leary, and Cassie Schultz, Amesbury couldn’t separate from the determined Royals. This was a 3-1 game going into the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the decisive sixth, sophomore Zoe Fitzgerald hit a hard shot into right center that split freshmen outfielders Samantha Newbury and Dana Edwards on the ground. By the time the two outfielders could retrieve the ball, and get it back into the infield, Zoe had reached home (with Amesbury’s 4th run) without a slide despite slowing up at third base.

The Indians added more insurance in the same frame. Lauren Fedorchak singled to deep short and took second on a wild throw by SS Maddy Crateau. Lauren then scored Run #5 on freshman Maddie Napoli’s blooper into right field.

The throw from first goes past Alexi Boswell and shortstop Kylie Hayward

Senior Alexi Boswell worked some base running magic to produce a run in the first inning. After Alexi reached on a single, Lucy Scholz put down a bunt that activated the Georgetown infield. Third baseman Hannah Jannell fielded the bunt and made an accurate throw to second baseman Maddy Crateau covering first to get Lucy. However that defensive arrangement left shortstop Kylie Hayward covering both second and third. So Alexi ran right past second toward uncovered third. Maddy Crateau threw the ball past shortstop Kylie Hayward who was racing Alexi to third and Alexi came home with Amesbury’s first run.

More of that inexperience/experience thing kicked in for a second first inning run. Senior Amanda Schell singled to right but the ball got past rightfielder Dana Edwards and Amanda ended up at third. Senior Rachel Cyr singled to center scoring Amanda with Amesbury’s second score.

pitcher Danielle Quercia

When Autumn Kligerman hit a fly ball to center that centerfielder Samantha Newbury couldn’t find in the sun, you sensed that a very bad inning was underway for the Royals. But credit Georgetown starter Danielle Quercia. She got Zoe Fitzgerald to strike out and Sammy Stone to line to first ending the inning without any more runs allowed.

Amesbury would build their lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Lauren Fedorchak singled to center and Maddie Napoli sacrifice bunted her to second. Lucy Scholz delivered Lauren with a two-out single to center.

Georgetown had five hits, a walk, and five stranded runners to show for five innings of play. In the sixth the Royals used aggressive base running to get on the scoreboard. Maddy Crateau and Jen Nutter set the stage with infield hits after one out. When catcher Amanda Schell tried to pick Jen off of first (it was verrry close!) Maddie reached third. And then when Jen stole second on another very close play Maddy raced home.

pitcher Rachel Cyr

The key to that inning for Georgetown was being aggressive. The key for Amesbury was Rachel Cyr. How? The senior pitcher struck out three Royals looking to keep other Royals off the bases and limit the damage to one run.

Former CAL All-League shortstop Amanda Schell made her debut at catcher for the Indians. Amanda replaces Cassie Schultz who is now playing at Assumption.

Rightfielder Alexi Boswell showed her arm in the seventh inning. When sophomore Maggie Noelk hit a liner to right, Alexi picked up the ball on the hop and threw Maggie out at first.

Amesbury starter Rachel Cyr allowed seven hits, one walk and struck out four. She also successfully handled three chances. Rachel, who replaces Carolina Merrill, will do most of the pitching for the Indians.

Georgetown starter Danielle Quercia gave up eleven hits but only five runs despite four errors behind her. Danielle ends a run of eight years of the Erlandson sisters pitching.

Amesbury was 19-3 last season while Georgetown was 14-6. Both teams are now in Division 3.

Jen Nutter

Jen Nutter led Georgetown with two hits.

Amanda Schell, Autumn Kligerman, and Lauren Fedorchak each had two hits for Amesbury.

Tough second inning for Georgetown. Jen Nutter singled and reached second on a wild pitch with no outs. However, Emily Fraser lined to Autumn Kligerman at 3B and the Amesbury junior doubled Jen off of second. As bad luck (for Georgetown) would have it, next batter Hannah Jannell singled to center. Could have been a run??

Amesbury junior Meagan Aponas had a pinch-hit single in the 6th but got caught in a rundown.

The game was originally scheduled for Georgetown but field conditions there weren’t good.

The temperatures were in the 50’s but the gusty winds made that number meaningless when it came to deciding what to wear. Dress for winter until further notice!

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

third baseman Hannah Jannell

Maddie Napoli readies the tag for Jen Nutter

Zoe Fitzgerald

catcher Amanda Schell

shortstop Maddie Napoli

Maddy Crateau

Gianna Faragi tags out Meagan Aponas in the sixth inning

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Filed under Amesbury, Cape Ann League, Georgetown

Tagged as Amanda Schell, Danielle Quercia, Jen Nutter, Lucy Scholz, Maddy Crateau, Rachel Cyr, Zoe Fitzgerald

April 7, 2014 · 10:42 pm

North Reading and Newburyport play to an unfinished 2-2 tie in baseball opener

Chase Carpenter dives into third as the ball drops in front of North Reading third baseman Tom Day

Chance Carpenter dives into third as the ball drops in front of North Reading third baseman Tom Day

Frank Carey, Steve Malenfant, and the umpires meet after the ninth inning

(Newburyport) Newburyport and North Reading opened their 2014 baseball seasons today……….sort of.

The Clippers and the Hornets played nine innings with a winner undecided. They will resume the 2-2 game at a later date.

This was a Cape Ann League contest with plenty of baserunners and plenty of scoring opportunities. The biggest lack was a big hit and therefore special credit goes to the pitching. James Nutter (Clippers) went seven innings and Scott Allan (Hornets) went eight. Mike Jayne finished for the Clipppers and Ryan Boucher for the Hornets.

Newburyport collected two runs in the first and were blanked the rest of the way. North Reading put up single runs in the 4th and 6th.

Keith Linnane scores the first NR run

The visiting Hornets collected ten hits (two each for Scott Meija, Ryan Boucher, and Scott Allan) and stranded at least one runner in every inning.

The Clippers had nine hits (two each for Chance Carpenter and Caleb Stott) and stranded seven.

Newburyport picked up their only runs in the first inning. Chance Carpenter had a bunt single and Caleb Stott followed with a hit to right center. Both runners advanced on a wild pickoff attempt at second by pitcher Scott Allan. Ryan Furlong flared a two-out double to left scoring both teammates.

North Reading got a run back in the 4th inning. Keith Linnane singled to center, took second (no throw), and reached third on a wild pitch. Ryan Boucher doubled the Hornets catcher home.

Ryan Furlong drove in both Newburyport runs

The Hornets got a gift run in the sixth inning. Ryan Sanborn was hit by a pitch and then stole second with two outs. Scott Allan singled to right but a quick relay back to Travis Wile put Ryan Sanborn in big trouble. Ryan had rounded third with the original intent of going home. Halfway down the line he chose to head back to third. However, Travis’s throw sailed over third baseman Caleb Stott’s head allowing Ryan to recover and tally the tying run.

Two terrific defensive plays saved North Reading. In the Clippers’ fourth they got runners (Ben Ventura and Ryan Furlong) on second and third with no outs. NR had the infield in when Travis Wile lined a rope up the middle. Second baseman Shane Driscoll made a diving catch and then tossed to shortstop Blake Tamlyn-Hayden for the double play.

Newburyport threatened in the sixth inning. A Caleb Stott double and an error (first baseman Ryan Sanborn) put runners on first and third with two outs. Pitcher Scott Allan launched a pitch (to Travis Wile) wide and in the dirt that catcher Keith Linnane somehow stopped preventing a run.

Travis OBrien about to be tagged out at 3B by Tom Day in the 9th inning

The Clippers had two-out singles in the 9th by Travis O’Brien and Tom Isabel but Hornets’ centerfielder Colby Maiola (going to Assumption) nailed Travis trying to get to third on his teammate’s hit ending the inning.

Leftfielder Leighton Paradis made several running catches on flies hit by Colby Maiola.

The last time North Reading and Newburyport met was on June 4th at North Reading when the Clippers upset the Hornets (4-0) in the first round of the Division 3 North playoffs. Colby Morris handcuffed NR that afternoon. North Reading had beaten Newburyport twice during the regular season.

Shane Driscoll flips from the ground to double up sliding Ryan Furlong

NR coach Frank Carey is in his 47th season with a lifetime record currently at 716-273.

Colby Maiola and Ben Ventura

Tom Day, Shane Driscoll, Colby Maiola, and Keith Linnane had one hit each for North Reading.

Catcher Keith Linnane is looking into junior colleges in the South to continue his baseball career next season.

Scott Webster, Ben Ventura, Ryan Furlong, Travis O’Brien, and Tom Isabel each had a hit for Newburyport.

The Clippers turned in a smooth 4-6-3 double play in the eighth inning.

Cloudy and colder as the game went on. Welcome to April baseball in these parts.

(The pictures above an below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Scott Webster tries to steal second as Blake Tamlyn-Hayden waits for the throw

Scott Meija caught in a rundown with Caleb Stott

Grounder gets by NR first baseman Ryan Sanborn

Mike Jayne

Ryan Boucher

Scott Allan

Keith Linnane

James Nutter

Caleb Stott crosses home with the second NHS run

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Newburyport, North Reading

Tagged as Caleb Stott, Coach Frank Carey, Colby Maiola, James Nutter, Keith Linnane, Ryan Boucher, Ryan Furlong, Shane Driscoll

October 27, 2012 · 7:23 pm

Newburyport boys win the 2012 Cape Ann League cross country championship

Sophomore Nick Carleo (Newburyport) in charge from start to finish in CAL championship xc meet.

(Hamilton) The Newburyport boys cross country team captured the Cape Ann League cross country championship on a very pleasant Saturday morning at Bradley Palmer State Park.

The Clippers had plenty of reason to fear the challenge of their arch-rival Masconomet. The Chieftains had only lost by five points (25-30) in a CAL meet at the same location on October 15th.

This time, however, the spread was wider (37-46) for Newburyport.

Nick Carleo runs alone to the finish line.

Last year Alex Sullivan (North Andover) ran alone to victory. This time around it was sophomore Nick Carleo (Newburyport) doing the same thing.

Nick (15:44) had a nineteen second lead at the finish line over Matt Gillis (16:03) of Hamilton-Wenham. That’s a significant spread in the 3.1 mile Bradley Palmer course.

Nick led from the very early going. There are state meets ahead and it will be interesting to see how he does against some of the state’s best.

Newburyport won Division 5 last year and Masco coach Pat Mahoney was quoted saying, “that they should win it again this year.”

Max Vye (19th)

A key performer for the victorious Clippers was senior Max Vye. I saw Max win the JV meet last year. In today’s meet Max finished 19th. However, he was Newburyport’s fifth finisher, ahead of two Masco runners and that made a difference in the final point totals.

(Last year I arrived at this event at 10AM because that was when it was scheduled to start. That enabled me to watch both the JVs races. This year I figured I’d skip those races and get there at 11AM for the two varsity races. Silly me! The varsity races did start at 10AM. I’ll assume the JV events started at 9AM. Who knows what might happen next year!)

This site has the official 2012 Cape Ann League XC championship results.

This is a look at the lead runners before they went by the starting line for the second time and some of the early finishers:

Nick Carleo (1st)

Matt Gillis (2nd)

Joe Santo (3rd)

Harry Kent (4th)

Marco Caserta (5th)

Chris Orlando (6th)

Mike Riddle (7th), Joe Molvar (8th)

Jake Moorman (9th)

Will Davis (11th)

sophomore Alex Demeule (12th)

Michael Gilfeather (17th)

Matt Gillis (778), Joe Santo (1184), Harry Kent (1024)

Chris Orlando (1179) and Marco Caserta (993)

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Newburyport

Tagged as Chris Orlando, Harry Kent, Jake Moorman, Joe Molvar, Joe Santo, Marco Caserta, Matt Gillis, Max Vye, Mike Riddle, Nick Carleo

May 23, 2011 · 8:00 pm

Newburyport Softball Defeats Masconomet 7-3 for Thirteenth Win

Centerfielder Eleni Kacher relaxes after catching the final out in Newburyport’s win over Masco.

Molly Rowe – retired eleven of the last twelve batters in a complete game win.

(Newburyport) The Newburyport softball team defeated Masconomet, 7-3, on Monday afternoon at overcast Cashman Park in Cape Ann League action.

Newburyport (13-3) continues to roll along. They’ve won ten of their last eleven games. Masconomet (4-12) continues to roll along as well but unfortunately for them it is in the opposite direction – they’ve lost eight of their last nine games.

The Clippers stacked up five runs in the second inning to recover from a 1-0 deficit and that was enough as Molly Rowe limited the Chieftains to four hits over the last five innings.

Molly had five strikeouts and retired eleven of the last twelve batters she faced.

Newburyport was hitless in their first inning but erupted for twelve hits off of Masco pitcher Molli Marshall the rest of the way. Other than the five-spot in the second, the Clippers had solo runs in the third and fourth.

Masco picked up two runs in the 4th and then their bats were nearly silent the rest of the way.

Kendra Dow – Clipper shortstop had three hits and scored two runs.

Kendra Dow led the Newburyport attack with three hits while scoring two runs. Cassie Davis, Shannon Brunault, and Rachel Webster each had two hits.

Julia O’Reilly and Kiki Brown collected half of Masco’s eight hits between them.

Julia’s first hit in the top of the first was a well-placed bunt that attracted the attention of pitcher Molly Rowe and first baseman Rachel Webster. Unfortunately, for Newburyport, no one was covering first and it turned into a hit. Two hits later the Chieftains had a run (RBI by Molli Marshall) and runners on second and third with one out. However, Molly Rowe K’d Taylor Evans and handled Lissa Rescigno’s grounder to get out of the jam.

In the Newburyport second, the Clippers mixed five hits together with a throwing error by third baseman Julia O’Reilly. Newburyport batted around in the five-run outburst. Shannon Brunault, Rachel Webster, Maddy Stanton, and Lea Tomasz had RBI.

The Clippers picked up their 6th run in Inning #3. Kendra Dow singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and to third on Taylor Summit’s single. She came home on shortstop Taylor Evans’ throwing error.

Julia O’Reilly – two hits and RBI

Kiki Brown – two hits and run scored

Masco tallied two runs in the fourth inning. A walk (Lissa Rescigno), a hit (Kiki Brown), and a sacrifice bunt (Courtney Gotts) put runners on second and third with one out. Third baseman Maddy Stanton decided to go home with Samantha Martin’s grounder and was too late to get Lissa Rescigno. Julia O’Reilly’s single to left brought Kiki Brown home with the second run. Still threatening with runners on second and third, Molly retired the next two hitters to limit the Masco damage.

Newburyport got a gift run in the bottom of the fourth. Cassie Davis singled, went to second on a passed ball, and reached home on third baseman Julia O’Reilly’s 2-base throwing error.

NHS coach Peter Murray was heavily into landscaping the Cashman Park field when I arrived early. He made the usual puddles disappear.

What can you say about the weather! The good news during this game was that there was no wind and it didn’t actually rain. Bringing an umbrella to a game this season has been almost as important as trying to guess which of the three home fields the Clippers will be playing on.

Molli Marshall – Masco pitcher

Molli Marshall was just about the most relaxed pitcher I’ve seen. She was carrying on conversations even while she was pitching!

After a missed popup by her third baseman Julia O’Reilly, who was wearing a mask, Molli said, “Take off the mask and let them see the dye job!” Comedy Central material!

Clipper shortstop Kendra Dow continues to impress with her strong, accurate throws. I learned that she grew up throwing a baseball rather than a softball.

I’m still looking forward to Wednesday’s game at Amesbury between the Indians (16-1) and the Clippers (13-3). The Indians were beaten by North Reading on Saturday. The Clippers lost, 10-9, in their earlier non-league meeting with Amesbury.

Both teams have qualified for the post-season. At stake could well be a share of the CAL Division 2 title.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures. Mistakes happen.)

Shannon Brunault heads for third

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Masconomet, Newburyport

Tagged as Cassie Davis, Eleni Kacher, Julia O'Reilly, Kendra Dow, Kiki Brown, Lissa Rescigno, Maddy Stanton, Masconomet Regional High School, Molli Marshall, Molly Rowe, Newburyport High School softball, NHS coach Peter Murray, Rachel Webster, Samantha Martin, Shannon Brunault, Taylor Evans, Taylor Summit

May 6, 2011 · 8:07 pm

Brooke Jamison Drives in Last Inning Game Winner (4-3) for Triton Versus Masco

Cori Simons rounds third with the tying run as a Masconomet outfielder chases a wild throw in the seventh inning.

Brooke Jamison reaches second with the game winner after doubling to left in the bottom of the seventh.

(Byfield) Costly errors by Masconomet (3-5) in the final two innings opened the door for the Triton (6-6) softball team to run its win streak to four with a 4-3 victory on Friday afternoon in Cape Ann League play.

Brooke Jamison drove in the game-winner with a double in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Triton didn’t get a hit until there were two outs in the sixth. Their first hit, however, was a double by Emily Jutras that drove in Kelsey Trudel. Kelsey had reached when Taylor Evans misplayed her grounder.

Both of Triton’s runs to this point were unearned but Masco still carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Three Viking batters later the visitors had lost the game, 4-3.

In the seventh, the first Triton batter Cori Simons lined a single to center. Second batter Kylie Gilroy pushed a bunt down the third base line. A hurried throw by 3B Julia O’Reilly sailed past 1B Kiki Brown down the right field line. Cori came all the way around to score the tying run while the speedy Kylie reached third. Third batter Brooke Jamison whacked a double to left to score Kylie with the game winner.

For Masconomet (3-5) it was just another tough loss. They’ve lost five of their last six and each loss has been by two runs or less. That sort of thing gets old real fast!

The Vikings’ first run (scored in the third) was one you had to see to believe. Leadoff batter Lily Anderson walked and Kylie Gilroy ran for her. Masco expected a bunt and for some reason, that escaped me, had every infielder except the first baseman in even with the pitcher. Off went Kylie from first on the second pitch. The only one around to cover second base was the Chieftain centerfielder, Samantha Martin. Catcher Shawna DiPietro’s throw sailed over Samantha’s head into center field and there was no one out there. Kylie came all the way around to score. Maybe the centerfielder was supposed to take the throw?

Masco took the lead with a 2-run fourth. Two of Triton pitcher Marion Dullea’s four walks came that inning and were combined with hits by Shawna DiPietro and Molli Marshall. Molli’s single to left drove in one of the runs and a fielder’s choice by Shannon Beaton brought home the second.

Masco would add a third run in the fifth. Samantha Martin singled to left and reached second on leftfielder Emily Jutras’ bobble. Lexie Corso delivered Samantha with a double to center. This gave Masco the 3-1 lead that evaporated in the final two innings.

Rachel Shamon – pitched well enough to win

Marion Dullea – forced eleven ground outs

Chieftain pitcher Rachel Shamon deserved a better fate. She only struck out one batter but she had Triton hitting grounders (ten) all afternoon. All of the runs against her were the result of defensive problems by her teammates.

Triton pitcher Marion Dullea had just one error behind her and that was in the outfield. She struck out three and also forced groundouts (eleven).

Masco defeated Triton 4-1 at Masco in the season opener in April. The pitcher for Masconomet that day (Lissa Rescigno) was sick for today’s game.

Kylie Gilroy scored two runs for Triton. Her well-placed bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning had plenty to do with the hurried throw that followed.

Lexi Corso – had a hit, scored a run, and had an RBI

Molli Marshall – had two hits and an RBI

Triton defeated North Andover, 4-2, at home on Wednesday.

How nice it was to spend a warm afternoon watching a game!

( I collect my own stats and take my own pictures. Mistakes happen sometimes.)

Kylie Gilroy reaches 3B in the seventh as Shannon Beaton covers.

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Masconomet, Triton

Tagged as Brooke Jamison, Cori Simons, Emily Jutras Marion Dullea, Kylie Gilroy, Lexi Corso, Masconoment, Rachel Shamon, Shawna DiPietro, Triton Regional

January 31, 2011 · 11:04 pm

Pentucket Holds Joe Mussachia to Twelve Points but Loses to Manchester-Essex 69-63

Sean Nally (#5) paced Manchester-Essex with 21 points. His defender (Corey McNamara) put up 20 points for Pentucket.

Joe Mussachia (#22) and John Modlish scramble for a loose ball in the last minute of play.

(West Newbury) Highly touted Joe Mussachia looked like just your average Joe from where I was sitting until late in the game when he hustled after a bad pass, got fouled, and nailed both free throws. Those free throws gave Manchester-Essex (10-4) the cushion they needed to defeat Pentucket (8-5), 69-63, on Monday night in entertaining Cape Ann League play.

Joe (12 points) came in with a 25 points per game average but the combination of John Modlish and Will Angelini either denied him the ball or forced him into turnovers for most of the night. Joe had only six points through three quarters.

The Hornets got off to a horrible start trailing 9-0 while having more turnovers (7) than shot attempts (4). They also got a steady earful of tough love from Coach Duane Sigsbury.

Sean Nally – led all scorers with 21 points

Turns out that ME has plenty of other scorers – Sean Nally (21 points), Chris Bishop (15 points), and Jason Stasiak (11 points). They sure needed them against the Sachems.

Pentucket was led by Corey McNamara (20 points) and Will Angelini (16 points).

The special coverage on Joe Mussachia left openings for the Hornets’ other shooters. That nine-point deficit had shrunk to, 31-29, by halftime.

Will Angelini – 16 points and solid defense

Pentucket showed solid offense throughout the game because: (1) they ran organized offense and used their size advantages to lose their defenders on screens and cuts to get open looks and (2) Will Angelini (16 points) has a turnaround shot that even a tall defender like Joe Mussachia never came close to blocking.

Will would later foul out with 1:45 left and trust me that hurt the Sachems on both ends of the court thereafter.

The Hornets finally took the lead early in the third quarter on a head-scratching sequence all involving Sean Nally (5-10 junior). On the first possession he missed two free throws. The next possession he hits a 3 from the left hand corner. The next possession he nails a 3 from the right hand corner and gets fouled and makes that free throw. Who can predict shooting??

Anyhow, that little collection of offense put Manchester ahead 38-35 with six minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The lead would expand to 53-43 as Adam Jackson, Chris Bishop, and Jason Stasiak strung together seven straight points.

Credit the Sachems, led by Corey McNamara they went on a 12-2 run into the final quarter and evened things at 55-55. Corey hit a couple of 3’s during the rally.

Parker Kelly’s two free throws tied the game again at 57 with 6:15 to go. The next points registered were a three by Chris Bishop with 5 ½ left. The Hornets would never trail again although Pentucket came painfully close.

A rebound conversion by Parker shortened the Sachem deficit to 65-63 with fifty-six seconds left. Sean Nally got called for an offensive foul but, with a chance to tie, John Modlish’s jumper rimmed out.

ME tried to hold onto the ball but a dangerous pass bounced around near midcourt. Both John Modlish and Joe Mussachia went after it hard but the foul was called on John with twenty-one seconds left. If the foul goes the other way, John is shooting free throws for a tie. A steal there and Pentucket was off to the races for a tying basket or free throws. Needless to say, the Pentucket partisans weren’t thrilled with the call.

Joe Mussachia hits clutch free throws in last minute.

Joe made the two free throws and ME had the win.

Alex Porter (8 points) was back with Manchester-Essex after missing a number of games with an injury.

One of the neat matchups to watch was Chris Bishop covering Corey McNamara. Pentucket’s motion offense had Chris fighting over and under screens to stay with Corey.

Joe has signed to attend Division 3 powerhouse Amherst.

Pentucket was 8-for-8 from the foul line.

ME shot over 50% (25-for-49) from the floor. Included in that shooting was 6-for-11 from 3-point territory.

There are numerous lefties in the Hornet starting lineup.

Both these teams should make the MIAA tournament. Manchester-Essex should do very well in Division 4 especially if Joe becomes not your average Joe.

(I keep my own stats. I take my own pictures and create my own captions. I also draw my own conclusions. Any mistakes are unintentional.)

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Manchester-Essex, Pentucket

Tagged as Alex Porter, Chris Bishop, Corey McNamara, Jason Stasiak, Joe Mussachia, John Modlish, Manchester-Essex Hornets, Parker Kelly, Pentucket, Sean Nally, Will Angelini

January 16, 2011 · 9:01 pm

Pentucket Rebounds From Squeaker First Meeting and Routs Masco 50-33

Masco’s Brooke Stewart (#32) calls for the ball against Pentucket’s tight defense.

(West Newbury) I didn’t see Pentucket’s 61-60 squeaker over Masconomet on December 29th at Masco. In fact, I didn’t see all of this afternoon’s rematch in which Pentucket was a 50-33 winner.

Missing some of today’s girls’ game was my mistake – I believed what I read in the Newburyport Daily News. (Masco at Pentucket 3PM)

Anyhow, I missed the first quarter and only scripted the second half. I’ll rely on Mike Grenier’s game story from the Salem News for what I missed.

This is what the quarter totals looked like:
Pentucket 16 13 12 9 = 50
Masco 9 6 4 14 = 33

Masco (7-3) put up 10 points in the last 4 ½ minutes of the game but struggled mightily to make shots before that. The tall, pesky Pentucket defense was part of their problem. The rest was just an overall inability to make shots. Credit the Sachem defense but what about Masco’s 5-for-17 from the foul line with a number of those being one-and-one’s.

The Sachems (7-1) hadn’t played in nine days (loss to North Andover) and appeared to have all sorts of defensive energy stored up. Pentucket coach John McNamara had those practice days to bring his normally effective defense back to its normally effective self. What could be tougher than facing a well-rested, heavily-drilled, Pentucket pressure defense on their court?

Masco’s Brooke Stewart had 24 points during the last meeting but this time had few openings and no easy shots and ended up with thirteen points.

Brooke (6’ junior) had plenty of company everywhere she went. Tess Nogueira gave her the same denial coverage I saw her effectively put on Newburyport’s Beth Castantini. Brooke had nothing but low percentage shots available even when she actually got the ball. In this game, she didn’t have teammates to share the scoring load and loosen up the defense she faced.

I looked at Masco playing man-to-man defense for the 3 quarters I watched. I read that in the 61-60 game Pentucket struggled against the Masco zone defense. That 16-9 start in this one may have forced Masco away from zone defenses.

The Sachems have many players capable of getting to the basket against man-to-man defenses. In a game the home team won by seventeen points, you can only imagine what the separation might have been if Pentucket had shot better than 19% (7-for-36) in the second half.

A stat comparison shows Leigh McNamara, Vicky Cahill, and Sarah Higgins totally 35 points in the one-point, first game win. Versus Masco a second time, those three total eleven points and Pentucket wins by seventeen. Point? Nicole Viselli will usually score the most points but after that the Sachem scoring weapons are varied and numerous.

Every team knows that Pentucket will attack defensively and tirelessly. Court vision and accurate passes are the two solutions but the Sachems size and hustle make those two a tough task.

Masco coach Bob Romeo chats with Chelsea Nason in the second half.

Masco was clearly victimized by that defense in their fatal four-point third quarter. First seven possessions; five turnovers and three missed shots. A Brooke Stewart layup was followed by four more turnovers and two more missed shots.

Pentucket wasn’t a whole lot better with the ball either. They did get six points but they too, during this same six minute segment, had six turnovers and missed nine shots.

Maybe the sun was in their eyes. It poured in for the entire game, making one end difficult to defend on and the other one hard to see the basket or anything else. I’m guessing that the folks who scheduled an afternoon game at Pentucket failed to consider the sun factor.

Brooke Stewart defends another of the area’s top scorers, sophomore Nicole Viselli.

Two of the top scorers in the area (Brooke Stewart and Nicole Viselli) were in the game. Nicole led all scorers with seventeen points.

Junior Julia Simonetti (#14) defends Alex Moore of Pentucket

I once again met the gentleman who misunderstood what I do and embarrassed himself (and me) at Newburyport. He came over to talk to someone near me. When I got a chance I asked him if he was “scouting.” He looked a bit stunned and left.

(I collect my own stats and usually check them with newspaper coverage, take my own pictures, write my own captions and draw my own conclusions. Any mistakes I make in doing so are unintentional.)

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Masconomet, Pentucket

Tagged as Bob Romeo, Brooke Stewart, Cape Ann League, Chelsea Nason, Julia Simonetti, Masco, Masconomet, Nicole Viselli, Pentucket, Tess Nogueira