Category Archives: Newburyport

February 13, 2015 · 11:42 pm

Late steal (Luke Reiniger) leads to game-winner in Triton’s 50-49 win over Newburyport

Mike Shay defended by late-game hero Luke Reiniger

Triton starts to celebrate

(Newburyport MA) It was the biggest play of Triton’s season.

Trailing by a point, Triton’s Luke Reiniger intercepted a pass and turned the turnover into a go-ahead, two-points for the Vikings with twelve seconds left.

Luke’s basket turned out to be the game-winner in Triton’s 50-49 win over Newburyport on a frigid Friday night of Cape Ann League action.

Before the Vikings’ celebrating could begin, however, they had to survive the final twelve seconds. Anyone familiar with Newburyport’s team was reasonably certain that junior Dan Baribeault (16 points) would be taking the final shot. And it looked like he would as he dribbled across mid-court. But Triton had at least three defenders thinking the same thing so Dan passed the ball to teammate Jake Barlow and set a screen. Jake’s defender (Kevin Clark) was screened by Danny and Jake took a dribble to his left and had a good look at a possible game-winner for the Clippers. The shot missed and the Vikings’ Nick Venora secured the rebound with 1.1 seconds left and was fouled. Nick missed the first shot unintentionally and the second one intentionally and Newburyport was denied a final shot.

Jake Berger (12 points), Dan Baribeault (16 points) and Corey Parsons (19 points)

The Triton team then began celebrating and the Vikings fans came out and joined them. Why all the celebrating? Triton (8-10) had lost four straight and another loss would have kept them from getting to the post-season tournament. They will need to win their last two games.

The Vikings remain alive while Newburyport (7-10), with only two games left, can no longer get the ten wins they need to qualify for the post-season.

This game had four lead changes in the first quarter and three more in the final quarter.

Triton led 10-9 thanks to two Nick Venora 3-pointers but the Clippers found their offense in the second quarter making five free throws and getting contributions from five different players.

Dan Baribeault sees plenty of Triton defenders on the last possession

Newburyport’s halftime lead was 29-17 and I sensed that Triton was in serious trouble. Scoring was the issue. Ellsworth Rogers (concussion) wasn’t playing. Cam Armand (ankle) was trying to play but was limping. Corey Parsons, defended by Dan Baribeault, had only two points.

The difference in the second half? Corey Parsons (19 points) caught fire. The Triton senior drained four 3’s in the second half including two in the last 1 ½ minutes of the game.

The first of the two late 3’s went in off the backboard and put the Vikings ahead, 45-44, with ninety seconds left.

That lead was far from safe with all that time left. Triton had given up three 3’s on Tuesday night to Pentucket in the last minute of that stunning loss.

Jake Barlow gets a good look at the last shot

It wasn’t the 3’s this time, it was the turnovers. Two straight Triton backcourt turnovers (steals Mike Shay) led directly to layups by Jake Berger (12 points) and a 49-45 NHS lead. Jake was fouled on the first turnover/two and made the free throw.

After a Triton miss, Dan Baribeault was fouled with forty-three seconds left. Dan didn’t make the front end of the one-and-one but Triton still needed five points to win.

If folks thought Dan Baribeault would get to take the big shot for Newburyport, you certainly figured that Corey Parsons would soon be trying a 3-point shot for Triton. Sure enough, Corey came off a screen, cashed a 3-pointer pulling Triton within one point, 49-48, with twenty-six seconds remaining.

Corey Parsons shuts off Will Cataldo

Shortly thereafter came Luke Reiniger’s steal and score and Triton was able to keep their post-season hopes alive for one more game.

It was Senior Day for Newburyport. They have seven seniors on their roster.

Terrific crowd on hand. The way this one went back and forth early and late made for plenty of excitement.

The Vikings won despite missing thirteen free throws (11-for-24).

Triton made seven three’s.

Junior Eric Rybicki had seven points for the Vikings in the second half including a three.

Triton had seventeen turnovers while Newburyport had thirteen.

Triton Boxscore
(For Triton I had Eric Rybicki (7), Luke Reiniger (5), Khalil Brito (2), Nick Venora (9), Conor Henry (4), Corey Parsons (19), Will Parsons (2), Cam Armand (2))

Newburyport Boxscore
(For Newburyport I had Nick Rogers (2), Mike Shay (11), Jake Berger (12), Liam Hundertmark (8), Will Cataldo (2), Dan Baribeault 16))

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

Liam Hundertmark reaches for a high pass

Conor Henry looks for a pass

Khalil Brito gets two

Mine!

Dan Baribeault gets into the lane

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Corey Parsons, Dan Baribeault, Eric Rybicki, Jake Berger, Luke Reiniger

January 23, 2015 · 11:28 pm

Amesbury girls win the rematch 53-35 over Newburyport

McKenzie Cloutier (12 points) readies a block attempt against Emily Pettigrew (13 points)

Megan Reid (11 points) gets off a shot

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury put runs of points together in both halves and defeated Newburyport, 53-35, on Friday night in Cape Ann League play. The win avenges an earlier loss to the Clippers.

In the first half the Indians (6-5) put a 13-2 segment together to build up a ten-point league. In the second half the home team ran fourteen unanswered points and with it ended any curiosity about the final outcome.

The Clippers (3-9) missed a ton of shots but credit the Amesbury defense for allowing very few uncontested shot attempts.

McKenzie Cloutier (12 points) led the AHS scorers getting ten of them in the second quarter. After Newburyport had moved to within seven points (17-10) in the second quarter on a driving layup by freshman Krysta Padellaro, McKenzie tallied three straight baskets to set up Amesbury with a, 23-10, halftime advantage.

Morgan Johnston (10 points) puts up a shot in the paint

The Clippers finally were able to get some shots to fall in the third quarter. Krysta, Morgan Johnston (10 points), and Emily Pettigrew (13 points) combined for fifteen points for NHS in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter and the visitors were within ten, 35-25. When Emily drained a three-pointer the Amesbury lead was sliced to seven.

Plenty of game left for Newburyport to finish the comeback. The Clippers hopes were further buoyed by word that Amanda Martin had fouled out with 2:18 left in that 3rd quarter.

But rather than being in trouble, the Indians took their seven-point lead (35-28) and added fourteen straight points to it while holding Newburyport scoreless. Shut out for 6+ minutes, the Clippers emerged from the dry spell down and out, 49-28, with four minutes left.

Zoe Fitzgerald looks for someone to pass to

Megan Reid, Julia LaMontagne, Abbie Sartori, McKenzie Cloutier, and Zoe Fitzgerald scored points in the game-deciding Amesbury streak.

Junior Megan Reid finished with eleven points for Amesbury.

Newburyport has now lost four of their last five games. Amesbury has won three of four.

Newburyport won the first meeting between the two teams, 50-48, on January 5th. Olivia Olson had twenty points in that one. This time around the AHS defense held Olivia to a quiet two points.

The Indians won despite little playing time for Cape Ann League All-Star Amanda Martin. Amanda was a foul-magnet from the very outset getting two fouls in the first forty-nine seconds. She picked up a 3rd in the second quarter and in the third quarter two more. The 5th one came on an Amesbury 2-on-1 fastbreak and didn’t sit well with the Amesbury faithful. But on this evening it didn’t matter because the Indians had tight defense no matter who was playing and shots were falling for their team.

waiting for play to resume

The free throw shooting wasn’t very good in this game: Amesbury (11-for-19) and Newburyport (4-for-13).

Both teams resume play on Tuesday. Newburyport hosts Lynnfield while Amesbury visits Triton. Tessa Lafrance and Erin Savage from the Triton team were in the house tonight.

Amesbury boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

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

Abbie Sartori gets in for two

Olivia Olson tries to finish as Abbie Sartori defends

Tight defense by Amesbury

Polly Corbett shoots a three

Emily Pettigrew goes for a block on Zoe Fitzgerald

Olivia Olson (#5)

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Emily Pettigrew, McKenzie Cloutier, Megan Reid, Morgan Johnston

January 16, 2015 · 11:49 pm

Clutch free throws help Newburyport hold off Georgetown 50-47

Emily Pettigrew (15 points) passes ahead to teammate Morgan Johnston (21 points)

Clippers celebrate the 3-point win

(Newburyport MA) Newburyport (3-8) made four straight free throws in the final twenty-six seconds to defeat Georgetown, 50-47, on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

Morgan Johnston (21 points) led the Clippers’ inside approach that accounted for every field goal except Kaitlin Ahern’s jumper in the second quarter. I don’t recall NHS even attempting a 3-pointer.

Georgetown, on the other hand, was willing to fire from long-range on every opportunity. They connected nine times from beyond the arc including two times in the final thirty-two seconds. The Royals Cayla Durkee missed a game-tying three with a second left.

Maya Spence (17 points) gets airborne in the lane

Five different G’town players had 3-pointers. Junior Maya Spence (17 points) clicked from downtown three times.

The Clippers got off to a terrific start (10-0) and later late in the third quarter had a comfortable, 41-28, advantage. But Cayla Durkee and Maya Spence hit three’s in the final minute of the third quarter to give the visitors some life going into the last quarter.

Georgetown (5-5) turned up the defensive heat in the final quarter and things started getting real interesting. Twelve turnovers (that is not a misprint!) later the Newburyport lead was just two (46-44) after Rory Donoghue nailed a three with thirty-two seconds left.

At this point, the Clippers had struggled mightily at the free throw line making only 8-of-22. It made perfect sense for Georgetown to foul. They did and sent Emily Pettigrew to the line. Emily had missed three of her last four attempts but with twenty-six seconds left made two straight. Newburyport now up by four (48-44).

Nicole Hogan makes one of nine Royals 3-pointers

The Royals went looking for a three and found one from Isabel Block with thirteen second remaining. Georgetown within one (48-47).

Newburyport inbounded the ball successfully to Emily Pettigrew. Inbounding was not a sure thing with twelve NHS turnovers already committed in the quarter. I am quite sure Newburyport coach Gregg Dollas wanted Emily shooting foul shots in a one-point game but she passed the ball back to Morgan Johnston. Morgan was quickly fouled.

Morgan had missed five of her last six free throws but in a one-point game with nine seconds left she swished both attempts. Those make’s gave Newburyport a three-point lead that held up when G’town’s final shot missed.

The Clippers ended a three-game losing streak. They will resume playing next Friday at Amesbury.

Rory Donoghue covered by Shelby OBrien

A likely reason for Georgetown’s poor start was losing starter Rory Donoghue after less than two minutes with two fouls. Rory had fifteen points and sixteen rebounds in the G’town win over Hamilton-Wenham.

Morgan Johnston set up close to the basket and was able to spin either way to get high-percentage shots. Emily Pettigrew stayed away from the basket and that gave Morgan room to operate. Most of Morgan’s baskets were assisted baskets.

Morgan scored the first basket in every quarter and the last two points of the game.

Emily Pettigrew had fifteen points for NHS. Kayla Durkee added ten for the Royals.

The 12 turnovers by the Clippers in the final quarter were a big surprise after they had only three miscues in the entire first half.

Georgetown was 6-of-13 from the foul line.

Newburyport scored the first ten points in the first half and the first seven points in the second half. Georgetown never led but did tie the score, 26-26, on a three (Maya Spence) in the last minute of the first half.

The Royals’ next game is Sunday (10AM) at Saugus.

Newburyport boxscore

Georgetown boxscore

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

Morgan Johnston in for two

Maya Spence hit three 3-pointers

Shelby OBrien on the break

Michaela Corvi drives on Nicole Hogan

Morgan Johnston gives the Clippers a 3-point lead

Cassidy Troy looks for an opening

Morgan Johnston plays defense

Graceann Conte and Kristin Giovino

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Filed under Georgetown, Newburyport

Tagged as Cayla Durkee, Emily Pettigrew, Maya Spence, Morgan Johnston

January 9, 2015 · 11:08 pm

Newburyport rallies past Ipswich 61-58

Dan Baribeault (14 points) surrounded by Tigers

Jake Long (24 points) made six 3-pointers including this one at the final buzzer

(Ipswich MA) Newburyport trailed by eleven early in the second quarter but came all the way back to defeat Ipswich, 61-58, in Cape Ann League action on Friday night.

The Clippers (4-5) took the lead for good at the end of the third period (40-39) as Liam Hundertmark converted his own miss.

Quite a shooting display put on by Dan Baribeault (Newburyport) and Jake Long (Ipswich). Both players finished with twenty-four points.

Dan was able to create space for shots for himself whenever he wanted to. Jake was a long-range specialist hitting six from beyond the arc including three in the final quarter.

contested shot

The Tigers (2-6) were uptempo from start to finish. That uptempo style and a persistent IHS student section seemed to fluster Newburyport in the early going. The Clippers committed seven turnovers in the first quarter and had several air balls.

Jake Long’s first 3-pointer was part of eight straight IHS points that put them in front, 8-4, in the first three minutes. Later in the quarter, and stretching into the start of the second quarter, the home team put seven points in a row. Kyle Silva drained three straight free throws to key that run that put Ipswich in front, 21-10.

Thereafter Newburyport became more patient on offense and did a better job of protecting around the basket. Open shots began to be found by NHS. When Quinn Stott opened the 3rd quarter with a three the Clippers were within one (27-26).

Newburyport caught IHS at the end of the third quarter (40-39) and started the final quarter with consecutive hoops by Jake Berger and Liam Hundertmark (12 points) with an assist from Matt Short. Now down five points, the Tigers answered with baskets but on this night couldn’t get the stops they needed.

Dan Baribeault (#10) eyes an open teammate

The Clippers kept the ball in Dan Baribeault’s hands in the end game which limited turnovers. Dan made five-of-six free throw attempts in the last 3 1/2 minutes.

The Tigers went full-time, long-range looking for the quick fix and saw Jake Long hit three times while Robbie Glavin (16 points) successfully dialed long distance two times. Plenty of late-game offense was generated by the Tigers but there just wasn’t enough effective defense to cut into their deficit.

The two teams had met earlier in the season with Newburyport earning a , 52-47, victory.

Both teams pressed but there were few mistakes in the backcourt. Half-court was a different story, however. The Clippers ended up with twenty turnovers while Ipswich had eighteen.

Robbie Glavin (16 points) launches a jump shot

The Tigers were assessed an intentional foul late in the game.

Newburyport had lost two in a row before tonight’s win. Their next game is at home on Tuesday versus Manchester-Essex.

The Tigers have now dropped five straight. Next for them will be an away game at Triton on Monday night.

I was impressed with the Ipswich student section. They were loud, persistent, and kept it clean. The IHS student section appeared to have the attention of the Newburyport players in the first half when the Clippers shot at their end.

Newburyport box

Ipswich box

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

Liam Hundertmark (12 points) gets off a shot

Mike Shay (#11) tries to outrun Jake Long and Chris Remy

Jake Long appeals a call

Pat Flaherty (#15) flies at Dan Baribeault

young fan

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Tagged as Dan Baribeault, Jake Long, Liam Hundertmark, Robbie Glavin

January 5, 2015 · 11:02 pm

Olivia Olson (20 points) leads Newburyport past Amesbury 50-48

Olivia Olson and Morgan Johnson surround Emily Pettigrew after her game-winner

Olivia Olson – 20 points and strong defense

(Newburyport MA) It was one of those nights for Newburyport sophomore Olivia Olson.

Olivia paced the Clippers (2-5) with twenty points but her biggest shot of the night was a complete miss that set up the game-winner in Newburyport’s 50-48, win over Amesbury on Monday night.

Olivia’s late-in-the-game launch was undershot but came right to teammate Emily Pettigrew (11 points) under the basket. Emily, who struggled all game to get open, was wide open on this occasion and cashed the last-second layup to seal the deal for the Clippers.

Amesbury (3-3) had rallied in the last minute on inside scores by Abbie Sartori and McKenzie Cloutier to knot things at 48-48 before Newburyport’s last-second heart breaker.

The Indians were down by as many as eight (23-15) in the first half but miscues by the Clippers in the 3rd quarter (eight turnovers) opened the comeback door for the visitors. Maddie Napoli’s fall-away 3-pointer put Amesbury ahead, 30-28, with 2 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Newburyport (2-5) responded with seven unanswered points. Amesbury tied the score at 43 (converted rebound by Megan Reid) and later at 48 with seventeen seconds left.

Amanda Martin defended by Olivia Olson

Olivia Olson hit five 3’s getting at least one in each quarter. Her work defending the Indians’ top scorer Amanda Martin was also noteworthy. Olivia limited the Cape Ann League second-teamer to seven free throws. Amanda did miss a number of minutes in the second half because of foul trouble.

The Indians’ zone defense was very effective in keeping the ball away from 6′ Emily Pettigrew (CAL first team). Amesbury’s concentration on the inside opened opportunities on the outside and on this night Olivia Olson took full advantage.

Emily’s layin in the last second won the game but she also had a three from the right corner (set up by Michaela Corvi) that put NHS in front by four with 1 1/2 minutes to go.

Newburyport missed eight free throws (10-for-18) while Amesbury missed only four (14-18).

Maddie Napoli (16 points) guarded by Krysta Padellaro

Sophomore Maddie Napoli (16 points) impressed at point guard for Amesbury. The Indians had only five turnovers in the second half. Maddie hit two 3’s and made several difficult layups in the lane.

Newburyport travels to Everett on Wednesday night. Next for Amesbury is an away game versus Pentucket on Friday night.

No one seemed to know when the last time was that Amesbury defeated Newburyport. Believe me; they nearly pulled it off in this game!

Newburyport box

Amesbury box

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

Amanda Martin

Newburyport defense

Zoe Fitzgerald and Julia LaMontagne surround Emily Pettigrew

McKenzie Cloutier gets a rebound

Abbie Sartori (32) and Emily Pettigrew (10)

scramble on the floor

Morgan Johnston (12) blocks a shot

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Tagged as Amanda Martin, Emily Pettigrew, Maddie Napoli, Olivia Olson

December 19, 2014 · 11:20 pm

Strong second half gets Masco a win over Newburyport 59-33

Emily Pettigrew saw plenty of Masco defense

Meghan Collins had 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for the Lady Chieftains

(Newburyport MA) Masconomet ran away from Newburyport in the second half and defeated the Clippers, 59-33, on Friday night in Cape Ann League play.

The Newburyport (0-2) deficit was only six (22-16) after junior Emily Pettigrew (16 points) broke free thanks to a nice pass by Shelby O’Brien early in the third quarter. However, consecutive three’s by senior Lauren Sorel (13 points) sent the Lady Chieftains off on a 24-6 run that stretched into the final quarter. Senior Meghan Collins (18 points) added nine points in the breakaway segment.

Newburyport was hurt badly by turnovers……twenty-two by my count. At least half of the TO’s were unforced.

The Clippers wanted to get Emily Pettigrew (6′) as many touches as possible. Emily had 24 points in the Clippers opening game loss to North Reading. Masco’s Kate Kitsakos (16 points) covered Emily tightly and, despite giving away five inches, made passes inside difficult.

Meghan Collins (First team CAL All-Star last year) had a terrific second half for Masco. Meghan had twelve points in the final quarter hitting from long range and driving to the basket. The 5-7 senior guard also collected twelve rebounds for the Lady Chieftains.

Neither team played very well in the first half. Masco (1-1) led 18-13 but had eight turnovers. The Clippers had eight turnovers in just the first quarter and struggled to run offense that would turn up high-percentage shots.

Lauren Sorel (13 points) had 3 more 3-pointers for Masco

Masco continued with the solid man-to-man defense in the second half and when their shots started falling the Clippers were doomed. Masco’s good outside shooting forced the home team to expand their defense opening up drives to the basket for the visitors. Meghan Collins and Kate Kitsakos were quick to take advantage. The Lady Chieftains ended up with twenty-eight points in the paint.

Meghan Collins found foul trouble in Masco’s loss in their opener to Pentucket but not this time. Teammate Stephanie Mini had three fouls in the first half versus Newburyport and saw her playing time limited as a result.

Both teams were underwhelming at the free throw line. NHS was 9-for-19 while Masco was 6-for-16.

Emily Pettigrew (16 points) drives on Kailey Crothers

Lauren Sorel clicked three times from long range against Pentucket and Newburyport. Someone better start yelling, “Shooter!” when she gets the ball.

Thanks to Andy Tapparo, who runs the Masco Girls Basketball website, for help with statistics.

Next game for Masco is home on Monday against Triton. Newburyport will be on the road versus undefeated Pentucket on the same evening.

The Clippers of Coach Gregg Dollas were 13-7 last season while Bob Romeo’s Lady Chieftains were 21-2.

Newburyport box

Masconomet box

Any errors? Let me know. Blogs are very easy to edit.

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

Stephanie Mini gets to the basket

Morgan Johnston and Lauren Sorel (13 points) look for a rebound

Kate Kitsakos (16 points) looks to shoot over Emily Pettigrew

Olivia Olson gets fouled by Mary Erb

Amy Fogarty drives the lane

in bounds play

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Filed under Masconomet, Newburyport

Tagged as Emily Pettigrew, Kate Kitsakos, Lauren Sorel, Meghan Collins, Stephanie Mini

November 8, 2014 · 11:39 pm

Hamilton-Wenham wins tie breaker in 2014 EMass Division 5 XC over Newburyport

Nick Carleo cruises home with the D5 title by 44 seconds

(Wrentham MA) Senior Jack Blatchford turned out to be the key runner for Hamilton-Wenham at Saturday’s EMass Division 5 Cross Country Championships.

Jack finished 40th but after the totals of the first five runners for both HW and Newburyport were 72 the cross country tie-breaker kicked in.

What is that tie-breaker, you ask? The matchup between both teams’ 6th runner. On this sunny morning it meant that Jack Blatchford’s 40th place finish bested Newburyport’s Jackson Kesley’s 61th place finish and gave the Generals the EMass D5 Boys’ title.

When the results of D5 Boys was first posted at Wrentham they reported that HW had won, 68-69. They also posted the list of finishers. Some untrusting soul decided to add up the totals for themselves and realized that the closing totals should have been, 72-72. Somewhere I recall a math teacher in my past telling me to check my work!

Newburyport’s Nick Carleo departed from the D5 pack in the first 100 yards and ended up with a 44 second lead over Pentucket’s Alex Demeule when the 5K was over.

Nick will be running in the Division 2 championship on Saturday at Franklin Park. There will be challengers to push him in that event.

Getting back to the tie between HW and Newburyport. Watch the battle for 4th place between HW senior Mike Allara and Clippers sophomore Jack Carleo down the stretch. If that battle ends differently the outcome is different. You have to remember that in team results no one person ever loses it for their team. Too many other variables that could have changed things…..but it was exciting.

Hamilton-Wenham swept boys and girls in D5 while another Cape Ann League team (Manchester-Essex) did the same thing in Division 6. Expect the CAL to do very well in the Division 2 championships.

Official results from XC EMass championships

(This blog is easily edited. If I have made a mistake (spelin) let me know.)

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

Jeanine Zheng

Pat McCue (223), Patrick Guinee (380), Cameron Holley (381)

Nick Carleo smiles after race

Maddie Quigley (Triton) with lead pack

Peter Conway

Joe Molvar

Emily Weigand (5th in D5)

Vivian Burke (653)

Maria Sterling

Kristen Mackie (Newburyport) and Bella Doyle (Pentucket)

Alex Demeule finished 2nd in D5

Nick Carleo with big lead at the finish

Colin Brennan (Triton), Mark Landergan (Newburyport), Drew Capener (Pentucket)

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Tagged as 2014 EMass XC Divisionals, Alex Demeule, Colin Brennan, Drew Capener, Emily Weigand, Jack Carleo, Joe Molvar, Maddie Quigley, Manchester-Essex, Mark Landergan, Mike Allara, Nick Carleo, Peter Conway, Wrentham

May 30, 2014 · 9:41 pm

Shannon McLaughlin and Brooke Hardy lead Tewksbury to 6-0 win over Newburyport in D2 North First Round

Shannon McLaughlin (one hitter with eleven strikeouts)

Brooke Hardy (three hits,three runs, one RBI)

(Tewksbury MA) Shannon McLaughlin allowed just one hit and struck out eleven as Tewksbury defeated Newburyport, 6-0, on a cloudy/rainy Friday afternoon in the first round of the Division 2 North softball tournament.

Tewksbury (15-6) had eleven hits and at least four very loud outs. The biggest Redmen hit was a two-run homer by junior Anna Sessa in the sixth inning that gave Tewksbury its final two runs.

Senior Brooke Hardy also had a big part in the Redmen attack. Brooke singled three times, stole two bases, scored three times, and had an RBI. She has a scholarship to D1 Jacksonville next year.

Shannon McLaughlin (committed to St. Anselm’s) dominated the Clippers (11-10) in the first three innings getting seven strikeouts. Newburyport got its first baserunner with two outs in the third inning when Stephanie Gleason was hit by a pitch.

Tewksbury built up a 3-0 lead in those first three innings.

Brooke Hardy steals second as Morgan Johnston waits for the throw

In the first inning, Erin Walsh hustled a single to center into a double and came home on Brooke Hardy’s grounder up the middle. Brooke stole second and reached third on a passed ball (Shelby O’Brien) and came home on Adrianna Favreau’s single up the middle.

In the third inning, Brooke Hardy beat out a grounder to second baseman (Molly Kelley). When Molly’s throw toward first was wild Brooke reached second. Shannon McLaughlin’s single into right center brought in Brooke with the Redmen’s third run.

Newburyport had a baserunner in both the fourth and fifth innings. Carley Siemasko reached in the 4th on a drop by centerfielder Marissa Doherty while Vicki Allman walked in the 5th.

Teagan Trant (3 hits) scored on the Anna Sessa two-run homer

Tewksbury doubled their lead in the fifth inning. Brooke Hardy singled and stole second with no outs. Two very hard outs followed: sharp grounder by Shannon McLaughlin to shortstop Morgan Johnston and a rope to centerfielder Ashley Hodge. Teagan Trant kept the inning going with a single to right that scored Brooke. Anna Sessa followed with an inside-the-park homer that went over leftfielder Amy Sullivan to the fence. Teagan was running with two outs and scored easily. The Clippers had the ball back in the infield as Anna finished circling the bases.

That 6-0 lead after five innings looked pretty safe the way Shannon McLaughlin was pitching. The big question was whether the Clippers could get a hit off of her. Ashley Hodge took care of that in the top of the sixth flairing a single down the rightfield line. Amy Sullivan bunted Ashley to second but Shannon McLaughlin ended the inning getting two infield popups.

Amy Sullivan runs off with teammates after two catches in the sixth inning

Senior Amy Sullivan made two terrific running/sliding catches in left field in the seventh inning.

In some pretty serious rain, Newburyport put two runners on to start their final at-bats. Meg Stanton walked and Morgan Johnston was hit by a pitch. But three infield outs followed and Tewksbury moves on.

The Redman will face Arlington at Arlington on Sunday afternoon (1PM).

Newburyport, with two seniors (Vicki Allman and Amy Sullivan), will have plenty of experienced players returning for the 2015 season.

Shelby OBrien takes a cut

Tewksbury never recorded an outfield putout in this game.

Teagan Trant had three hits, scored a run, and had an RBI for Tewksbury.

Newburyport High School had its senior prom last night.

Special thanks from me to the wife of Tewksbury coach Leo DiRocco. The rain that started midway through the game had me wishing I had brought an umbrella. Mrs. DiRocco offered me one of several she had in her car.

Anna Sessa (2-run homer)

This is the second time I’ve ever seen Tewksbury play. Last time? Division 2 North finals at UMass Lowell last year when they lost 6-5 to Burlington. Key to that Burlington win was keeping Brooke Hardy off the bases. The Clippers weren’t as fortunate!

We all know that umpires make mistakes. It’s always nice to know that they can admit it and change a call. That change happened when a Tewksbury runner had been ruled safe on a play that was a force-out. It did get straightened out.

Tewksbury is in the Merrimack Valley Conference. Newburyport is from the Cape Ann League.

Tewksbury box

Newburyport box

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