Category Archives: Ipswich

May 8, 2014 · 11:16 pm

Amesbury holds off Ipswich 2-1 in Cape Ann League baseball

Pat Scanlon scores the second Amesbury run on a close play at the plate.

Ben Cullen gets the first Amesbury run on an infield out

(Ipswich MA) Both teams loaded the bases in the first inning but only one team (Amesbury) came away with runs.

The two runs that the Indians scored in the first inning proved to be the difference as Amesbury defeated Ipswich, 2-1, on a beautiful Thursday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

The victory put an eight-game losing streak to rest for the Indians (4-9).

The Tigers (2-10) wasted a terrific pitching performance by senior Sean Whooley. Sean allowed only four hits and had six strikeouts.

Chris Grady scores on a hit by Mike Savoie

The missing ingredient for Ipswich on this day was big hits. By “big hits” I mean ones when there are teammates in scoring position. The only “big hit” for Ipswich was by Mike Savoie in the third inning when he drove in Chris Grady from third. The rest of the opportunities, and there were ten of them, were squandered.

Nick Hawrylciw picked up the win for the Indians with a complete-game, six-hitter. The senior stranded ten runners.

His biggest pitch of the game? His last one. The Tigers had runners on second and third with two out. Austin Rubino was the batter with a 3-2 count. Nick Hawrylciw’s pitch hit Austin but to everyone’s surprise Austin was called out. Why? Batter’s interference. I spoke with both umpires afterwards and they explained that the batter (Austin) had leaned into the strike zone when he got hit therefore the pitch was called a strike. It ended the game with Nick Hawrylciw getting credited with a strikeout.

Austin Rubino about to be called for batter interference

Amesbury capitalized on Ipswich miscues to get their two runs in the first inning. The Indians started off the first with Ben Cullen getting hit by a pitch, Pat Scanlon reaching on an error (Chris Grady), and Mac Short walking. Nick Hawrylciw’s fielder’s choice brought Ben Cullen across. Then pitcher Sean Whooley’s pitch in the dirt escaped catcher Jon O’Brien and Pat Scanlon was able to slide into home on a very close play.

Twice during the game Amesbury was able to pull their infield in and prevent runs from scoring on groundouts.

Ben Cullen tries for third base.

Amesbury sent only twelve batters to the plate in the final four innings. In a bizarre fifth inning, the Indians had two hits (Chris Chioffi and Ben Cullen) but both runners were thrown out by IHS catcher Jon O’Brien.

In the seventh inning, Ipswich had a great chance to tie the game. First batter Dan Bennett walked but then was picked off first. Sure enough, next batter Sean Whooley singled, and after a popout, Freddy Cerundolo doubled. Minus the pickoff, the Tigers have tied the game.

Leftfielder Alex Morris about to make a running catch

Alex Morris paced Ipswich with two hits. He also made a great catch to end the second inning.

CAL All-League catcher Mac Short blocked a number of pitches in the dirt.

Ipswich won the earlier meeting between the two teams, 6-3, on April 18th.

Both teams return to action on Saturday morning. Ipswich hosts Rockport and Amesbury hosts Manchester-Essex.

Ipswich has now lost seven straight games.

Weather? Absolutely perfect.

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

Sean Whooley

Mike Savoie

Chris Chioffi

Nick Hawrylciw

Pickoff attempt

Chris Chioffi out stealing

Chris Grady bunts

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Cape Ann League, Ipswich

Tagged as Ben Cullen, Nick Hawrylciw, Pat Scanlon, Sean Whooley

May 6, 2014 · 10:52 pm

Joey Bertrand sparks 7-5 Saugus win over Ipswich in CAL baseball

Joey Bertrand congratulated after the game

Dan Bennett strikes out to end the game

(Ipswich MA) Saugus ran its winning streak to six as they defeated Ipswich, 7-5, on a windy Tuesday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Ipswich (2-9) has now lost six straight and maybe none tougher than this one. IHS coach Gardy O’Flynn wasn’t feeling well before the game and I suspect that this excruciating loss did nothing to improve his condition.

The infield play of both teams was very shaky. Of the twelve runs scored only three were earned.

Mike Swanson heads for home with the seventh Sachems run

Saugus senior Joey Bertrand was the difference maker in this game. His two-out, two-strike double scored pinchrunner Mike Swanson and gave the Sachems a two-run cushion in the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom half, Ipswich put their first two runners on but Joey came up with an assist and two strikeouts to finish off the Tigers.

Both Kurt Martin and Anthony Freni pitched before Joey Bertrand closed out the final 2 2/3 innings.

In a game with eight infield errors, one terrific defensive play by Sachems first baseman Mike Molina stood out. Why? Ipswich had already scored a run in the sixth inning and only trailed 6-5 with a runner in scoring position. Saugus third baseman Alex Pettanati fielded Alex Rubino’s two-out grounder cleanly but his throw was low. However, Mike Molina scooped the ball out of the dirt preventing the tying run from coming across.

Ipswich had baserunners galore thanks to four Saugus errors, seven walks, and six hits. The Tigers did get five runs but they stranded runners in every inning.

Luke Sirois (#4) caught in a rundown by catcher Johnny Prentice

The biggest play in this game may have been in the fourth inning when Ipswich, with one run already in, loaded the bases with one out. You had to assume that Chris Grady’s fly ball to centerfield would score Luke Sirois from third…….but instead it turned into a double play. Luke was late tagging up and then was tagged out in a rundown. Ouch!

Ryan Silva pitched the first four innings for Ipswich while Alex Morris pitched the final three.

The Tigers scored in the first when Dan Bennett was hit by a pitch, took second on a wild pitch, and third on a fielder’s choice. Freddy Cerendolo’s sharp single to left brought Dan home.

The Sachems (8-5) picked up a run after singles by Pat Murray and Joey Bertrand in the second inning set up Alex Pettanati for a sacrifice fly.

The Tigers defense allowed two Saugus runs in the third inning. A Ryan Silva strikeout escaped catcher Jay Galoski allowing the batter to reach first and a run to score. Chris Grady also had an error at third in this inning.

Ball goes through second baseman Liam Sullivan

Two more Ipswich miscues led to three unearned runs in the fourth inning. First shortstop Mike Savoie and then second baseman Liam Sullivan booted what would have been the final out of the inning.

Credit Ipswich. Though down, 6-1, they came up with runs in the 4th, 5th, and 6th to close to 6-5.

An Alex Pettanati error set up the Ipswich run in the fourth. That also was the inning an Ipswich run could have scored from third on a fly ball but didn’t.

In the Ipswich fifth, the Tigers picked up two runs. Ryan Silva’s fielder’s choice drove across Austin Rubino. An error by Saugus shortstop Jay Lever produced the second Ipswich run.

After Dan Bennett singled and reached second on a fielder’s choice, Jay Lever’s low throw to first on Freddy Cerendolo’s grounder allowed Dan to cross with the fifth Ipswich score.

Joey Bertrand

But 6-5 was as close as Ipswich would get. Joey Bertrand’s RBI in the seventh iced it for the visitors.

Dan Bennett had two hits and scored two runs for Ipswich.

Weather? Sometimes the sun was out and sometimes it wasn’t. The wind was steady and chilling when the sun went in.

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

Ryan Silva

Dan Cacciola

Austin Rubino (#14) looks to be in trouble

Third baseman Chris Grady throws to first

Mike Savoie

Johnny Prentice gets picked off first

SHS starter Kurt Martin

Ryan Silva steals second

Leave a comment

Filed under Cape Ann League, Ipswich, Saugus

Tagged as Dan Bennett, Joey Bertrand, Ryan Silva

April 28, 2014 · 8:27 pm

Triton softball takes 2nd straight with 13-1 win over Ipswich

Triton pitcher Mara Spears sets to throw to first.

The Triton defense was flawless. Here 3B Christine Ciccone catches a foul popup

(Byfield MA) That’s two straight for the Triton softball team.

The Vikings (2-8) defeated winless Ipswich, 13-1, on a windy, cold Monday afternoon of Cape Ann League softball.

The game ended in the fifth inning when Taylor Johnson slid across after a wild pitch to kick in the 12-run mercy rule.

Mara Spears, coming off a 3-hitter in the Vikings, 2-0, win at Saugus on Friday, tossed another 3-hitter against the visiting Tigers. Mara walked only one Tiger and the Triton defense was flawless behind her.

Carolyn Lynch scores the Ipswich run

Ipswich put the three hits together in the second inning and got their only run as Amy Neenan drove in teammate Carolyn Lynch with a single.

The Vikings took full advantage of Ipswich walks, wild pitches, and errors through the first three innings to take a commanding, 9-1, lead.

In the final inning plus, Triton rapped six hits to collect four more runs.

The Vikings sent nine batters to the plate in three of the 4+ innings they batted.

Christine Ciccone paced Triton with two RBI both on walks. Lily Anderson, Rylee Culverwell, Casey Ross, and Mara Spears had one RBI each.

The top three in the Vikings’ batting order (Rylee Culverwell, Casey Ross, Mara Spears) each scored three runs. Mara had as many hits (three) as she gave Ipswich.

Second baseman Gabby DAgostino stops a grounder

IHS starter sophomore Abby Sadoway issued nine walks in three innings of work. Five of the nine runners that scored did so on wild pitches.

Freshman Katie Lynch started the fourth and yielded four runs on six hits.

Ipswich (0-5) has allowed 83 runs through five games with the large number of free passes hurting the Tigers. IHS coach Jim Hounam (coached Triton for 20+ years) will look to turn things around tomorrow when Ipswich hosts Georgetown.

Triton has turned its season around after starting with eight straight losses under first-year coach Michele Brewer. In the string of losses, the Vikings were on the wrong end of three one-run games.

shortstop Rylee Culverwell

In the 2-0 win over Saugus, Rylee Culverwell had a home run.

Triton will be at Lynnfield tomorrow (Tuesday).

Carolyn Lynch (Ipswich) and Mara Spears (Triton) were Cape Ann League All-League selections in 2013. Jill Lombard (Ipswich) was a CAL All-Star.

Sophomore Rylee Culverwell looks like a natural at shortstop. She played 3B last year.

Triton catcher Julia Hartman walked all four times she batted.

Weather? Any time you come to Triton there will be wind. If you ever come there when it is cloudy you can expect it to be colder than you planned.

Triton used to only have a fence in right field. It is now extended around the entire outfield. There was no way a ball could ever be hit over that fence the way the wind was blowing in from left field this afternoon.

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

Shannon Lyons about to catch a fly ball

Jill Lombard

Carolyn Lynch set to throw to first

Katie Lynch

Casey Ross get 3B as Carly Coughlin reaches for the ball

Casey Ross gets 3B as Carly Coughlin reaches for the ball

Mara Spears

Kylie Gilroy fields a grounder

Abby Sadoway

Julia Hartman (4 walks)

Leave a comment

Filed under Cape Ann League, Ipswich, Triton

Tagged as Carolyn Lynch, Casey Ross, Christine Ciccone, Mara Spears, Rylee Culverwell

April 5, 2014 · 10:41 am

Win and tie in Amesbury/Ipswich outdoor boys/girls track meet

Michaela Hedderman wins the 100. The IHS sophomore also won the 200.

(Ipswich) How often are their ties in outdoor track meets? I suspect that the odds are high but that was how the girls’ part of the Amesbury/Ipswich event ended – 72 1/2 points each on Friday afternoon.

The Ipswich boys won, 80-62.

Weather conditions? Brutal. Constant wind with temps generously estimated in the low 40’s. Plenty of shivering participants on hand. Veteran spectators were dressed for snow.

Below is a collection of pictures from the event which will enlarge if you click on them:

Isabel Prussman high jumps

Devin Smith high jumps

Michael Riddles wins one mile and two mile races

Michaela Hedderman long jumps

Amanda Martin tries to keep warm

Isabel Prussman readies for the long jump

Nora McMorrow wins the pole vault competition

Pat Halloran captures 400 hurdles

Hailee Gibadlo cruises in 2 mile

James Stone gets 400

Amanda Martin is winner in 400

Ryan White was high jump winner

Julia Shorter gets first in mile run

Alex Jean-Charles takes 100

Amesbury pole vaulter

Matt Jaeger (he won triple jump) in the long jump

Jill Calvani takes 400 hurdles

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Alex Jean-Charles, Amanda Martin, Devin Smith, Hailee Gibadlo, Isabel Prussman, Jill Calvani, Julia Shorter, Matt Jaeger, Michael Riddle, Michaela Hedderman, Pat Halloran, Ryan White

December 13, 2013 · 11:54 pm

Ipswich girls take opener over Amesbury 38-33

McKenzie Cloutier (23) tries to stop driving Abby McCarthy

Ipswich coach Dot Stanley nears first win

(Ipswich MA) The new-look Ipswich girls’ basketball team opened with a, 38-33, win over Amesbury on Friday night in their Cape Ann League openers.

The Tigers (1-0) have a new coach (Dot Stanley) and plenty of inexperienced players. Graduated are Brigid O’Flynn and Julia Davis. Transferred to private schools are Masey Zegarowski and Caroline Soucy. Those four girls were major parts of the 19-4 Tigers of 2012-13.

But on this night the new kids in the Tiger Den had enough to hold off Amesbury. The Indians (0-1) were within two (34-32) with less than two minutes left but couldn’t get shots to fall in crunch time.

The key to the Ipswich victory was their willingness to take the ball to the basket. Their aggressiveness turned up a ton of free throws (34) and also eliminated the Indians’ Amanda Martin during crunch time with five fouls.

Junior Abby McCarthy paced Ipswich with eleven points and was able to get to the free throw line thirteen times.

Amanda Martin (11 points) takes a shot

Junior Amanda Martin led Amesbury with eleven points and also had several steals.

Amesbury was 10-11 last season and qualified for the state tournament.

In this opener the Indians got a three from Amanda Martin in the first 1 1/2 minutes and then scored just one point over the next nine minutes. Ipswich took advantage of the scoring drought, as well as eleven Amesbury turnovers, and built up a 14-4 lead early in the second quarter.

The Ipswich still led, 17-8 with two minutes to go in the second period after a Jenna Gagnon steal and layin.

But Amesbury dominated the rest of the quarter. Steals by Amanda Martin (2) and freshman Madison Napoli all led to scores and the Indians only trailed, 17-16, at the half.

The visitors actually got the lead early in the third period but the Ipswich persistence in going to the rim made the difference the rest of the way.

Freshman Kelsey Daly drives past Abigail Sartori

Amesbury made more baskets (6) than Ipswich (3) in the second half but not free throws. The Tigers canned thirteen while Amesbury connected on five.

There were plenty of turnovers by both teams in this game. Most of them came on ill-advised passes in the front court.

In the first half Ipswich used the give-and-go a number of times to get good looks.

Free throw shooting for both teams should improve……….it needs to! The Tigers missed 15 while making 19. The Indians missed 8 while making 6.

Both teams return to action Tuesday night (6:30PM). Ipswich hosts Rockport while Amesbury hosts Manchester-Essex.

Ipswich boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Jenna Gagnon shoots as Courtney Borkowski defends

Amanda Martin

Abby McCarthy (11 points)

pile up

loose ball

Maddi Hill breaks away

Jordan Morrissey defends Abigail Sartori

opening tip

Madison Napoli breaks away from Jackie Gagnon

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Abby McCarthy, Amanda Martin, Bridget Curran, Coach Dot Stanley, Courtney Borkowski, Jenna Gagnon

October 14, 2013 · 8:13 pm

Ipswich defeats Amesbury 2-1 in Cape Ann League girls soccer

Devin Smith about to kick game winner as freshman Molly Lynch (19) tries to catch up

Amanda Martin (12) and Katie Monahan (18) battle

(Amesbury MA) If the Ipswich girls soccer team scores at least a goal in a game, they have come away with points this season.

That formula held true once again as the Tigers defeated the Amesbury Indians, 2-1, on a splendid holiday morning contest at Cashman Elementary School in Cape Ann League action.

Ipswich (6-3-5) has not scored many goals (twenty-one) but they had made them count because their defense has been solid.

Ipswich senior Devin Smith collected the game-winner in the second half just three minutes after Jill Hadwen had tied the score for the home team.

Amesbury (4-8-1) is clearly in a rebuilding year after graduating eight starters off the 2012 squad that went 16-1-2.

Sarah Wallis (21) in close

Ipswich, on the other hand, has plenty of experienced players in place from 2012’s 11-5-7 team.

With the win over Amesbury, the Tigers now have 17 points and are closing in on qualifying for the state tournament (they’ve done it 4 straight seasons) with four games left.

The Tigers had the territorial edge in this one in my opinion. They were at their best in the middle of the field and forced Amesbury to use the outside lanes to get deep into the Ipswich end.

Cape Ann League All-Star Katie Monahan was part of most of the Ipswich threats. Her corner kick in the first half set up teammate Emily Evans for the first Tigers’ goal. In the second half, she was part of some Ipswich pressure deep in the Amesbury end that forced a turnover and led indirectly to Devin Smith’s game winner.

In the season opener (September 3rd) for both Ipswich and Amesbury, Katie tallied the winning goal in a 2-1 victory. Let’s just say that the Indians won’t miss having her around!

The first Ipswich goal came off a corner kick twenty minutes into the first half. The field at Cashman is definitely narrow so corner kicks can end up where trouble lurks for defenders, especially the goalie.

Katie Monahan’s CK went off the hands of Amesbury sophomore goalie Zoe Fitzgerald and into an area where several Tigers, including senior Emily Evans, were positioned. Emily put the loose ball into the net.

Ipswich corner kick sails over AHS goalie Zoe Fitzgerald

Emily Evans (2) celebrates her goal

Ipswich led 1-0 at the half and because of the positional domination I thought they would get the next goal. But it didn’t work that way.

Two minutes after a very dangerous second-half Ipswich scoring chance (Emily Evans headed a CK by Maria Balzer over the net), Amesbury’s Hayley Tagliente was fouled setting up a direct kick.

Senior Kelly DiFazio took the direct kick and put it on net. Ipswich GK Hannah Lynch and Amanda Martin collided as the ball reached the front of the net and a juicy rebound dropped to the ground. Junior Jill Hadwen, who never stopped running toward the net, collected the loose ball and drove it into the net to tie the score.

Jill Hadwen (14) never stops running and it will pay off in a goal

So after twenty-six minutes of the second half the score was tied. I started to think that maybe Amesbury might break its four-game losing streak. Wrong again.

Ipswich got Amesbury trapped in their own end three minutes later. The Indians had been successful most of the time in keeping the Tigers out of the middle………but not this time.

Kelly DiFazio (7) runs with Devin Smith (12)

Senior Devin Smith intercepted a pass and broke in clean from the left. Devin had AHS goalie Zoe Fitzgerald at her mercy and blasted a shot into the left side of the net with eleven minutes to go.

There were no “nearly scored” for either team the rest of the way and the Tigers left with a 2-1 win.

Ipswich next will travel to Rockport on Wednesday for a 7PM game. They tied the Vikings 0-0 last time.

Amesbury visits winless Manchester-Essex on Wednesday night (7:15PM).

I was impressed with the play of Amanda Martin and Kelly DiFazio of the Indians. Amanda was all over the field looking comfortable at either end. The junior had four goals in a game this season.

Kelly is an important defender for Amesbury. She plays with confidence and is not afraid to pull the ball back from a rushing attacker. The senior had the assist on the Amesbury goal.

corner kick

Junior JoAnna Perry of Ipswich caught my eye too. She’s not tall but she wasn’t shy about getting into the middle of things. She was a good passer and she also had the skills to pull the ball away from attackers.

The weather was simply stunning with plenty of October sun. Good turnout of friends and family, many still talking about the day before in which both the Patriots and Red Sox served up terrific memories.

Ipswich is 50-24-25 over the last 4+ seasons.

The Tigers have given up only 11 goals (four to Newburyport) in their fourteen games. The Indians have surrendered 34 goals during thirteen games.

Tigers goalie Hannah Lynch saved a penalty kick in the 2-1 win over the Indians in September.

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

ball rolls to AHS goalie Zoe Fitzgerald

Jill Hadwen

Emily Evans

ball in the middle

Katie Monahan corner kick

Kelly DiFazio

Katie Monahan and Amanda Martin

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Amanda Martin, Devin Smith, Emily Evans, Hannah Lynch, Jill Hadwen, Katie Monahan, Kelly DiFazio, Zoe Fitzgerald

September 17, 2013 · 9:46 pm

Strong first half gets Ipswich past Manchester Essex 4-1 in girls soccer

Katie Monahan goes down after firing a shot that became the second Ipswich goal.

Sydney Law (#17) had two goals for the Tigers

(Ipswich MA) Manchester Essex was the better team over the final thirty minutes.

However, the first fifty minutes belonged to Ipswich as their girls soccer team downed the Hornets, 4-1, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Cape Ann League Division 2 action.

Ipswich (2-0-2) pressured ME so much in the first half that their goalkeeper (Hannah Lynch) never touched the ball.

Meanwhile, the Tigers tallied three times in the first half, twice by sophomore Sydney Law and once by senior Katie Monahan. Two of the Ipswich scores came in the last two minutes of the first half.

Deven Smith breaks in early in the second half

Devin Smith breaks in early in the second half

Devin Smith added a fourth IHS goal at 32:20 of the second half.

The rest of the way the Hornets carried the play getting a goal from Bridgett Kiernan six minutes later.

The visitors came close several times in the second half but the Ipswich defense had answers when they needed them.

Manchester Essex (0-3-1) lost most of the one-on-one battles in the first half. The Tigers, however, had trouble stringing passes together so their scoring chances were good but not great.

Bridgett Kiernan scored the ME goal with a header

That changed when Ipswich coach Nancy Waddell put in fresh legs after the first ten minutes. Sophomore Sydney Law was one of the new entrants. An Ipswich throw-in led to a good shot and a juicy rebound that Sydney drove home at 29:22.

You thought more goals would come quickly but they didn’t thanks to the ME defense led by Kelly Moore.

However, late in the half, senior Katie Monahan drilled a shot past GK Aisling Batchelder’s left.

Not long after Katie’s second goal of the season, Sydney Law registered a her second goal of the half. This time Sydney broke into open space to get off a shot. The shot was blocked but Sydney put home the rebound.

Those goals gave Ipswich a 3-0 lead after a half.

Devin Smith broke in on the left, in the first part of the second half. The senior ripped a shot high and hard that the ME GK had no chance on.

Kelly Moore, Aisling Batchelder, and Emily Folan eye a corner kick

Give credit to the Hornets. Now down, 4-0, they started to play better. The key? They made their short passing game work. Instead of kicking the ball hard to no one in particular, they began to find teammates. (It was fun to watch.)

The Hornets were able to get into the Tigers side of the field with some frequency and turn up some scoring chances.

Freshman Bridgett Kiernan picked up the lone ME goal by being in the right place at the right time. Senior Sarah Lewiecki launched a long shot from the right that was deflected to the far post. Bridgett was parked in the area and headed home the rebound.

Ipswich GK Hannah Lynch catches a Hornet shot in traffic

The Hornets put on pressure the rest of the way but couldn’t get a second goal.

I was impressed with the defensive work of ME’s Kelly Moore. The senior kept things from getting much worse in the first half by clearing away numerous Ipswich scoring chances.

Sydney Law also caught my eye. Besides being tireless, the sophomore has the skills to create openings for herself. She should score a lot of goals in 2013.

The Tigers next opponent will be a very good Lynnfield Pioneers team. Ipswich will start the game in Lynnfield at 3:45PM on Thursday.

The Hornets will host Georgetown on the same day at the same time.

Sophie Marsh and Hornet GK Aisling Batchelder eye a loose ball

The Tigers (11-5-7 in 2012) are looking to make the state tournament for the fifth straight year. They have been 44-21-20 during the last four seasons.

The Hornets (2-15-1 in 2012) are looking to qualify for the tournament for the first time in seven years.

Tigers coach Nancy Waddell told me that former Ipswich soccer star Courtney Long is at Gettysburg. Courtney was a girl with a shot.

The Tigers had only scored a total of two goals (Emily Evans and Katie Monahan) in the first three games. Coach Waddell was a goal scorer at Princeton and she told me that more than a few people have asked her why she can’t develop scorers. She may have one in Sydney Law.

The weather was terrific……sunny and in the high 60s.

Thanks to both teams for providing me with rosters.

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

action in front of the ME goal

Emily Evans tries to escape Sarah Lewiecki and Megan Clark

Sydney Law and Phoebe Biggar

Emily Brengle and Sydney Law try to contain Bridgett Kiernan

Maria Balzer

Sarah Wallis and Sydney Christopher

Sarah Lewiecki

Hannah Lynch

Leave a comment

Filed under Ipswich, Manchester-Essex

Tagged as Aisling Batchelder, Bridgett Kiernan, Coach Nancy Waddell, Deven Smith, Hannah Lynch, Katie Monahan, Kelly Moore, Manchester-Essex, Sydney Law

May 14, 2013 · 9:19 pm

Sean Whooley 2-hits Amesbury in Ipswich 4-0 shutout

Sean Whooley pitched a 2-hitter, had two hits, scored a run, and drove in a run.

Sean Whooley tracks down a bunt attempt

(Amesbury) In years to come, when the talk around the water cooler turns to the Ipswich Tigers’ 2013 season, I strongly suspect that their games with Amesbury will get mentioned.

Why? The Tigers defeated Amesbury twice and didn’t allow a run in either game.

Today, was the second win as Ipswich (4-10) put pitching, hitting, and defense together in a perfect package and shut out Amesbury, 4-0, on a cool Tuesday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Ipswich starter Sean Whooley allowed just two hits (Zack Fitzgerald and John Pesci) picking up his second victory of the season.

Mac Short – robbed by Ryan Silva

Sean struck out just one batter so the outs were made in other ways. On this day, the Ipswich defense made numerous big plays highlighted by a run-saving stab by leftfielder Ryan Silva in the corner off Mac Short in the Amesbury sixth.

The Tigers collected ten hits off of Amesbury’s first-time starter Devlin Gobeil getting at least one in every inning. Josh Guertin, Sean Whooley, and Austin Rubino each had two hits for the visitors.

Ipswich scored its first run in the second inning. Austin Rubino doubled to left with one out and came home on Eric Gongas’ single to center.

In the fourth inning, Sean Whooley singled, stole second, and reached third on a wild pitch. Ryan Law drove Sean home with a bullet single to center.

Shawn Bannon takes in a foul popup

Despite all the hits, Sean Whooley’s pitching, and the tight defense, the Tigers lead was only, 2-0, through six innings. Let’s toss a cliché’ out here: it was still anyone’s ballgame!

But in the seventh Ipswich added two more runs. Josh Guertin was hit by a pitch with two outs. Josh then stole second and came home on Kyle Barber’s double over John Pesci’s head in rightfield. Sean Whooley singled to left bringing Kyle Barber in with the fourth Tiger run.

That four-run lead held up through the Amesbury seventh.

Amesbury (7-8) hit the ball hard a couple of times with nothing to show for it. Devlin Gobeil nearly reached the fence in straightaway center in the second but Ryan Law tracked it down. Twice the Indians lined to third baseman Josh Guertin. One of those line drives turned into a double play.

Kyle Barber crosses home with the fourth Ipswich run

The heartbreaker for Amesbury, however, was Mac Short’s rope in the sixth. Tommy Connors was on first with two outs when the Amesbury catcher lasered a ball toward the leftfield corner. Ryan Silva had a great jump on it and stabbed it near the 344-foot sign to end the inning. If that ball lands, Tommy Connors would have scored and Mac Short would have been on second. The score would have been, 2-1, instead of 2-0 with the inning over.

Sean Whooley has now allowed two earned runs in nineteen innings. For those doing the ERA math at home: earned runs (2) divided by innings pitched (19) times nine, means that Sean’s current ERA is 0.74. That is awfully good!

In the first Ipswich/Amesbury game, the biggest play in the Tigers win was a seventh inning, game-ending catch in leftfield by Dan D’Agostino off the bat of, you guessed it, Mac Short.

Ipswich catcher Henry Sacco had his left arm in a sling. He injured the shoulder sliding into second in the Hamilton-Wenham game on Monday. Eric Gongas was the catcher for Ipswich in today’s game.

Alex Amoroso was tagged out at home in the fifth inning by Mac Short on a very close play. Here are four pictures of the play:

The Tigers have now won two straight after losing six straight and will face Rockport at Rockport on Thursday.

Amesbury will look to end a two-game losing streak at Manchester-Essex on Thursday.

Ipswich boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Austin Rubina and Zack Fitzgerald

Eric Gongas prepares to throw out John Pesci at first

Shortstop Mike Savoie fires to first for the final out

Josh Guertin

Sean Whooley handles a popup

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Alex Amoroso, Austin Rubino, Devlin Gobeil, Eric Gongas, Josh Guertin, Kyle Barber, Mac Short, Sean Whooley

April 30, 2013 · 8:47 pm

Evan Habib pitches 3-hit shutout as Newburyport downs Ipswich 3-0

Evan Habib congratulated by catcher Connor Wile after pitching a 3-hit shutout against Ipswich

Connor Wile races home with the third Newburyport run

(Ipswich) Evan Habib tossed a 3-hit shutout as Newburyport defeated Ipswich, 3-0, on a very pleasant Tuesday afternoon.

Evan (making his second start) permitted only one runner to reach second and issued only two walks. The defense behind him was flawless.

The Clippers (4-4) took advantage of four Tigers errors to get the runs needed for the win.

Ipswich pitching (Ryan Law and Sean Whooley) was solid and allowed only four hits but the defense did in the Tigers (2-6).

Newburyport picked up it’s first run in the third inning. Three Ipswich errors (Josh Guertin, Sean Whooley, Mike Savoie) set up Ian Michaels for the first Clippers score. On Colton Fontaine’s single to deep short, Ian reached third and kept going home as the throw from short to first was low.

Colton Fontaine ready to put the tag on Alex Amoroso

This was a one-run game into the top of the sixth inning with the outcome far from figured out.

In the sixth, Ipswich starter Ryan Law gave up a single to Colton Fontaine and a walk to Connor Wile. Ipswich coach Gardy O’Flynn brought in Sean Whooley to replace Ryan. Sean got Colby Morris to pop out but next batter Connor MacRae lofted a long fly to right center. Rightfielder Austin Rubino raced after it but the ball bounced off his glove and both Colton Fontaine and Connor Wile crossed home. Connor MacRae ended up at third.

Connor MacRae had two hits.

In Connor MacRae’s two previous at-bats he had singled down the rightfield line each time. In the Connor’s third at-bat (in the sixth inning), rightfielder Austin Rubino was positioned closer to the line. That placement cost him a couple of steps as Connor’s deep fly went to right center.

Sean Whooley was able to get the next two batters (Mike Sweeney and Ryan Furlong) to ground out. The damage, however, had been done.

The Tigers had tough luck in the fourth inning after Alex Amoroso singled and reached second on a passed ball. Alex was on the move toward third when teammate Henry Sacco hit a grounder directly to third baseman Colton Fontaine. Colton had plenty of time to tag Alex and then throw to first to complete the double play.

Ipswich has now lost four of their last five.

Colton Fontaine and Connor MacRae each had two hits for the Clippers. Colton also had two stolen bases.

Jordan Thibault

Alex Amoroso, Jordan Thibault, and Austin Rubino had singles for Ipswich.

Newburyport turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the third inning.

The Tigers had a double play in the fourth when shortstop Mike Savoie speared Ryan Furlong’s liner and Connor MacRae was picked off second to end that inning.

The weather was terrific for late April.

This game took less than two hours to play.

On Thursday Newburyport will host Manchester-Essex while Ipswich visits Triton.

Newburyport boxscore

Ipswich boxscore

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

Ian Michaels scores the first NHS run

Henry Sacco

Newburyport coach Steve Malenfant

Brian Fiascone handles the middle of a 5-4-3 double play.

Sean Whooley

Connor Wile chases an infield nubber

Leave a comment

Filed under Ipswich, Newburyport

Tagged as Alex Amoroso, Connor MacRae, Connor Wile, Evan Habib, Ryan Law, Sean Whooley

April 16, 2013 · 6:24 pm

Opportunistic Ipswich defeats Amesbury 2-0 in Cape Ann League baseball

The Ipswich Tigers congratulate leftfielder Dan DAgostino on his game-ending catch

Winning pitcher Alex Amoroso tossed a 3-hitter.

(Ipswich) Ipswich made two unearned runs stand up as they defeated Amesbury, 2-0, on a sunny Tuesday morning in Cape Ann League baseball action.

The Tigers (1-2) were limited to three hits by Amesbury’s Andy Reidy but took advantage of extra at-bats, due to errors, in the third and fifth innings to get the runs they needed.

Ipswich starter Alex Amoroso was the MVP (in my opinion) for the Tigers. The IHS senior scattered three singles over six innings, scored the first Ipswich run, and drove in the second run.

Although Alex scattered three singles there are other ways to get on base and Amesbury used them. In five different innings the Indians had runners in scoring position but a clutch hit never surfaced.

Amesbury had their best scoring chance in the fourth inning. Devlin Gobiel reached on Ipswich shortstop Mike Savoie’s error and Zack Fitzgerald (two hits) followed with a walk. A fielder’s choice by Jack Fortin left runners on first and third with one out. Jack then stole second but Alex Amoroso escaped without any damage as he got both Adam Ivancic and Ben Cullen to pop out.

Ipswich took the lead in the third inning. Alex Amoroso reached first when third baseman Zack Fitzgerald couldn’t field his grounder with two outs. Two pitcher/catcher problems allowed Alex to get to third. Henry Sacco lined a single to left driving home the first Tigers run.

Sean Whooley leads off third

In the fifth, Ipswich got a second tainted run. Sean Whooley started the inning doubling over Adam Ivancic’s head in left. Dan D’Agostino followed with a bunt attempt. Catcher Mac Short’s throw to first was dropped by second baseman Tommy Connors. (Runners were now on first and third with no outs.) Ipswich coach Gardy O’Flynn put both runners in motion and Alex Amoroso’s grounder to short delivered Sean Whooley from third with the second run.

Sophomore shortstop Mike Savoie had three assists in the second inning. Senior Josh Guertin had three assists in the fifth inning.

Ryan Law earned a save with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. The final out, however, was a bit of an adventure. Mac Short hit a fly ball down the left field line and the combination of a tough sun, and a long way to run, spelled potential trouble for Ipswich. Shortstop Mike Savoie and left fielder Dan D’Agostino came full-speed into the same area and at the last second Dan made the catch to end the game.