Category Archives: Newburyport

October 8, 2016 · 4:12 pm

Triton stays undefeated with 38-21 win over Newburyport

Bryan Hughes (21) tries to trap Clipper QB Rob Shay in the end zone

Triton QB Lewi L’Heureux turns defender after giving up an interception to Brian Toolan.

(Newburyport MA) I took in my first football game at Newburyport’s refurbished stadium on a pleasant Friday night of Cape Ann League action.

Wow! That place is terrific. Turf is wonderful.

Great crowd saw plenty of back-and-forth action.

In the second half, Triton (5-0) shifted into a level of offense that the Clippers (2-3) couldn’t cope with.

I found the lighting to be very good for action shots. Guessing where the action is going to happen is a significant part of shooting sports. Sometimes you get it right. Other times you don’t.

Disclaimer: All of the pictures in this entry are from the first half.

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

Clippers onto the field.

Jack McCarthy (58) has Newburyport QB Rob Shay by the ankle.

Ball in the air after one of several high snaps.

Tom Lapham (2) loose around the right end.

Myles Maloof (9) chases his own fumble.

Jack McCarthy (58) and John Falasca (75) sack Rob Shay.

Lewi L’Heureux surrounded by Clippers

Penalty flag (holding) flies during Lewi L’Heureux run

Rob Shay and Ronnie Mwai chase a high snap.

Brendan Powers (81)

Joel Skaff kicks an extra point after Newburyport’s first touchdown

Chris Goullaud (5) jars the ball loose from Gunnar Gustafson (13)

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Brendan Powers, Bryan Hughes, Jack McCarthy, Lewi L'Heureux, Rob Shay, Tom Lapham

May 12, 2016 · 8:04 pm

Hayley Catania holds Newburyport to one hit in 6-0 shutout

Hayley Catania struck out nine Clippers and allowed only one hit

Hayley Catania prepares to throw to first

(Amesbury MA) Sophomore Hayley Catania tossed a one-hitter and recorded nine strikeouts as Amesbury defeated Newburyport, 6-0, on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

Hayley retired the last ten Clippers she faced and also drove in a run in Amesbury’s two-run first with a sacrifice fly.

Sophomore Caity Baker had the big hit for the Indians when she homered to left center in the sixth inning. No fence at Amesbury Middle School so Caity’s line drive rolled a long way. There was no play at the plate.

Newburyport’s only hit came in the fourth when freshman Olivia Salvatore lined to right.

Freshman Olivia Salvatore had Newburyport’s only hit

In much of the game the Clippers struggled to make contact. It was a game in which most of the pitches taken by Newburyport batters were usually strikes and most of the pitches swung at were missed.

It has been a rough last eight days for Newburyport. The Clippers went into the eight days 6-5 but after today’s loss are now 6-9.

Amesbury (10-2) has won six straight and have qualified for the post-season tournament.

The Clippers did get Paige Gouldthorpe to third base in the first inning but a Caitlin Clarke groundout ended the threat.

The Indians took the lead (for good) in the first inning. Maddie Napoli reached on a bunt and then stole second on a very close play. Senior Zoe Fitzgerald singled to right center scoring Maddie. Zoe took second on the throw in from the outfield and reached third on a Stephanie Gleason wild pitch. Hayley’s sacrifice fly delivered Zoe.

Hannaih Burdick had an RBI in the third inning

Amesbury added two more runs in the second inning. Caity Baker singled down the third base line and reached second on a passed ball and third on Adrienne Harris’ sacrifice bunt. She scored on Hannaih Burdick’s infield out.

Lauren Fedorchak continued the inning with a bunt single and then stole second base. Maddie Napoli drove Lauren home with Amesbury’s fourth run.

Paige Gouldthorpe reached second with two outs in the third but Hayley was able to catch freshman Annie Siemasko looking to end the inning.

In the Amesbury third Emily Robinson got caught rounding second and was tagged out after a brief rundown by third baseman Colleen Twomey.

In the Amesbury fifth, with Hayley on second, centerfielder Paige Gouldthorpe made a nice catch of Emily Robinson’s line drive to end the inning.

Caity Baker (13) celebrates her sixth-inning home run

An infield single by senior Megan Reid was followed by Caity Baker’s home run in the sixth inning.

Maddie Napoli, Megan Reid, and Caity Baker each had two hits for Amesbury.

Former Clippers’ softball player Jackie Colby was honored before the game.

This game was played in just over an hour. Both pitchers (Hayley Catania/Stephanie Gleason) threw strikes. There was only one walk between them.

Autumn Kligerman was in the house. What a season she had last year for the Indians.

Amesbury box

Newburyport box

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

Paige Gouldthorpe played well in centerfield

Chloe Kramer

Adrienne Harris

Bridget Ramsden

Jackie Colby

Lauren Fedorchak puts the tag on Colleen Twomey

Emily Robinson caught in a rundown

Stephanie Gleason

Freshman Annie Siemasko awaits the throw as Maddie Napoli starts to slide

Emily Dobson

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Caity Baker, Hayley Catania, Maddie Napoli, Olivia Salvatore

May 9, 2016 · 9:59 pm

Newburyport loses to Triton 13-11 despite eighteen hits

Senior Julia Hartman had three hits, scored three runs, and homered in Triton’s win over Newburyport

Freshman Bridget Sheehan started a crucial double play for Triton in the 7th inning

(Byfield MA) This game could have used instant replay, a scoreboard, and a calculator!

Triton managed to defeat Newburyport, 13-11, in a wild Cape Ann League softball game on Monday afternoon at Triton.

The Clippers (6-7) trailed 12-3 after four innings but exploded for an eight-run fifth to make things very interesting.

Because of all the activity in that wild Newburyport fifth I lost track of the score and didn’t realize until later that the Clippers were just a run back after that half inning.

Senior Julia Hartman’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth gave the Vikings (7-3) a two-run cushion (13-11) that barely held up.

Newburyport had the bases loaded in the seventh inning after consecutive singles (Caitlin Clarke, Olivia Salvatore, Emily Dobson). Key play of the game? Next batter (Skyla Harrington) hit a hard liner that Triton shortstop Bridget Sheehan speared to her right. NHS pinchrunner Megan Rogers took off from third on contact and Bridget doubled her off. Triton pitcher Grace McGonagle was then able to end the game with a caught looking on Colleen Twomey.

Emily Dobson had a homer and a double in the Newburyport 5th

That Triton “limited” Newburyport to only eleven runs was truly remarkable. The Clippers had eighteen hits and stranded thirteen baserunners in a seven inning game! The Clippers left the bases loaded in the 7^th and two on in the 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th. Twice innings were ended on the base paths: baserunner interference (Emily Dobson) and caught stealing (Stephanie Gleason). I am not sure that I have ever seen a game in which there were more wasted opportunities.

The visitors led 3-1 going into the Triton second. There the Vikings dropped seven runs on the Clippers. The Vikings had only two hits in the inning but a bad mix of walks, wild pitches, and errors helped Triton. Key hits by Zoe Cesati and Julia Hartman drove in runs. Stephanie Gleason came on to relieve NHS starter Paige Gouldthorpe and pitched the rest of the game.

Bridget Sheehan tags out Stephanie Gleason to end the Newburyport 6th inning

The Triton lead expanded to 12-3 with three runs in the 4^th inning. RBIs in that inning were collected by Emma McGonagle, Julia Hartman, and Chelsea Gordon.

Thoughts of the Mercy Rule danced in my head after Triton led 12-3 but the Clippers in the fifth inning were anything but done. They whacked Grace McGonagle for nine hits including a homer (Stephanie Gleason) and double and a homer for Emily Dobson.

And anyone at this game will tell you that there was a play during that inning that was hard to figure out. Bases loaded for Newburyport. A full-swing squibber rolls just beyond home plate. The batter drops the bat as she runs to first and the bat lands on top of the ball. The call? Batter is out and the runner who was on third is also out. Nifty double play. Despite that call Newburyport sent thirteen batters to the plate and tallied eight runs to close to a run.

Zoe Cesati had three hits for Triton

Everyone in the Newburyport batting order had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Junior Emily Dobson topped the Clippers with four hits. Stephanie Gleason and Olivia Salvatore had three apiece.

Julia Hartman and Zoe Cesati paced Triton with three hits each. Julia’s homer in the 6^th inning was a key piece in the Triton victory.

This was the rematch of an 11-4 Triton win in Newburyport in April.

Plenty of sports activity at Triton on this afternoon. Besides two softball games there were two baseball games, a tennis match and lacrosse practice happening.

Good to see work being done on Triton’s new football stadium. Supposed to be ready in the fall.

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

Pitcher Stephanie Gleason

Annie Siemasko awaits the ball and baserunner Zoe Cesati

Stephanie Gleason rounds the bases

Paige Gouldthorpe scores Newburyport’s first run

Caitlin Clarke

Triton pitcher Grace McGonagle

Courtney Walsh covers first

Shannon Lyons catches a fly ball.

Julia Hartman in the home run trot

Pitcher Stephanie Gleason gets an out from her knees

McGonagle sisters after the final out

Tessa Boyle

Emma McGonagle

Newburyport starter Paige Gouldthorpe

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Bridget Sheehan, Caitlin Clarke, Emily Dobson, Emma McGonagle, Grace McGonagle, Julia Hartman, Stephanie Gleason, Zoe Cesati

March 5, 2016 · 11:28 pm

Emily Pettigrew (22 points) reaches 1000 but Newburyport falls 49-47 to Belmont

The Belmont Marauders gather for a picture after their win over Newburyport

Emily Pettigrew spins in for her 1000th point

(Newburyport MA) Senior Emily Pettigrew (22 points) reached 1000 points but it wasn’t enough as Belmont eliminated Newburyport, 49-47, in the D2 North quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.

This game was foul-infested from the get-go as both teams applied pressure wherever they could and contact was frequent.

Whistles blew and players were helped up. Coaches questioned every call and fans from both sides offered regular evaluations of the three officials. Smooth it wasn’t!

This game came down to the final minute with a win still within reach of either squad. Emily Pettigrew had given the Clippers (17-4) a one-point lead (47-46) with 1:15 left.

That would be the last productive possession for Newburyport. Their final three, point-producing opportunities ended with a block by Jess Giorgio, a turnover, and another block by Jess Giorgio.

Go-ahead free throw by Irini Nikolaidis (#15)

In Belmont’s last two possessions they were at the foul line both times. Senior Irini Nikolaidis (11 points) completed a 5-for-5 quarter sinking two attempts and freshman Megan Tan made one of her two tries.

Making those three free throws gave Belmont the points they needed to earn the right to face the winner of the Arlington Catholic/Melrose game on Tuesday in the D2 North semi-finals.

The Marauders reached the D2 North semi-finals last season but lost to Watertown.

Anyone in attendance who is reading so far is surely wondering what has taken me so long to get to the real reason Newburyport is not still alive in the tournament: free throw shooting.

When one team misses fourteen free throws you can easily imagine that they would be in trouble. Not in this game. Those fourteen misses belonged to Belmont (18-for-32) and they won by two points.

Tight Newburyport defense

Newburyport? Good news? They made 8-of-9 in the final quarter. Bad news? 10-for-32 in the other three quarters. Worse news? 5-for-19 in the second quarter.

The total missed free throws by the Clippers was twenty-three and think of the “Could have been’s” they’ll think about for a while over that.

I know I’m beating this free throw thing to death but in the last 1 ½ minutes of the 2^nd quarter Newburyport missed seven straight foul shots. That they only trailed by three (21-18) at the half is indicative of the type of defense they were playing.

Belmont (from the Middlesex League) rode two three’s by sophomore Jenny Call to an 8-1 lead. NBPT finished the quarter on a 6-1 run including a steal and layin by freshman Katie Hadden.

The Clippers tied the score (16-16) on a driving layup by freshman Anna Hickman (14 points) with 3 ½ to go in the second period.

Krysta Padellaro tries to draw a foul on Jenny Call

The Marauders took the lead right back and extended it to 32-23 in the third quarter with a 10-2 run. Layups by Greta Propp (10 points) and Samari Winklaar, as well as a three by Carly Christofori (9 points), keyed that surge.

In the midst of it Emily Pettigrew took a pass in the lower key and spun left to register her 1000^th point.

Appearing to be down and out (32-23) with 3:40 to go in the third quarter, the Clippers put twelve unanswered points together over the next six minutes of playing time to take the lead, 35-32, 2+ minutes into the final quarter. During that stretch, Belmont turned ice cold from everywhere, including the foul line, where they missed all five FT attempts.

Anna Hickman had a 3-pointer and a layup, while Emily Pettigrew added two layups in the rush to the lead.

In the final five minutes of this game there were four ties and five lead changes. It was clearly anyone’s game.

But in the final minute, Belmont made enough free throws and enough stops on defense to get the job done.

first block by Jess Giorgio

second block by Jess Giorgio

Defensive hero in the last minute? Freshman Jess Giorgio. Twice the 6-1 center blocked shot attempts in close by Anna Hickman without fouling.

Belmont had to shoot second-half free throws in the NBPT student second end of the gymnasium. Not an easy thing to do but somehow Irini Nikolaidis managed to can four straight in the last two minutes.

Awesome rendition of the National Anthem by the Clippers’ Paige Gouldthorpe.

Krysta Padellaro in the open floor

Impressed by the point-guard play of Newburyport’s Krysta Padellaro and Belmont’s Carly Christofori. The two of them also played terrific defense. Both are only sophomores.

Tough 24 hours for the Newburyport basketball teams as both the boys’ and the girls’ teams were eliminated from tournament play during that time.

Newburyport boxscore

Belmont boxscore

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

Irini Nikolaidis (clutch free throws)

Anna Hickman and Carly Christofori

Emily Pettigrew and Samari Winklaar

crowd under the basket

Emily Pettigrew and Jess Giorgio

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Emily Pettigrew puts Newburyport ahead

Anna Hickman (14 points) gets around Jess Giorgio

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Filed under Belmont, Newburyport

Tagged as Anna Hickman, Carly Christofori, Emily Pettigrew, Irini Nikolaidis, Jess Giorgio, Krysta Padellaro

March 1, 2016 · 11:38 pm

Danny Baribeault (42 points) takes Newburyport past Pentucket 71-59

Danny Baribeault (42 points) had a night of high-percentage shots like this one.

Danny Baribeault among four Sachems

(Haverhill MA) Newburyport outscored Pentucket 15-3 over the final six minutes to break a tie and go on to a 71-59 win in Round 1 of the D3 North at Whittier on Tuesday night.

And then there was Danny. Senior Danny Baribeault, that is. Forty-two points in as smooth a performance as you’ll see in such a big scoring night.

Only two three-point shots in Danny’s night. No need for low-percentage three-pointers when the inside had openings galore. Five times Danny was able to score off of offensive rebounds.

Danny Baribeault looks for two

I knew Danny was accumulating points but what distracted me from noticing his totals was that undersized Pentucket was very much in this one until the final six minutes.

There were six lead changes and six ties before things went south at the end for the team from West Newbury.

The Sachems (9-10) hadn’t played in nineteen days but there certainly wasn’t any evidence of it in the early going. Pentucket put eleven unanswered points together (a three by Jimmy Cleary included) and were ahead 16-4 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

It took an 11-2 run in the second period for the Clippers (11-10) to get all the way back, 25-25, with 2:24 left until halftime.

Robbie Shays had a three in that sequence and Cam MacRae made a marvelous save of a ball going out of bounds (right in front of me) and set up teammate Brendan Powers for the tying score.

Jacob Dickson’s trey at the buzzer gave Pentucket a 32-27 advantage.

Jimmy Cleary in the corner

The Sachems only lost a point off their lead in the third quarter despite Danny Baribeault’s remarkable seventeen points. Danny put eight of those scores in a package to send NHS ahead, 39-35, but later Pentucket answered with nine in a row (another three from Jimmy Cleary in the mix) to lead 48-43. The quarter ended, 50-46.

The outcome was still very much in doubt into the final period. The Sachems, however, had players in foul trouble. Those are the players who hurt you on defense and on this night Danny Baribeault saw plenty of openings.

Conor O’Neil’s three knotted things at 56-56. But right after that came a layup by Danny (on a nice feed from Cam MacRae), two free throws by Robbie Shay, and a drive by Cam MacRae. This small run gave Newburyport separation (62-56) with four minutes left. Pentucket needed the long-range fix but in the end game dialing long-distance got no answers. All three of the Sachems’ points in the final four minutes were from the foul line.

Conor O’Neil

Junior Conor O’Neil (18 points), and Nate McGrail (10 points) paced the Sachems.

Robbie Shay had thirteen points including seven in the final quarter. Cam MacRae added ten points.

Newburyport moves on to face Cape Ann League opponent Lynnfield on Friday night (7PM) at Lynnfield. The Clippers lost twice to the Pioneers during the regular season.

Plenty of support on hand for both teams.

Pentucket reached the D3 state semifinals at the Garden last year. The Sachems were wiped out by graduation and the transfer of Pat Friermuth but scrapped and scrambled their way to enough wins to qualify for the tournament this year.

One things that didn’t impress me about Pentucket was their free throw shooting. In the OT win over Newburyport to start the season they made only 9 of 29 attempts. Tonight it was 12-for-23.

In Newburyport’s win over Pentucket (48-32) freshman Casey McLaren had twenty-seven. This time around Casey had only two but teammate Danny made up plenty of slack with his 42 points.

After six turnovers in a tough first quarter the Clippers had only four miscues the rest of the way.

Cam MacRae (10 points)

I was impressed with the speed and passing of Cam MacRae.

Danny Baribeault and Nate McGrail were matched up most of the game.

Another matchup of note was Spencer Pacy and Casey McLaren. Both are already impact players as freshman.

Newburyport box

Pentucket box

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

Brendan Powers shoots over Spencer Pacy

Danny Baribeault and Nate McGrail

Robbie Shay (13 points)

Ryan DePaolo drives

Lucas Chory

Brendan Powers in for two

Danny Baribeault

Danny Baribeault made 5-of-6 free throws in the last quarter

Casey McLaren at the rim

Fight for a loose ball

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Cam MacRae, Conor O'Neil, Dan Baribeault, Lucas Chory, Robby Shay

January 29, 2016 · 11:45 pm

Pentucket pulls away in the last minute to defeat Newburyport 43-40

Colleen Jameson hits a huge three in the last minute to give Pentucket breathing room

Bella Doyle tightly covered by Krysta Padellaro

(Newburyport MA) Tantalizingly close to getting it done…….but not quite.

Instead Newburyport saw its losing streak to Pentucket reach thirteen as the Clippers fell to the Sachems, 43-40, on Friday night before a full house at Newburyport.

Pentucket (12-2) started the game with five straight points and in the final minute put five more points together to escape with the win.

Plenty of quality man-to-man defense played by both squads. Most of the action was on the perimeter.

The Sachems were intent on keeping high-scoring Emily Pettigrew from doing too much damage. Every time Emily did get the ball inside there was an instant gathering of multiple defenders. Emily did get 14 points but three of them came in the last second when the game had been decided.

Biggest shot of the game? No question it was a three from in front of the Pentucket bench by junior Colleen Jameson. Colleen took a pass from Boo Torrisi and turned a one-point Sachem lead (38-37) into a much more comfortable 41-37 advantage.

The Clippers would get two shots (Anna Hickman and Krysta Padellaro) to cut into their 4-point deficit but neither connected. Carolyn Modlish (14 points) followed with two free throws with nine seconds left to seal the deal.

Boo Torrisi (11 points) gets into the lane

Senior Boo Torrisi (11 points) had ten of those points in the second half. Her defense was noticeable as well as her willingness to take the ball to the basket.

Pentucket did register sixteen turnovers, by my count, but after seeing them commit thirty-two miscues in a loss to Masco the improvement was significant.

After trailing early, Newburyport (10-3) put nine straight together in the first period to get ahead, 11-7. A three by Meghan Winn, a jump shot by Krysta Padellaro, and two inside scores by Emily Pettigrew provided the points.

The Clippers carried a lead into the second quarter before it was Pentucket’s turn to run nine points of their own. Three’s did the trick. One each by Jess Galvin, Colleen Jameson, and Taylor Moore. Taylor’s was the old-fashioned kind. Taylor ended up with an extra free throw attempt after Newburyport committed a lane violation.

Emily Pettigrew (#10) gets inside for two of her fourteen points

The run of points gave the Sachem’s the lead, 20-17. The visitors would still be in front, 26-22, in the third before the Clippers put another nine-spot together. This time the damage was done with layups (Anna Hickman, Katie Hadden, and Krysta Padellaro) and a three from straight away by Krysta.

That flurry gave Newburyport a 31-26 advantage with 1 ½ minutes left in the third period.

Pentucket followed with an 8-2 sequence, including two 3’s from Boo Torrisi, and now they were ahead (34-33) with 5:44 remaining.

Two lead changes and a tie followed before Carolyn Modlish took a pass from Colleen Jameson in the lane and nailed a jumper to put Pentucket on top, 38-36, with 1:40 left.

Freshman Anna Hickman had two free throws to tie the score ten second later but missed the second one.

So Pentucket still had that slim one-point advantage going into the final minute. This was when Colleen hit the dagger-three the Clippers never recovered from.

Impressed with the passing of Newburyport. They took very good care of the ball (14 turnovers) against a team known for forcing mistakes. Both teams were very good with the ball in their backcourts.

Boo Torrisi defends Krysta Padellaro

Sophomore Krysta Padellaro (14 points) showed terrific skills on both ends of the court.

The Clippers certainly didn’t help themselves at the foul line. They missed nine-of-eighteen including the front end of two one-and-one’s.

Newburyport lost their first two games of the season before going on a ten-game win streak and qualifying for the state tournament.

Next for the Clippers with be an away tilt on Tuesday against North Reading. The Hornets were the other team to defeat the Clippers.

Senior Riley Holden was unavailable for Pentucket because of back issues similar to the ones that kept her off the court last season.

Pentucket will face Lynnfield next, also on Tuesday. The Sachems mauled the Pioneers, 68-26, in their first meeting.

Pentucket box

Newburyport box

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

Newburyport huddle

Game on!

Carolyn Modlish (13 points), Katie Hadden, and Olivia Olson

Boo Torrisi finds an opening

Taylor Moore fires a long shot

Olivia Olson and Krysta Padellaro (14 points) set up a trap

Battle for a rebound

End of the game

Little room for Emily Pettigrew to operate in

Pentucket huddle

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Boo Torrisi, Colleen Jameson, Emily Pettigrew, Krysta Padellaro

December 15, 2015 · 10:05 pm

Pentucket wins Cape Ann League opener in OT 55-52 over Newburyport

Dan Baribeault gets off the possible game-winner at the end of regulation

Nate McGrail (21 points) drives to the basket

(Newburyport) Trust me, Pentucket didn’t win this one at the free throw line!

The Sachems (1-0) missed twenty of twenty-nine free throws yet still managed to get by Newburyport, 55-52, in overtime on Tuesday night.

This game started the Cape Ann League schedule for both teams.

Newburyport (0-1) looked close to victory in the final quarter after senior Dan Baribeault put five points together in a row to push the Clippers ahead, 44-38, with just under four minutes left. But Pentucket, which had six 3’s in the game, clicked on three of them in the final 2:25 to force overtime.

Lucas Chory, Jimmy Cleary, and Ryan DePaolo connected from long distance in the exciting Sachems’ finish. Ryan’s three was with fifteen seconds left.

The Clippers had the final possession is regulation and Dan Baribeault had a good look at the game-winner from the top of the key. On this evening Dan’s shots weren’t falling, he was limited to eight points, and overtime became necessary.

The key to the win? Pentucket’s ability to get to the basket. Granted at times this approach got them to the foul line where they had serious trouble but other times they made layups.

Sophomore Nate McGrail (21 points) had two such layups in overtime and that was enough to get Pentucket the victory.

Nate’s second layup gave the visitors a 53-52 lead with forty-three seconds left. The Clippers had two more possessions to answer back but neither of Quinn Stott’s shots connected. The Sachems responded with two free throws.

Nick Rogers (12 points) connected four times from long range

Jimmy Cleary totaled thirteen points for the Sachems. He also had an important block on Dan Baribeault late in regulation.

Nick Rogers paced Newburyport with twelve points all on 3’s.

The Newburyport student section went straight for the jugular pre-game chanting, “Where is Pat Friermuth?” The remarkable junior transferred to Brooks after leading Pentucket to the D3 state semifinals last year.

Lots of black and orange on display as a reminder of the passing of long-time Ipswich coach Doug Woodworth.

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

Newburyport box

Pentucket box

Season under way

Quinn Stott pressures Conor O’Neil

Ronnie Mwai gets two

Ryan DePaolo (#21) sent the game into OT with a 3-point shot

Jimmy Cleary blocks Dan Baribeault’s shot

Conor O’Neil attempts a free throw in front of the Newburyport student section

Lucas Chory chased by Nick Rogers

Nate McGrail

Jimmy Cleary (13 points)

Danny Baribeault on defense

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Dan Baribeault, Doug Woodworth, Jimmy Cleary, Nate McGrail, Nick Rogers

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 4, 2015 · 8:56 pm

That’s nine and counting as Amesbury gets past Newburyport 5-2

Hayley Cantania leaves the mound after pitching a one-hitter for Amesbury

Megan Reid delivered two runs in the crucial 3-run 4th inning

(Newburyport MA) That’s nine straight for the 2015 edition of Amesbury Indians softball.

Coach Chris Perry’s team hasn’t lost since June 8^th of 2014 when they were defeated by St. Mary’s (Lynn) 8-5 in the Division 3 North title game at Lowell.

In Monday afternoon’s 5-2 win over Newburyport, the Indians again had strong pitching by Hayley Catania. The freshman took a no-hitter into the final inning and allowed only two walks.

Minus the quality start the Indians might have lost this game because their infield defense (six errors) and faulty base running (ran into three outs) kept the Clippers (3-5) just a big hit or two from the upset.

Stephanie Gleason

Good teams find ways to win, however. Newburyport starter Stephanie Gleason allowed only four walks in six innings of pitching but three of them came in Amesbury’s 3-run fourth inning. Two of the walkers would cross the plate. Big hit? Megan Reid’s two-out double to right in that productive inning brought in two runs (Emily Robinson & Sam Stone).

The Clippers got a run back in the bottom of the fourth. An infield dribbler by Stephanie Gleason tallied teammate Shelby O’Brien from third.

Amesbury built on their 3-1 lead with a unearned score in the sixth. Zoe Fitzgerald singled, reached second on a wild pitch, and came home on Hayley Cantania’s two-out grounder got past shortstop Morgan Johnston.

Newburyport picked up an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth as Jade Carpenter reached on one error (Maddie Napoli) and scored on another (catcher Caity Baker).

Jade Carpenter waits for Autumn Kligerman in the 7th inning

The Insurance Man arrived in the Amesbury seventh. A two-out, three-base throwing error by 3B Carley Siemasko enabled Meagan Aponas to reach third. Autumn Kligerman’s single to left delivered Amesbury’s fifth run.

The big deal, at least in my head, was whether or not Hayley Cantania could get a no-hitter. It didn’t seem to matter to anyone else, however. Regardless of the lack of interest, Paige Gouldthorpe started the last of the 7^th with a line drive to right. Megan Reid charged it but it bounced in front of her and then away from her to give the Clippers their first (and only) hit.

Hayley Catania reached base all three times – single, walk, and error.

Zoe Fitzgerald scored two runs.

Paige Gouldthorpe broke up the no-hitter in the 7th inning

Paige Gouldthorpe made several terrific plays in left field for Newburyport.

Molly Kelley pitched in the 7^th for the Clippers.

With the win, Amesbury sweeps the season’s series with Newburyport. Last year Newburyport won both meetings.

Weather? It was shockingly nice! Temps in the 80’s with a nice breeze is about as good as it gets in these parts.

Next game for Newburyport is at Ipswich on Wednesday. On the same day Amesbury will host a pretty good Pentucket team.

Amesbury box

Newburyport box

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

Morgan Johnston waits for Zoe Fitzgerald to arrive

Zoe Fitzgerald

Caity Baker chases a popup

Emily Dobson

Hannah Briedenbach

Hayley Catania

Maddie Napoli

Molly Kelley pitched the 7th inning

Morgan Johnston

Stephanie Gleason and Jade Carpenter converge on a popup

collision at home

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Autumn Kligerman, Hayley Cantania, Megan Reid, Paige Gouldthorpe, Zoe Fitzgerald

April 14, 2015 · 11:44 am

Amesbury defeats Newburyport 11-2 behind Hayley Cantania

Nine strikeouts for Amesbury starter Hayley Cantania

Lauren Fedorchak (2B) catches the final out for Amesbury

(Amesbury) Perfect softball weather.

The softball played on Monday afternoon…not so perfect but Amesbury did come away with an 11-2 win over neighboring Newburyport.

AHS freshman Hailey Cantania kept nine Clippers off the base paths with strikeouts in her five innings of pitching. That was significant in a game where the defenses were nowhere near where they will be later in the season. Overthrows and bad decisions abounded for both sides on balls in play. The Indians (2-0) had fewer chances to deal with, however, thanks to Hailey’s pitching.

But this was early season action and with the weather around here who could even tell until recently that there were softball fields in the area. Practicing indoors in gymnasiums or outdoors in cold/windy weather won’t prepare a team for a season of softball. This was the opener for Newburyport and it showed.

Down 7-0, catcher Shelby O’Brien whacked a two-run homer or at least we thought she did. However, an appeal was made that base runner Morgan Johnston had failed to touch third. Goodbye, two runs!

Emily Robinson (#14) gets mobbed by her Amesbury teammates after 3-run homer

Biggest hit in the game? Three-run blast by junior Emily Robinson of Amesbury to center in the sixth. The Clippers might have had a chance to get Emily at the plate but on this day the relay throw went to third instead of to home.

Several times for both teams potential double plays were lost because of throws to the wrong base or throws too high to the right base. I hope I’ve made my point……the defenses were shaky!

I also heard a retiring coach shouting to a second baseman to throw the ball to first (for a double play?) AFTER the second baseman had caught a popup for the third out of the last inning. It was that kind of game!

Molly Kelley had a good game at second for the Clippers.

AHS relief pitcher Sam Stone

Helmets? Glad Sam Stone had one on when catcher Shelby O’Brien’s throw from home struck that helmet as Sam slid back into first base. The ball ended up caroming out of play.

Masks? As a photographer I would prefer that the players didn’t wear masks in the field. However as a parent/grandparent I am uncomfortable seeing infielders not wearing masks. Way too dangerous, in my opinion. One line drive up the middle nearly got AHS pitcher Hayley Catania who wasn’t wearing a mask. Has no one figured out that a batted softball off a metal bat could cause a serious injury?

The weather was a great treat. Temps close to 70 with plenty of sun.

I enjoyed being back with players and coaches of both teams. I have been around both teams long enough to know who is new this year and who is missing. Good folks on both sides.

My current schedule (working part-time at Pickwick Driving School Tuesday-Friday) will keep me from doing many games this season. I regret it but some things have to be.

I was pleased to see that Dan Harrison, formerly of the Salem News, is now part the the Newburyport Daily News staff. He is a good writer and the coverage of the area spring sports should be significantly upgraded as a result.

(The pictures above and below will enlarge significantly if you click on them.)