Category Archives: Manchester-Essex

January 23, 2017 · 11:22 pm

Manchester-Essex gets 39-34 road win over Triton

Kaitlyn O’Connell (#23) makes a key left-handed layup over a Triton defender.

Kaitlyn O’Connell (led all scorers with eleven points)

(Byfield MA) Freshman Kaitlyn O’Connell sparked a fourth quarter rally that gave the Manchester-Essex Hornets a 39-34 win over the Triton Vikings on Monday night in Cape Ann League action.

Both teams entered the game with eight W’s. Tonight’s ninth for the Hornets moves them one game closer to the ten wins needed to qualify for the MIAA tournament.

This was a poor-shooting affair with few fast-breaks. The half-court defenses for both teams were excellent forcing low-percentage shots and limiting second-change opportunities.

Kaitlyn’s heroics came in the second half as she canned all eleven of her points. Her last-minute three in the third quarter moved her team to within three (27-24).

Early in the fourth quarter ME sophomore Grace Brennan struck from beyond the arc and added two free throws to give the Hornets the lead for good, 29-28, with 6:22 remaining.

Then Kaitlyn put her own six-point package together and this run gave the visitors the separation needed to win this one.

Kaitlyn’s three baskets in crunch time gave a glimpse of the kind of player she could become at ME. The first one was a floater in the lane. (The floater is the great equalizer for a point guard shooting over shot blockers.) In the second one, Kaitlyn stole the ball from Tessa Lafrance and turned it into a layup. In the final basket, the freshman got down the lane and successfully used her left hand to keep her layup attempt from being blocked.

Kaitlyn’s 6-point run gave the Hornets a 35-30 lead with 1:10 to go.

Alex Kennedy tries to find a way to get a shot off against Sarah Robinson.

In the last minute, Triton (8-5) had free throws by Alex Kennedy and a cashed jump shot from Izzy Cambece but those scores were offset by four ME free throws (Mel Carter and Sarah Robinson).

Another key to the Hornets’ win? High-scoring Tessa Lafrance was held to only four points. Credit Mel Carter with a little help from Bridgett Kiernan and Emily Jacobson for denying Tessa many clean looks.

Triton’s best moments were when they put nine unanswered points together to turn a 14-10 deficit in the first half into a 19-14 lead in the first minute of the second half.

In that mix of points was an old-fashioned three by Alex Kennedy (feed from Tessa Lafrance) and a Tessa fast-break layup after a ME turnover.

The Vikings had the lead to six (27-21) late in the third period before Kaitlyn O’Connell influenced the outcome in favor of ME in the final going.

The Vikings have only played at home five times in thirteen games. On Friday night they will host winless Lynnfield.

Manchester-Essex (9-3) have won all five games at home including victories over Pentucket and North Reading.

My previous looks at both teams had two things in common: the teams lost (ME to Newburyport, and Triton to Amesbury) and both had one very bad quarter.

The Hornets visit 12-1 Amesbury on Friday night.

In Triton’s last win (40-38 over Ipswich), it was Erin Savage making two free throws in the last minute that got the job done.

Classy move by ME’s Sarah Robinson

Classy move by ME’s Sarah Robinson. After Erin Savage made an all-out attempt to make a steal in the last minute of the game (and was called for a foul), Sarah talked to Erin and patted her on the back.

I was impressed with the gritty style of Bridget Sheehan and Alex Kennedy. Both play serious defense and are willing to take the ball to the basket.

Prettiest play of the game? Triton fast break in which Tessa Lafrance found Alex Kennedy breaking in from the left for a layup.

Manchester-Essex box

Triton box

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

Izzy Cambrece and Kaitlyn O’Connell

Bridget Sheehan locates the ball

Bella Pomeroy defends a Tessa Lafrance layup attempt

Bridget Sheehan gets her shot blocked by Mel Carter (#12) and Sarah Robinson (#24).

Mel Carter plays denial defense on Tessa Lafrance

Mel Primpas sets up teammate Bridgett Sheehan for a layup with a nice pass

Mel Primpas sets up teammate Bridget Sheehan for a layup with a nice pass

Alex Kennedy guarded by Kaitlyn O’Connell

Kaitlyn O’Connell hits a third-quarter three

Bridgett Sheehan covered by Grace Brennan

Bridget Sheehan covered by Grace Brennan

Bella Pomeroy shoots in the lane

Erin Savage gets a rebound

Bella Pomeroy looks for a pass

Sarah Robinson

ME coach Lauren Dubois and Bridgett Kiernan

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Triton

Tagged as Grace Brennan, Kaitlyn O'Connell, Tessa LaFrance

January 10, 2017 · 11:41 pm

Newburyport brings down undefeated Manchester-Essex 62-47

Newburyport used its speed to get layups

Anna Hickman (20 points)

(Newburyport MA) What a second quarter!

The Newburyport Clippers took the visiting Manchester-Essex Hornets apart in that second frame and took the suspense over the outcome along with it.

The final was 62-47 for this Tuesday night game but if you were on hand one minute into the second quarter you saw the Hornets with a 16-12 lead.

One minute into the second half, the Clippers (6-2) were in front, 37-20. That was a 25-4 segment for the home team.

How did they do it? After a period of allowing the Hornets, especially Melanie Carter, to get to the basket the Clippers protected the paint better. They also rebounded better. Good defense transferred into up-tempo offense and layups down the other end. Even in their half-court offense Newburyport found ways to get to the basket for points or foul shots.

Anna Hickman (20 points) was a standout on both ends of the court. Her tight D on ME point-guard Kaitlyn O’Connell impacted the Hornets ability to run their offense. The sophomore forced turnovers and was part of numerous NHS fast-breaks. Anna drained two 3’s, made four other baskets, and took ten free throws. Quite a performance against a team that came in undefeated after six games.

Krysta Padellaro (17 points) in for two

Krysta Padellaro (17 points) had a big hand in the win as well, She put up eleven points in the breakaway second quarter. The ME deficit was only four (22-18) five minutes into the second quarter before the NHS junior dribbled the length of the court for one layup, drained a triple, and drove in for another layup. Those seven unanswered, extended the NHS margin to eleven (29-18).

Two free throws by Sarah Robinson (17 points) stopped the bleeding temporarily but the Clippers came back with eight points in a row (Olivia Olson layup & 2 free throws, Krysta jump shot, Anna layup) and the lead was seventeen (37-20) one minute into the second half.

The teams played even the rest of the way.

Manchester-Essex used a zone defense. Their trouble was getting back fast enough to get into it. The Clippers were eager to run after every defensive rebound and collected layups at the other end by doing it.

The Hornets (6-1) were coming off an impressive win at home (39-37) against Pentucket on Friday night.

Newburyport ended up with eighteen turnovers including four straight starting the game. ME finished with sixteen turnovers including five in their disastrous six-point second quarter.

Beth Castantini

Beth Castantini was on the Newburyport bench. She was a 1000-point scorer for the Clippers back in the day.

Manchester-Essex box

Newburyport box

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

Melanie Carter (12 points) had an impressive first quarter

Sarah Robinson (17 points) hit three triples

Katie Hadden

Olivia Olson (12 points)

Loose ball

Krysta Padellaro covered by Bridgett Kiernan

Anna Hickman shot ten free throws

Paige Gouldthorpe

Katie Hadden to the basket

Freshman Maggie Pons defended by freshman Bridget Twombly

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport

Tagged as Anna Hickman, Beth Castantini, Krysta Padellaro, Melanie Carter, Olivia Olson, Sarah Robinson

October 31, 2015 · 9:03 pm

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

Masconomet captains with 2015 championship plaque

Manchester-Essex: 2015 Cape Ann League cross country champions

Maddie Quigley (Triton) finishes first

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Molvar near the finish

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

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

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

Boys top finishers

Jack Carleo and Joe Molvar

HW coach Steve Sawyer gets “special” award

Maddie Quigley comes forward to get award afterwards

Grace Sousa (Georgetown) 10th

Girls top finishers

Jack Carleo (Newburyport) 2nd

Daniel Cosgrove (Masco) 3rd

Eve Feuerbach (ME) 2nd

Grace Moroney (HW) 4th

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

Hailee Gibadlo (Amesbury) 9th

Chris Chabot (Amesbury) won the boys JV title

Emily DeMarco (Ipswich) 10th

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

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

May 15, 2014 · 10:02 pm

Manchester-Essex outlasts Ipswich 10-9 in Cape Ann League baseball

Hunter Flood in the home run trot. The sophomore had five RBI for the Hornets

Liam Logue drives in the 10th ME run

(Ipswich MA) If there is such a thing as a hitters’ duel this was it.

Both Manchester-Essex and Ipswich took plenty of good hacks but it was the Hornets coming away with a 10-9 win on a warm Thursday afternoon.

The Hornets (4-12) took the lead with a 3-run first inning and never trailed. The Tigers (3-12) were within a run with two runners on in both the 6th and 7th innings. ME sophomore reliever Brad Graves got Austin Rubino to pop out to the catcher ending the 6th while junior closer Craig Carter got an infield grounder from Erik Gongas to finish the game.

Today’s game was the last home game for six Ipswich seniors (Jon O’Brien, Erik Gongas, Freddy Cerendolo, Austin Rubino, Ryan Silva and Sean Whooley) and they were recognized by Coach Gardy O’Flynn before the game.

Manchester-Essex jumped into a 7-2 lead after two innings thanks primarily to Hunter Flood. The ME sophomore drove across two in the first with a single and three in the second with a homer over the leftfield fence.

Mike Loebelenz got the win for Manchester-Essex

Ipswich had eleven hits off of Hornets starter (and winner) Mike Loebelenz through five innings. But the Tigers were never able to get more than two runs in any inning despite all the solid raps and trailed 9-7 after five.

The biggest run in the game was the Hornets’ tenth run. The crucial insurance run came in the 7th inning. Brandon Bartlett walked and pinchrunner Chris Carr stole second. Liam Logue’s two-out single through the left side of the IHS infield brought Chris home.

Senior Sean Whooley had four hits and two rbi in his last game on Mile Lane for Ipswich.

Sophomore Alex Morris also had two rbi to go with three hits.

The good crowd on hand saw a very bizarre second inning. After Sean Whooley singled, Mike Savoie grounded to third. ME third baseman Kevin Carter threw wide to second but Sean didn’t realize he was safe. So as he’s jogging off he’s suddenly caught in a rundown between 2B and 3B. No sooner did Sean get tagged out when Mike Savoie is caught in a rundown between 1B and 2B. Fortunately for Mike, the ME rundown ended with a throw into the woods by catcher Dom Cirone that allowed Mike to reach third.

Dom Cirone (3 hits) camps under a popup

Dom Cirone paced the Hornets scoring three times and getting three hits. Hunter Flood and Ethan Ketchum each had two hits. The ME hit total reached twelve off of IHS starter Ryan Silva and reliever Austin Rubino.

ME rightfielder Chuck Otterbein made a terrific running catch on Freddy Cerendolo’s drive in the gap in the third inning.

Manchester-Essex still has a chance to get into the Division 4 post-season tournament. Only the Hornets games versus D4 opponents count toward making the post-season. The Hornets have three games left with D4 opposition (Cristo Rey, Georgetown, and Rockport). ME has to win two of those games to qualify. It’ll be tough since the Hornets have already lost to Cristo Rey and Georgetown this season.

Dan Bennett looks for the plate

The Tigers defeated ME, 12-3, in an earlier meeting.

Today’s winning pitcher (senior Mike Loebelenz) also had victories over Triton and Hamilton-Wenham this season.

Weather? Comfortably warm with clouds showing up to cool things a bit.

Manchester-Essex box

Ipswich box

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

Sean Whooley (4 hits) in a rundown

Jake Long finds a way home

ME closer Craig Carter (#3)

Freddy Cerendolo

Kevin and Sean Whooley

Chuck Otterbein dives into third

Leftfielder Jake Long eyes the home run ball (upper left)

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Ipswich, Manchester-Essex

Tagged as Austin Morris, Craig Carter, Freddy Cerendolo, Hunter Flood, Liam Logue, Sean Whooley

January 17, 2014 · 11:58 pm

Late points by Petey Morton send Manchester-Essex past Triton 57-53

Khalil Brito blocks a layup attempt by Petey Morton

Petey Morton (17 points) had a basket and two free throws in the last three seconds.

(Byfield MA) Petey Morton (17 points) tallied four points in the last three seconds to lead Manchester-Essex past Triton, 57-53, on Friday night in Cape Ann League play.

The Hornets (8-2) had, what looked like, a comfortable ten-point lead (53-43) with three minutes left in the game. But uncomfortable it became as the Vikings started with 3’s (Corey Parsons and Kevin Clark), added two free throws (Kevin Clark) and then had Corey Parsons convert an ME turnover into a layup. When all that excitement ended the game was tied, 53-53, with ten seconds left.

No timeout by the Hornets. Instead senior Petey Morton took the inbounds pass and raced down the floor and connected on an open floater in the lane with three seconds left to put ME up by two.

Triton had time to recover but after a timeout a pass from Khalil Brito, intended for Nick Venor, went out of bounds. ME inbounded the ball to Petey Morton. He was fouled and ended the game with two successful free throws.

This was a tough, fourth-straight loss for Triton (3-6) in a game in which they had a 10-point lead in the first half and also rallied back from a 10-point deficit in the final quarter.

Ellsworth Rogers in a double team

The Vikings Ellsworth Rogers went down with an ankle injury two minutes into the third quarter after a layup and never returned. Some on the Triton side thought that Ellsworth had been tripped but there was no foul called on the play.

Triton built up a 10-point lead (25-15) three minutes into the second quarter. Craig Carter, Sean Gutierrez, and Petey Morton, however, helped ME get back to within four (30-26) by halftime.

Will Burgess (11 points) had a nine-point third quarter to push ME in front, 43-40, by the time that quarter ended.

Khalil Brito of Triton started the scoring in the final quarter with a three to tie the score. After that was a ten-point run by Manchester-Essex (five points from Jeff Durkin, three free throws Sean Gutierrez, jump shot Petey Morton).

But that 10-point spread vanished as the Triton crowd exploded after defensive stops and made shots. And when Sean Gutierrez lost the ball to Corey Parsons for a tying layup, there was no question which side had the momentum.

Petey Morton saw plenty of defense most of the night

But somehow Petey Morton was able to dribble into open space over halfcourt and get an open look at the foul line to hit the game winner.

Petey was obviously not unknown to Triton. The senior is ME’s primary ball-handler. He was pressed hard by Kevin Clark and Khalil Brito most of the time. That’s why the open space Petey found at the end was so surprising.

ME switched from a man-to-man into a 1-3-1 trapping zone to start the second half. Triton turned the ball over four straight times trying to operate against it.

Triton played a tight man-to-man throughout the game. That defense created eleven ME miscues in the first half.

Neither Petey Morton or Sean Gutierrez (15 points) were in the game for the first four minutes of the first quarter.

Kevin Clark (10 points) sets to shoot

Kevin Clark had a buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter. Petey Morton had one of those to end the third quarter.

The Hornets have won five of their last six. Their next game is home on Monday versus Pentucket.

The Vikings will look to end their losing streak at Georgetown on Monday.

Triton was 9-11 last year while Manchester-Essex was 13-8.

Two of the CAL’s most vocal/intense coaches involved in this one. No signs of laryngitis from either Triton’s David Clay or ME’s Bryan Shields, however.

My scorebox from the game.

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

Brad Whitman (13 points) shoots in traffic

Sean Gutierrez runs over Brad Whitman getting a rebound

Cam Armand gets a hand up on Craig Carter

Kevin Carter surrounded

Sean Gutierrez (15 points) puts up a shot in the lane

Jack Freed goes for a block against Cam Armand

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Triton

Tagged as Brad Whitman, Ellsworth Rogers, Kevin Clark, Petey Morton, Sean Gutierrez, Will Burgess

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

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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

August 11, 2013 · 9:29 pm

Rowley evens ITL finals with 6-5 win over Manchester-Essex

Drew Carter crosses home with the eventual game-winner in the sixth inning

Rams coach Jeff Wood congratulates closer Joe Martin after the final out

(Rowley) The Rowley Rams evened their Intertown Twilight League final series with Manchester-Essex, 6-5, on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Eiras Field.

The ME Mariners won the opener of the championship series in Essex, 3-2, thanks to a seventh-inning walkoff run on Saturday afternoon. Caulin Rogers’ single drove across the game winner.

In Game 2, the Mariners battled back from a three-run deficit and went up 5-4 in the fifth inning. But the #2 seed Rams tied the score in the bottom of the 5th and tallied the unearned game-winner in the sixth.

The best-of-five series resumes on Wednesday evening in Essex.

Third baseman Alex Ray chases a deflected ball as Drew Carter approaches third base.

No one person ever loses a team game. However, I’m not sure Mariners third baseman Alex Ray was buying that after his two-out boot enabled the Rams to push across their sixth run. CJ Ingraham’s grounder to Alex deflected off his glove and down the third baseline. Rowley’s Drew Carter, who had singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on Marco Luisi’s fielder’s choice, was on the move with two outs. If Alex cleanly fielded the grounder he had an easy, final-out, force out at third but the error occurred and Drew’s hustle allowed him to beat the throw home with the eventual game winner.

Joe White went the first four innings for Rowley. Adam Newell (winning pitcher) covered the fifth and sixth while Joe Martin earned the save with a hitless seventh.

Nate Bertolino slides in with the fifth ME run

Anyone at Eiras Field will tell you that the seventh had its moment of drama as Mariners’ second batter Brett Cahill hit a long out to right that was close to home-run distance. In an earlier at-bat the ME catcher had doubled off the rightfield fence. There was a bit of an incoming breeze in the seventh inning and instead of tying the game, a putout was recorded by Rams rightfielder Justin Bolla.

Manchester-Essex scored first (in the first) as Rory Gentile led off with a double to the leftfield corner, stole third, and came home on Caulin Rogers sacrifice fly.

The Rams (15-6-2 during the regular season) put up four runs in the second inning. Rowley turned a first-and-third situation into an unearned run. Catcher Brett Cahill’s throw to second (trying to get Cam D’Agostino) was low and Justin Bolla scored from third. An RBI double by Drew Carter and RBI singles by Mike White and CJ Ingraham delivered the other three runs for the home team.

ME (19-4-1 during the regular season) erased the 4-1 deficit in the fourth inning. Adrian Frattini doubled in two runs before an error by Rowley third baseman Koby Thibault (he threw wild to home) produced the tying run.

The Mariners (defending ITL champs) went in front in the fifth. Nate Bertolino reached third after a walk, steal, and fielder’s choice and scored on Mike Cain’s fly-out to center.

Down a run (5-4) in the fifth, it was Rowley’s turn to rally. A couple of two-strike hits (CJ Ingraham and Dmitri Hunt) did the damage. CJ led off with a single and stole second before Dmitri’s RBI single.

Cam DAgostino

If Brett Cahill’s fly to right in the 7th was the longest out, Cam D’Agostino’s rope to center in the Rowley fifth was the hardest hit for an out in the game. Cam’s laser to center was right at CF Rory Gentile and he made the catch for the final out.

In the sixth, Rowley got the unearned game-winner and the series now becomes best two-out-of-three.

Ryan Marques went 5 2/3 innings allowing four earned runs for Manchester-Essex. Adam Philpott recorded the final out in the sixth inning.

Ian Buckley and Adrian Frattini paced ME with two hits apiece. CJ Ingraham, Cam D’Agostino, and Drew Carter did the same for Rowley.

Rowley had runners on second and third in the fourth inning but Ryan Marques retired Mike White, Nick Liguori, and Joe Esposito to escape damage.

The Mariners stole five bases while Rowley stole two.

The biggest outburst against an umpire was in the ME sixth when a very close play at first ended the inning without the runner from third scoring.

Drew Carter – 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 rbi

The last time I saw Drew Carter play (June 18, 2011) was at Fraser Field in Lynn at the D3 state title game that Newburyport won over Pioneer Valley. Drew made a huge defensive play at third in that one.

The last time I saw Rowley play was at Eiras Field two years ago when they defeated Rockport, 5-2, to win their first (?) ITL title.

The last time I saw Adrian Frattini he pitched Manchester-Essex past Newburyport to end the Clippers 18-game winning streak early in the 2012 season.

Rowley boxscore

Manchester-Essex boxscore

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

CJ Ingraham steals second

CJ Ingraham heads home as centerfielder Rory Gentile prepares to throw

Dmitri Hunt reaches third

ME starter Ryan Marques

Caulin Rogers begins slide to third

low throw to second

Nick Liquori

Rory Gentile

trouble at second

Ian Buckley beats pitcher Joe White to first

Alex Ray makes a nice play

Ian Buckley steals

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Rowley

Tagged as Adam Newell, Alex Ray, Brett Cahill, Cam D'Agostino, Caulin Rogers, CJ Ingraham, Dmitri Hunt, Drew Carter, Ian Buckley, Joe Martin, Joe White, Nate Bertolino, Ryan Marques

May 2, 2013 · 8:06 pm

Newburyport defeats Manchester-Essex 3-0 on James Nutter’s six-hitter

Connor MacRae and Colby Morris both scored on Ryan Shorts single in the second inning.

James Nutter tossed a six-hitter in his first start of the season.

(Newburyport) The Clippers (5-4) put together their second straight shutout as they defeated Manchester-Essex, 3-0, on a chilly Thursday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Senior James Nutter tossed a complete game, six-hitter in his first start of the season. Another first-time starter (Evan Habib), had a complete game, three-hitter against Ipswich on Monday.

The visiting Hornets (2-7) have now lost six of seven including two in extra innings. They did, however, knock off defending D4 state champs Georgetown last Saturday.

Newburyport collected two runs (one unearned) in the second inning and another run in the third. That turned out to be more than enough on this day.

The Clippers loaded the bases in the second inning on an error (first baseman Max Nesbit throwing), a single down the third-base line (Colby Morris), and a bunt single (Mike Sweeney). Senior Ryan Short hit a ground single up the middle driving in Connor MacRae and Colby Morris.

A throwing error cost Manchester-Essex a run in the second inning

It looked as if the Clippers might add more runs after Andrew Fiascone walked. However, a double-steal attempt nabbed Mike Sweeney at third. Then a popout to first (Ian Michaels) turned into a double play when Ryan Short, who broke for the plate, couldn’t get back to third. But Newburyport did get two runs.

Their third run came in the next inning. Brian Fiascone doubled to right center leading off. Colton Fontaine’s sacrifice fly moved Brian to third and Connor Wile’s fly to center brought Brian home.

Brandon Bartlett

Hornet pitcher Brandon Bartlett allowed just one hit (Mike Sweeney single) over the final three innings but his teammates couldn’t break through against James Nutter.

ME’s Max Nesbit started the game with a double but James whiffed the next three Hornets to escape.

Clippers leftfielder Mike Sweeney, in the fourth inning, tried unsuccessfully to make a running catch but recovered quickly and gunned down the batter (Craig Carter) at second base.

After Corey McCollum singled in the fifth inning with one out, a bunt attempt (Henry Gedney) was caught in the air by James Nutter. His quick toss to first baseman Connor MacRae doubled off Henry Gedney to end that inning.

Second baseman Brian Fiascone took Mike Sweeneys throw and waits for baserunner Craig Carter

The visitors had two men on in the last inning with two outs before leftfielder Mike Sweeney made a running catch in foul territory to end it.

Newburyport’s next game is tomorrow night (6:30PM) at Rockport. ME returns to action next Tuesday at Pentucket.

A little over a year ago (April 26th) on the same site, Manchester-Essex defeated the defending D3 state champs, 5-2, ending the Clippers 18-game winning streak.

Max Nesbit catches a popup as Ryan Short starts back to third

Brian Fiascone and Mike Sweeney each had two hits for Newburyport.

Craig Carter and Corey McCollum each had two hits for the Hornets.

Shortstop Colby Morris made a nice play on a slow grounder in the second inning.

First baseman Connor MacRae made a nice scoop of a low throw (Colton Fontaine) in the fourth. Connor also put his body in front of a grounder in the final inning recording an unassisted putout.

James Nutter was on one of the winning relay teams for the 2013 D4 state indoor track champion Clippers.

Ryan Short drove in two runs

The weather? Where did the 70 degrees and sunny disappear to?

Newburyport boxscore

Manchester-Essex boxscore

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

Brandon Bartlett chases a bunt as Colby Morris runs for second

Colby Morris

Kevin Carter

Craig Carter tags out Brian Fiascone

Brian Fiascone reaches third base.

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport

Tagged as Brandon Bartlett, Brian Fiascone, Corey McCollum, Craig Carter, James Nutter, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Short

April 22, 2013 · 10:43 pm

Amesbury rallies for two in the eighth to defeat Manchester-Essex 8-7

Adam Ivancic (00) is mobbed after scoring the winning run

Tommy Connors drove in the winning run for Amesbury

(Amesbury) Tommy Connor’s two-out single in the eighth inning gave Amesbury an exciting, 8-7, comeback win over Manchester-Essex on a very cold and windy Monday afternoon in Cape Ann League play.

Junior Andy Reidy pitched a complete game five-hitter and struck out fifteen Hornets.

ME coach Bob Garrett used four pitchers (Sean Desmond, Brandon Bartlett, Kevin Carter, Corey McCollum) and while they only allowed three hits among them, they also surrendered fourteen walks and hit four batters.

The walks and HBP’s enabled the Indians (3-2) to have baserunners and scoring chances galore. The missing ingredient was timely hitting but that showed up in Amesbury’s two-run eighth inning.

In that inning, a two-base throwing error by shortstop Cory Burnham allowed John Pesci to reach. John took third on a passed ball and scored on Adam Ivancic’s RBI single to left. Adam took second with one out and third on another passed ball. After a popout by Ben Cullen, for the second out, Tommy Connors was the batter. Two innings earlier Tommy popped out with the bases loaded with two outs. Not this time. The Indians senior slapped a single to centerfield sending Adam home with the game winner.

Sean Desmond doubled in a run in the eighth

The loss was a tough one for the Hornets because they had gone ahead by a run in the top of the eighth inning. After Jake Fitzgerald singled with two outs, Sean Desmond reached the base of the centerfield fence with a run-scoring double.

But the Hornets (1-3) couldn’t hold the lead.

ME ended up with seven runs and got six of them in a wild third inning as they sent eleven batters to the plate. The Carter brothers (Craig and Kevin) drove in two of the runs but the rest of them were unearned. The Indians had three errors (Mac Short, Andy Reidy, Patrick Scanlon) and two wild pitches.

And there could have been more runs but Andy Reidy K’d Sean Desmond and Henry Gedney with the bases loaded to end that inning.

Amesbury stranded sixteen runners including the bases loaded in three different innings.

Another Amesbury run

Ben Cullen and Devlin Gobeil each scored two runs for the Indians.

Devlin had an RBI grounder in the first inning.

In the third inning, both Zack Fitzgerald and Devlin Gobeil scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Brandon Bartlett’s wild pitch allowed Mac Short to score in the fourth inning.

A two-base throwing error by Cory Burnham enabled Ben Cullen to cross with Amesbury’s fifth run coming in the fifth inning.

A wild pitch by the Hornet’s Kevin Carter sent Devlin Gobeil home with the tying run in the sixth inning.

Manchester-Essex arrived late for the start of the game. On a very cold, windy day those extra 15-20 minutes of waiting were tough to take.

Andy Reidy struck out fifteen Hornets

ME qualified for the state tournament last season for the first time in twenty years.

ME will be hosting Rockport tomorrow. Amesbury hosts Lynnfield.

I can guarantee you that Andy Reidy won’t be doing any pitching after going eight innings in cold weather. I wonder how many pitches he threw?

You knew that the game was a “little long” when the Amesbury softball team was on hand for the end of the game. They played and returned from a game in Rockport!

Amesbury boxscore

Manchester-Essex boxscore

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

John Pesci

Max Nesbit slides home

Shortstop Cory Burnham sets to throw

Bob Gallagher and Gene Burnham

Tommy Connors after his game-winning hit

Max Nesbit eyes a foul pop

Kevin Carter

Amesbury bench

Tommy Connors gets some treatment

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Filed under Amesbury, Manchester-Essex

Tagged as Andy Reidy, Cory Burnham, Devlin Gobiel, Max Nesbit, Sean Desmond, Tommy Connors

January 14, 2013 · 10:42 pm

Manchester-Essex girls get by Triton 37-21 with strong second half

Sydney Christopher (nine points) heads down the lane

Liza Logue (seven points) looks for an opening

(Byfield) Manchester-Essex put together a strong second half and defeated Triton, 37-21, in Cape Ann League girls action on Monday night.

The Vikings (1-10) trailed only by three (17-14) with 3 ½ minutes left in the third quarter but were done in by a ten-point run by the Hornets (4-7) over the next 2 ½ minutes.

This good segment of offense for ME opened up a 27-14 advantage that turnover-prone Triton could not recover from the rest of the way.

The point scorers for the Hornets during the game-deciding run were Maya Heath (two free throws), Sam Taylor (converted rebound), Liza Logue (layup), and Ivy Silag Sterns (layup and jump shot).

The run of points was certainly a factor in the Hornet win but equally important was a second half in which they took better care of the ball. In the first half ME had fourteen giveaways (by my count) while in the second half the miscues fell to six. With fewer turnovers the Hornets were able to get more shots and enough of their attempts went in to result in a victory.

Kaitlyn Muldowney (eight points) led Triton in scoring

Triton went down 6-0 early but thanks to converted rebounds by Kaitlyn Muldowney and Harley Wood, as well a long shot by Kaitlyn, the Vikings tied the score early in the second quarter.

Triton was within two (13-11) just before halftime but Sydney Christopher nailed a last-second shot for ME giving the visitor a 15-11 halftime lead.

The Vikings were still in contention down only 17-14 after an Amanda Colpitts layup in the third quarter.

However, Triton put together a stretch of poor ball management (five turnovers) that coincided with ME making shots. That combination did in the home team.

The Vikings had seventeen turnovers in the second half while ME had only six. Both teams applied full-court pressure.

Ivy Silag Stearns takes a long pass from Sydney Christopher in for a layup

Freshman Sydney Christopher (nine points) led the Hornet scorers. Liza Logue had seven and Ivy Silag Sterns six.

Kaitlyn Muldowney was Triton’s top point getter with eight points.

The best pass in this game was a long inbounds pass from Sydney Christopher to a breaking Ivy Silag Stearns that set up Ivy for a layup in the final quarter.

Triton and Manchester-Essex met on December 28th in a tournament non-league game which the Hornets won, 35-24.

Division 4 Manchester-Essex was 5-16 last season. They are now 2-6 in the Cape Ann League.

Division 3 Triton last won four weeks ago defeating East Boston. The Vikings were 4-16 last season.

eyes on the ball

There is no pattern to the games I will be cover. My first inclination is to watch top teams play – I saw the Pentucket girls defeat Billerica. I expect to see the Central Catholic boys (9-1) face a very good Lowell team on Friday night.

However, I am also drawn to games in which the two teams have losing records. It is my belief that the intensity will be very high as both teams go after something that has been hard for them to get.

Such was the case in the Triton/ME game. The effort by both teams was apparent and for 2 ½ quarters this game was even. Triton gave it their best shot and never let up.

Manchester-Essex box score

Triton box score

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