Category Archives: Newburyport

April 20, 2022 · 9:23 pm

Triton powers by Newburyport 16-8

Freshman Emma Penniman had two home runs

(Byfield) The hits kept coming.

Triton batted around in three innings and launched three home runs defeating Newburyport, 16-8, on Wednesday afternoon.

“The girls spent a lot of time yesterday in the cage inside and it paid off today,” said Triton coach Alan Noyes afterwards.

The Vikings (5-2) had fifteen hits and except for a quiet fifth inning gave the Newburyport defense plenty of action.

“We can’t give more than three outs an inning,” said Clippers coach Bob Gillespie. “You give extra outs and they’re going to pound you.”

Emily Meleedy hit a grand slam in the Newburyport fourth

There were two Newburyport infield errors in the Triton five-run fourth inning.

“It was a great team effort for us top to bottom,” said Coach Noyes. All nine of the Vikings starters made contributions.

Junior Izzy Oldoni had four hits (including a homer) and a walk. Izzy scored three times and did a good job battling the sun on fly balls in centerfield.

Freshman Emma Penniman had what Coach Noyes called, “her best game.” Emma homered twice and pitched the final 3+ innings.

I saw Emma get a single in three at-bats against Lynnfield, so I was very surprised to see her stroke two solid shots over the rightfield fence.

“The pitches I hit were low and outside,” explained Emma afterwards. “Those were my first homers for Triton.”

Junior Grace Romine batted ninth and had three hits and two RBI.

The Clippers (2-5) were hardly held hitless. They had hits in every inning but the seventh when Emma Penniman struck out the side.

Sophomore Emily Meleedy had a bases-clearing blast in the fourth inning.

Emily’s shot, which would have disrupted a tennis match in the distance, narrowed the Triton lead to, 9-5. However, the Vikings answered with five runs in their half of that inning to restore their big lead.

“Mallory (Johnson) started for us and only made one bad pitch,” said Coach Noyes. “Emma (Penniman) came in and closed it down. We now have a pitching staff.”

“Hopefully, we’re building something special here,” he added. “We haven’t lost at home yet. We’ll see what happens as the season goes along.”

“We didn’t hit the ball well today and that’s a credit to their pitchers,” said Coach Gillespie. “We play them again at our place. We’ll see what happens there.”

Both shortstops (Kyla Story & Emma Keefe) made diving stops that kept hits from getting to the outfield and runs scoring.

Leftfielder Matigan Richmond made a nice running catch.

LF Matigan Richmon made a nice running catch

If you don’t dress warmly for an outdoor game at Triton, you haven’t been there before! Temperatures were in the 50’s and there was a cold wind. Fortunately, there was plenty of action on the field to lessen your awareness of the conditions.

Newburyport 0 0 1 4 2 1 0 = 8

Triton 5 0 4 5 0 2 – = 16

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Shortstop Kyla Story on the ground for a grounder

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Coach Alan Noyes, Emily Meleedy, Emma Penniman, Grace Romine, Izzy Oldini

April 13, 2022 · 9:47 pm

Liv DeLong no-hits Newburyport in 9-0 Amesbury win

Liv DeLong and catcher Ella Delisle celebrate the no-hitter

(Amesbury) Liv DeLong didn’t know until the game was over.

“One of the umpires said it would have been a perfect game without the walks,” said Liv.

Liv DeLong had a no-hitter, with eleven strikeouts, leading Amesbury (4-0) past Newburyport, 9-0, on Wednesday afternoon.

“She shut us down and there was nothing we could do about it,” said Newburyport coach Bob Gillespie post-game.

Amesbury was in contact mode against the Clippers’ starter Emily Meleedy. They whacked thirteen hits, getting at least one in every inning.

“We knew that (Emily) Meleedy is good, so we wanted to attack at the plate,” said AHS coach Jacqui Waters afterwards. “We talked yesterday about going after the first strike.” Amesbury never walked once.

Amesbury hit the ball hard and it was a credit to the Newburyport defense that they kept this one from entering the mercy-rule zone.

3B Sophie Lavallee saved two runs snaring a line drive in the second inning. RF Matigan Richmond made a nice running catch to start the Amesbury third inning. Shortstop Emma Keefe kept numerous red-hot grounders in the infield and also made a good running catch in back of second base.

All these good plays lessened Amesbury’s run production and extended the game the full seven innings.

Amesbury turned three hits into four runs in the first inning. Two Newburyport infield errors prolonged the inning. Ella Bezanson, Liv DeLong, and Olivia Levasseur had the first-inning RBI’s.

Ella Bezanson had a solo homer over the centerfield fence in the Amesbury fourth.

“The pitch was right down the middle, and I saw it well,” said Ella afterwards.

Newburyport picked up their first baserunner (walk to Emily Meleedy) after Liv had retired eleven straight, striking out six of them.

Sophomore Grace Habib had a leadoff walk in the fifth inning.

“I gave up two walks, but that happens,” said Liv. “Neither one of them got past first base.”

The closest Newburyport came to getting a hit was on a grounder to short by leadoff batter Nieve Morrissey. Nieve is a fast runner and shortstop Olivia Levasseur’s throw to first just barely beat her.

The Clippers were unable to get the ball out of the infield. 2B Cali Catarius had four assists.

“They were up there to hit,” said Liv. “My movement pitches were working especially my curveball.”

“Liv takes things in stride and is so easy to coach,” said Coach Waters. “I don’t think she knew it was a no-hitter until the end. We didn’t tell her. I think it was her 4^th no-hitter.”

Liv is committed to play softball at Boston University next year. “I’m not sure if it’s for pitching or hitting but if I’m being honest, it is probably hitting.”

Liv had three singles against Newburyport today. I asked her about the two strikeouts she had against the slow-pitching, eighth grader from Georgetown recently. “Getting the timing down is difficult. Slow pitching brings out all the flaws in my swing. There’s no time for that against fast pitching. We do better as a team against fast pitching.”

Ella Bezanson, Lexi LeBlanc, and Lauren Celia each had two hits for Amesbury.

The Clippers (1-4) have three games next week. “We’re looking to bounce back,” said Coach Gillespie.

So far, Amesbury has scored forty-three runs and given up only one (Peabody).

Amesbury has now defeated Newburyport three straight times.

Coach Gillespie took an Amesbury run off the books by appealing that a runner had left early tagging up.

Liv DeLong: “Winning the basketball championship was bitter sweet because I knew that I wouldn’t be playing basketball again but I was excited to win a championship. There was only one day between basketball and softball. I now want to get a softball championship.”

Wonderful weather for April 13^th.

Newburyport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0

Amesbury 4 0 0 2 1 2 = 9

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Shortstop Emma Keefe makes a running catch

Shortstop Olivia Levasseur throws to first

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Ella Bezanson, Emma Keefe, Lauren Celia, Lexi LeBlanc, Liv DeLong, Matigan Richmond, Sophia Lavallee

April 8, 2022 · 10:30 pm

Newburyport rallies past Pentucket 8-6

(Newburyport) “The start was rough,” said Newburyport Clipper defender Jack Hadden afterwards, “but I kept reminding the guys that it wasn’t over yet.”

“It was only 3-0 so there was obviously a comeback waiting,” he added.

Newburyport rolled after the first quarter

And there was as Newburyport (2-1) regrouped and went on to defeat Pentucket, 8-6, on Friday night.

“Pentucket is tough, and they won’t give you anything,” said Clippers coach Josh Wedge post-game. “I don’t think we were fully ready to earn anything at the start of the game.”

In the first eight minutes, Pentucket (1-1) had unanswered goals from Joe Turpin, Ben Turpin, and Evan Napolitano.

“We came in confident because we won our opener on Saturday,” explained Pentucket coach Dan Leary.

Coach Leary wasn’t fooled, however, by the early three-goal lead. “Newburyport is a very talented team,” he said. “Being down three is nothing to them.”

In the second quarter, the Clippers showed the quality that enabled them to reach the D3 state semifinals last season.

“I was happy with how we played defense after that first quarter,” said Coach Wedge.

The Newburyport defense was tighter and shots on goal became tougher and tougher for Pentucket to create.

Cam Tinkham, Jack Hadden, and Jon Growth produced scores and had the game tied 3-3 at the half.

Ben Turpin notched his second goal just 1 ½ minutes into the second half and Newburyport needed to regroup again….which they did.

The next five goals belonged to the Clippers.

“We started slowly (again) but gradually found our rhythm,” said Coach Wedge. “It wasn’t perfect by any means.”

Ryan McHugh (3) and Owen Kruez (2) were the five-goal finishers for Newburyport.

“As the game went on, we got a little tired and made some mental mistakes in transition that hurt us,” added Coach Leary. “A talented team like Newburyport will make you pay when you do that.”

“We just couldn’t stop the bleeding,” added Coach Leary referencing the Clippers run to an 8-4 lead.

Henry Hartford and Nolan Cole scored for Pentucket in the last thirty seconds of the game when things were a bit disorganized.

“In that second-to-last goal there were eleven players on the field,” said Coach Wedge.

“We have a lot of inexperienced guys,” said Coach Wedge. “We are dressing twenty-nine players and sixteen are either freshmen or sophomores. But we’re a scrappy team and we play good defense most of the time. Our team is really good at picking the ball off the ground and we fight pretty hard for it. What we don’t do enough of is valuing the ball. Too many bad passes and dropped passes.”

“We never quit today,” said Coach Leary. “That’s all I can ask for. Our team is always fired up to play Newburyport.”

There will be a rematch at Pentucket later in the season.

Coach Wedge: “Dan (Leary) does an unbelievable job. I think he’s the most underrated coach around here. They have low numbers but they’re ultra-competitive. They know how to play the game.”

I asked Jack Hadden about his choice of the University of Albany to play lacrosse. “The minute I stepped onto the campus I know it was the place for me. The team and the coaches were so welcoming. At 12:01AM on September 1^st, the first day they could recruit me, they reached out to me. That meant a lot. It was an obvious choice for me.”

The weather at Stehlin was pleasant with sunshine and temperatures near sixty. I nearly froze at Pettingell the day before.

Newburyport 0 3 4 1 = 8

Pentucket 3 0 1 2 = 6

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Ben Turpin, Coach Dan Leary, Coach Josh Wedge, Owen Kruez, Ryan McHugh

April 7, 2022 · 11:55 pm

Newburyport gets 5-4 walkoff win over Bishop Fenwick

Owen Tahnk (3 hits) scores the game winner

(Newburyport) Twice Newburyport trailed but twice they rallied.

A walkoff single by Jack Fehlner was key in the final rally as the Clippers defeated Bishop Fenwick, 5-4, on Thursday afternoon.

“Credit Newburyport,” said Crusaders coach Matt Antonelli afterwards. “They were down two times, and they came back both times.”

Jack Fehner went the distance for the Clippers allowing five hits. His wild pitch, however, in the Fenwick seventh gave the visitors a 4-3 lead.

But Jack the pitcher is also Jack the hitter and in the bottom of the seventh he delivered a walkoff single to center that set off some serious celebrating by the Clippers.

“I wasn’t surprised at all by what Jack did,” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe post-game. “He’s that good.”

The Clippers had only four hits off the pitching of Mike Geissler and Marco Carrillo going into bottom of the seventh.

But after one out, the Clippers put four straight hits together to tie and then win the game.

Eli Suchecki had a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning

Pinch-hitter Eli Suchecki started the rally with a double and Owen Tahnk (3 hits) drove Eli in with another double to tie the score.

Max Puleo then singled sending Owen to third.

That collection of hits gave Jack his chance. Jack tried a squeeze bunt that nearly worked before singling to center to score Owen with the game winner.

“We came together in the bottom of the seventh,” said Jack. “It was a team effort. Eli, Owen, and Max got on to give me a chance. My hit was off a curve.”

The Clippers had the bases loaded in the second and third innings. Only one run resulted, and it was driven in by Charlie Forrest on a fielder’s choice in the second inning.

The Crusaders took the lead in the fifth inning. Two hits (Costa Beechin and Nick Villano), two stolen bases, an infield error, and a passed ball produced three runs. Chris Faraca and Nick Villano had the RBIs.

But the Clippers bounced back in their half of the fifth. Two hits (Luke Stallard and Jack Fehlner), two wild pitches, and an infield error led to two runs and a 3-3 tie. Max Puleo and Jack Fehlner had the RBIs.

Things unraveled for Newburyport in the seventh. A leadoff walk (Gianni Mercurio) was followed by two passed balls and a wild pitch and the Crusaders had the lead and were only three outs away from their first win.

Connor Stick walked leading off the bottom of the seventh for Newburyport but was picked off by reliever Marco Carrillo. However, the next four Clippers had hits and Newburyport had its first win.

“We won the game despite some things not going the way we wanted them to,” said Coach Rowe. “The kids were resilient. It was nice to get our first win against a very, very good team.”

“We’ve got to throw more strikes and make plays in the field,” said Coach Antonelli. The BF pitchers gave up seven walks.

Owen Tahnk drove in the tying run in the seventh inning for Newburyport. He finished the afternoon with three hits and scored the winning run.

Jack Fehlner had two hits and two RBI to go with his complete-game five hitter.

“My slider worked pretty well,” said Jack afterwards. “They have a lot of great hitters on that team. They pieced some balls off me for sure.”

Nick Villano led Fenwick with two hits and an RBI.

“We’re now 0-3,” said Coach Antonelli, “and the way to get out of it is to work hard in practice. We’ll work on defense and throwing strikes. It’s still early in the season.”

Nice catch by centerfielder Owen Roberts in the third inning.

The weather was miserable….40’s and windy. It was such a good game, however, that dwelling on the discomfort was minimized.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Connor Stick scores the 2nd Newburyport run

Leave a comment

Filed under Bishop Fenwick, Newburyport

Tagged as Coach Matt Antonelli, Jack Fehlner, Nick Villano, Owen Tahnk

April 2, 2022 · 9:36 pm

Gloucester edges Newburyport 4-3 in opener

Zach Morris throw from left nails Jack Fehlner at the plate

Owen Tahnk scores the Clippers third run

(Newburyport) Newburyport gave extra outs to Gloucester in the fifth inning and it cost them.

The Fishermen came away with a 4-3 win in the Saturday afternoon non-league game that was the opener for both teams.

“It was the first game of the season, and you could tell it at times for both teams,” said Gloucester coach Rory Gentile afterwards.

“It was a game that I feel we should have won but we made mistakes and you can’t do that against an excellent team like Gloucester,” said Clippers coach Mark Rowe.

The game featured three pitchers (Jack Fehlner, Zach Morris, and Brett Moore) who are all committed to pitch at the next level.

The Boston Herald had cited both teams as “teams to watch in Division 3.”

“Newburyport looked like a very good team,” said Coach Gentile. “That’s a team we may be seeing later on.”

Newburyport took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.

Junior Max Puleo was hit by a pitch, stole second, and hustled home on a two-out blooper that fell into short right field in the first inning.

In the fourth inning, senior Jack Fehlner lit into a Zach Morris high fastball and sent it over the left field fence.

“When we were down 2-0 it felt like 100-to-nothing,” recalled Coach Gentile. “We weren’t doing much of anything right.”

Things turned Gloucester’s way in the fifth and sixth innings.

In the fifth, Zach Morris tripled in teammate Brett Moore with the first Fishermen score.

“My first two times up were not what I wanted,” said Zach afterwards. “I was trying to do too much. The third at-bat I saw the curve and waited on it.”

Brett Moore had two hits and closed out the game for Gloucester

The Clippers had two chances to escape with just one Gloucester run in that inning, but a line-drive drop, and a messed-up pickoff led to more at bats and two more runs.

“We played well defensively at times,” said Coach Rowe, “but we did make defensive mistakes that cost us maybe the game.”

The Fishermen added the eventual game-winner in their half of the sixth inning. Thomas Elliott singled, stole second and scored on Brett Moore’s double to right.

That 4-2 Gloucester lead was severely threatened in the Newburyport sixth.

The Clippers put three straight singles together off Zach Morris with Brady Ford’s single driving across Owen Tahnk. Another walk (Jack Sullivan) loaded the bases with no outs.

It certainly appeared, at the time, that Newburyport was likely to collect some more runs…..but they didn’t.

Coach Gentile brought in Brett Moore from left to replace Zach and Zach went out to play left. I am not sure if a coach could ask for a player switch to work out any better than this one did.

Owen Roberts flied out to left and Zach gunned down Jack Fehlner trying to score from third base.

“I got behind that ball and said, ‘we need this’ and let it go,” recalled Zach. The throw was perfect and a very fast runner (Jack Fehlner) was clearly out at home plate.

Brett Moore struck out the next batter to limit Newburyport to a lone run.

“We’re up one, no outs, with the bases loaded and we get out of it,” said Coach Gentile. “We need to not rely on getting lucky but get ahead of batters.”

Sophomore Connor Stick reached third with two outs in the last inning, but Brett struck out the final batter.

“Brett Moore (commit to Curry) is one of our senior leaders,” said Coach Gentile. “He had a great year last year. That’s what we expect him to do.”

The Fishermen collected nine hits off Jack Fehlner and Charlie Forrest. Brett Moore, Emerson Marshall, and Thomas Elliott had two hits each.

The Clippers finished with six hits. Owen Tahnk and Jack Fehlner each had two of them.

Jack pitched four plus innings. “I had a pitch limit in mind for him,” said Coach Rowe. “He could have finished that inning but it’s early in the season and I don’t want to hurt his arm.”

Zach Morris is committed to URI next season. “I loved the coaching staff there,” he said. “The energy I saw there was awesome.”

I asked Zach for the reason why his teammates and coaches were calling him, “Tuna.” “I was almost born with that nickname,” he said. “My godmother had a lake behind her house that I would swim in but never get out of. She called me, “Tuna,” and it got around.”

Plenty of sunshine on this Saturday afternoon at Pettingell Park. The wind, however, kept everyone from getting too comfortable.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Leave a comment

Filed under Gloucester, Newburyport

Tagged as Brett Moore, Coach Rory Gentile, Jack Fehlner, Owen Tahnk, Zach Morris

March 5, 2022 · 9:13 pm

Newburyport moves on after 57-43 win over Shepherd Hill

(Newburyport MA) The Clippers (19-2) advance after defeating Shepherd Hill, 57-43, in the Round of 32 on Saturday afternoon.

The #21 Rams (15-7) trailed the entire game but impressed Newburyport coach Karen Grutchfield.

“We had seen them on film,” she said, “but they were much better than we thought.”

The Rams handled the ball well and knew where to concentrate their defense. The issue was scoring.

“We’ve had an issue scoring all year,” said Shepherd Hill coach Maura Hackenson afterwards.

Neither team shot very well although there were plenty of attempts. There was only one three made the entire game. The Clippers scored only five points in the final quarter, yet the Rams were only able to take three points off their deficit at the start of the quarter.

“If we don’t play good defense in the backcourt, it’s a close game at the end,” said Coach Grutchfield.

But the good non-stop pressure sent the Rams into several scoring droughts that opened opportunities for the Clippers to establish separation.

SH went through a two-point, three-minute segment in the second period. Newburyport took advantage. The Clippers recorded twelve points and turned a 19-18 one-possession game into, 31-20, with two minutes left in the quarter.

Makenna Ward (15 pts) and Deirdre McElhinney each had four points during this successful segment. Olivia McDonald and Emma Foley had a basket each.

The Rams did not go away. They made the first two baskets of the second half (Emery Mullen and Heidi Jarosz), and the visitors were quickly within seven (33-26) as things got interesting.

But then the Newburyport defense kicked in again and shut down the Rams completely for the next three minutes.

While the visitors struggled, the Clippers went on a 9-0 run and their lead rose to, 42-26, and back into something of a comfort zone.

Emma Foley defended by Heidi Jarosz (11 points)

The highlight makers for Newburyport in this good section were Olivia McDonald, Makenna Ward, and Emma Foley. Olivia hit a jump shot and the only three of the game. Makenna broke full-court for a layup while Emma spun into the lane for two points.

Emma (21 points) ended up with a ten-point quarter dashing Shepherd Hill’s hopes for getting closer to Newburyport. The Clippers had a seventeen-point lead after three quarters.

“Emma (Foley) has great moves down there,” said SH coach Maura Hackenson. “She keeps the ball really high, and we didn’t have the height to match up. We tried to front her.”

Emma often had 2-3 defenders whenever she had the ball but still found ways to supply badly needed scoring.

“Emma thrives on offense,” said Coach Grutchfield. “She needs a lot of touches. She also did a good job of rebounding.”

The Rams from the Mid-Wach League were tough on the glass scoring on six offensive rebounds.

Newburyport’s next game will be on the road against Whitman-Hanson.

Quiet crowd at Newburyport this afternoon.

Newburyport 15 19 18 5 = 57

Shepherd Hill 12 10 13 8 = 43

(The pictures will enlarge.)

The MIAA this year has arranged the tournament based on power rankings. The North, South, Central, and West are history. And with the new arrangement, regional games are gone. Who around here even knew where Shepherd Hill was located? But they were seeded #21 and the matchup was against #12 Newburyport.

What has been interesting (to me) has been that so far the higher seeds almost always win. This suggests that the rankings have been accurate.

I do, however, wonder about the excessive travel the new arrangement necessitates. The Amesbury boys had to travel to western Massachusetts to play South Hadley this week on a school night. The Frontier girls’ team (Deerfield) will be traveling to Amesbury for a 5:30PM game on a school night.

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Shepherd Hill

Tagged as Coach Maura Hackenson, Emma Foley, Heidi Jarosz, MaKenna Ward, Olivia McDonald

February 24, 2022 · 12:43 am

Newburyport wins Gieras Tourney 68-48 over North Andover

Newburyport Clippers win Gieras Tournament

(Danvers MA) North Andover had a five-point lead in the first half and was tied with Newburyport early in the second half.

That was the good news for the (10-9) Knights.

The Clippers (18-2) overwhelmed NA the rest of the way.

The win, at Danvers High School, gained the tournament title for Newburyport in the Ed Gieras Memorial Tournament on Wednesday night.

“This was a really satisfying win,” said Clippers coach Karen Grutchfield afterwards. “We showed up to play against a good team.”

The Knights were able to hang around thanks to long-range accuracy. Katie Robie (12 points) and freshman Sydney Rogers each had a pair of 3-pointers to keep the game close in the early going.

In the second half, the Knights lost the outside touch and couldn’t contend with a Clippers’ team that had four players in double figures.

Junior Emma Foley was the tourney MVP. Emma thrived against single coverage around the basket. When NA opted to send extra defensive help it opened opportunities for other Clippers. On this night, those “other” players; Makenna Ward (17 points), Olivia McDonald (14 points), and Deirdre McElhinney, (12 points) all needed individual attention.

“We distributed the scoring pretty well,” said Coach Grutchfield.

“There are no excuses for the way we played in the second half,” said NA coach Jess Deveny post-game.

“When you don’t play well in the defensive end, it translates into not doing well in the offensive end,” she added.

The Clippers put up forty-four points in the second half. They had consecutive point-runs of ten and eight in the third quarter and fourteen in the final quarter.

The 26-26 tie turned into 36-26 in the third quarter and 54-34 in the last quarter.

Most of the Newburyport baskets had assists attached to them. Their passing was good, and they also converted several offensive rebounds.

“Newburyport got hot,” said Coach Deveny. “They were making all their shots. They’re a great squad. They’re in the top twenty in D2.”

North Andover is in the Merrimack Valley Conference and is used to a regular dose of tough competition.

“Every night is a battle in the MVC,” said Coach Deveny. “If you’re not ready, this is what happens.”

“Sydney Turner was special for us tonight,” said Coach Grutchfield. “She does all the little things and tonight she guarded their best player.”

Hannah Martin paced North Andover with fourteen points and was named to the all-tourney team. Olivia McDonald did a pretty good job of defending her. Olivia also had fourteen points including nine in the last quarter.

Makenna Ward finished with seventeen points and that earned her a spot on the all-tourney team. Makenna had a fast-break layup (assisted by Olivia McDonald) and a three-pointer when the Clippers gained the ten-point separation in the third quarter.

North Andover defeated Reading (58-44) to reach tonight’s final. Newburyport had a win over Danvers (59-34) to get to the championship game.

Katie Robie had four three-pointers for the Knights.

Newburyport 9 15 21 23 = 68

North Andover 10 13 7 18 = 48

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, North Andover

Tagged as Coach Jess Deveny, Deirdre McElhinney, Emma Foley, Hannah Martin, Jackie Rogers, Katie Robie, MaKenna Ward, Olivia McDonald

February 16, 2022 · 12:29 am

James Scali (34 points) leads Newburyport past North Andover 69-59

(Newburyport MA) Maybe it was the pre-game meal.

“I made some pasta before the game and maybe it gave me some extra energy,” joked Newburyport’s James Scali regarding his impressive performance.

Whatever it was, James had a special night against visiting North Andover and led the Clippers to a, 69-59, win on Tuesday night.

James tallied a career high thirty-four points and spread the points out. The NHS senior had ten in the first quarter when the Clippers got off to a great start and fourteen in the final quarter when the Knights got inside the ten-point deficit.

“James has been telling us that he can give us more,” said Newburyport coach Dave Clay afterwards. “Tonight, he certainly did just that.”

The Knights (8-7) got off to a bad start. “We got into a hole early and couldn’t really claw back,” said NA coach Paul Tanglis post-game. “They spread you out and they can shoot the ball.”

It took NA four minutes to get any points. Meanwhile, the Clippers (12-5) ran off twelve straight points.

A Ronan Brown three and a Finn Brennan drive surrounded three inside scores and a free throw by James gave Newburyport its first twelve points.

The Knights trailed the entire game. They did, however, get within five points in the second quarter (27-22) and the third quarter (36-31).

James Scali answered the second quarter threat with a triple and a layup.

The Clippers reaction to the third quarter threat was impressive. After Jack O’Connell’s layup made the score, 36-31, with 5 ½ minutes left in the third quarter, the Clippers defense didn’t allow NA to score for the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Clippers offense racked up eleven straight points and they led at quarter’s end, 47-31.

Five Clippers (Finn Sullivan, Ronan, Adam Bovee, James, and Will Thoreson) combined for the eleven points.

Newburyport elevated their lead to eighteen points (49-31) to start the final quarter. NA did not go away. They pressed and they made shots and had themselves a 28-point quarter. But the big deficit was just too much to overcome for the visitors from the Merrimack Valley Conference.

“We couldn’t get the multiple stops in a row,” said Coach Tanglis. “This is a tough place to play, and they are a good team. We obviously didn’t do a good job on #4 (James Scali).”

North Andover defeated Newburyport, 60-58, on January 9^th at North Andover. In that loss, James had one point.

“I just felt more aggressive tonight,” said James. “I have gotten more confident as the season has progressed. I’m looking to score more now.”

“I can’t tell you how much time James has put in,” added Coach Clay. “I think of where he was and where he is now. It’s so cool to see the confidence in him. Plus, he’s so kind and polite.”

Another key to tonight’s win was the solid defense the Clippers displayed against NA sophomore Zach Wolinski. Zach lit up Newburyport for thirty-two points in the first game.

Tonight, Finn Sullivan and Henry Acton took turns playing tight man-to-man defense against him. Zach did make a couple of three’s, and finished with eleven points.

“Finn and Henry were really determined to stop him,” said Coach Clay. “He took over the game last time but those two were up to the challenge this time.”

All five of the Knights’ starters reached double figures: Brody McGratty (14), Jack O’Connell (13), Zach Wolinski (11), Drew Connolly (11), and D’Andre King (10).

Senior Ronan Brown finished with fourteen points for the Clippers.

This was the second straight night a Newburyport player registered a career game. Last night it was Emma Foley with thirty-one points.

Newburyport 17 15 15 22 = 69

North Andover 6 18 7 28 = 59

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Finn Brennan goes up for a shot in the lane

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, North Andover

Tagged as Brady McGratty, Coach Dave Clay, Coach Paul Tanglis, Jack O'Connell, James Scali, Ronan Brown, Zach Wolinski

February 15, 2022 · 12:21 am

Emma Foley (31 points) leads Newburyport past Haverhill 58-35

Junior Emma Foley reached a career-high thirty-one points vs Haverhill

(Newburyport MA) The Haverhill Hillies were on the wrong end of Emma Foley’s career game.

“We couldn’t stop her,” said Haverhill coach Melissa Tarpy afterwards. “She had a ton of points.”

Thirty-one, to be exact.

“It was the best I’ve done,” said Emma post-game.

Emma’s big night was the key in Newburyport’s 58-35 win over Haverhill on Monday night.

“I definitely couldn’t have scored all those points without some great looks from Sydney (Turner), Makenna (Ward), and Deirdre (McElhinney),” said Emma. “They did a really good job of finding me tonight.”

The Hillies (3-14) used a man-to-man defense in the first half. The Clippers (15-2) countered by spreading out and putting Emma close to the basket. With single coverage and space to operate, Emma went to work.

The two teams played a week ago and Newburyport only won by eight points (54-46).

Haverhill defense tightened in the second half

“I didn’t put the ball in the hoop very well,” said Emma of the sixteen points she had at Haverhill.

No such problem tonight.

The Clippers were up, 19-8, after a quarter and Emma already had eighteen points! The variety of scoring maneuvers was impressive. There were assisted baskets in close, mixed in with a rebound basket as well as one on a full-court drive.

A three-pointer by Haley Phillips (15 points) had the Hillies within two points (8-6). Emma answered with nine straight points and Deirdre McElhinney (11 points) added a free throw. Suddenly the NHS lead was twelve points (18-6).

In the second quarter, a three by Sydney Spencer set the score at 21-11 a minute into that quarter.

The game got away from Haverhill in the next four minutes.

The Clippers scored fifteen unanswered points to lead, 36-11, and took the mystery out of the outcome.

“We kept making mistakes,” said Coach Tarpy.

Deirdre and Emma each had six points during the consecutive run of great offense and defense.

The Hillies played much better in the second half. They switched to a zone defense and the easy passes to Emma Foley near the basket disappeared. And when Emma did get the ball, she had to deal with multiple defenders.

Emma still was able to add seven points to her 24-point first half and end up with a career-best thirty-one points. The score difference kept Emma on the bench for some of the fourth quarter or she might have added to her total.

The biggest cheer of the night? It wasn’t for Emma. It was for Sydney Turner after she stole a pass and turned it into her first points of the night.

It was Senior Day and Sydney is Newburyport’s only senior. Sydney had a nice group of friends/family with “Syd” shirts on in attendance.

“I’m so proud of Sydney,” said Clippers coach Karen Grutchfield afterwards. “We always put her on the other team’s best offensive player.”

Emma had nine rebounds and her sister (Olivia) had five rebounds. Makenna Ward had five steals.

I asked Emma about the 63-45 loss to Pentucket last Thursday: “We had breakdowns all over the court. We struggled to score in the second half, and they were getting layup after layup. When we do a good job of stopping the drives, we play well. It didn’t help that Makenna and I had four fouls. It was tough to play defense with those fouls. Hopefully, we’ll see them again.”

Newburyport 19 17 11 11 = 58

Haverhill 8 7 12 8 = 35

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Sydney Spencer guarded by Olivia McDonald

Leave a comment

Filed under Haverhill, Newburyport

Tagged as Deirdre McElhinney, Emma Foley, Haley Phillips, Sydney Turner

February 11, 2022 · 1:08 am

Pentucket wins CAL title 63-45 over Newburyport

(Newburyport MA) “Everyone did their job, and it was fun to watch,” said Pentucket coach John McNamara afterwards.

Fun for the team from West Newbury for sure, as they defeated Newburyport, 63-45, in a big-stakes Cape Ann League game on Thursday night.

The win gave the Sachems (13-2) the CAL Kinney Division title.

“They won by ten last time,” said Abby Dube (19 points), “and we’ve been working so hard to beat them.”

The Clippers (14-2) started well. Olivia McDonald’s three put them up, 11-5. Later, two baskets by Makenna Ward (19 points) in the last minute extended the NHS lead to, 18-10, at the end of the quarter.

The Clippers were making shots and gathering offensive rebounds when they didn’t.

It took a backup defense and some life off the bench to turn things around for Pentucket.

“We don’t use that zone defense a lot, but we did tonight and I think it got them out of their rhythm,” said Coach McNamara.

The offensive rebounds decreased for the Clippers and their top scorer (Emma Foley) had to deal with multiple defenders on each possession.

“We put the first quarter behind us and played to win the next three quarters,” said Abby Dube.

The pleasant surprises off the bench were Bethany Cloutier and Ava DiBurro.

Bethany gave Pentucket its first lead of the game (22-21) with an old-fashioned three-point play with two minutes left in the second quarter.

Ava (11 points) was the biggest surprise of all. In the most important game of the season, she came in, fit in, and produced points.

“Ava’s a talented kid,” said Coach McNamara. “We’ve been waiting for this to happen. Ava sure picked a great night to have a breakout game. She has good finishing skills.”

Pentucket led by four, 26-22, at the half.

The Clippers got a terrific start to the second half. They regained the lead (27-26) after just a minute.

But an Abby Dube layup put Pentucket back in front (28-27) thirty seconds later and they would build on that lead the rest of the way.

A big problem for the home team in the third quarter was foul trouble. Both Makenna Ward and Emma Foley (10 points) picked up their 4^th fouls and lost time on the floor. Both girls can score and defend, and the Clippers lost a lot in both categories with them on the bench.

Pentucket pushed their advantage to six (33-27) in the third quarter on two Alyssa Thompson (10 points) free throws.

With Makenna on the bench for the final two minutes of the quarter, the Sachems turned that six-point lead into a twelve-point lead (46-34) by the end of the quarter. Lana Mickelson contributed two layups and Abby Dube nailed a jump shot just before the quarter-ending buzzer.

Early in the final quarter, Makenna Ward and Deirdre McElhinney (10 points) hit consecutive three’s to cut the Pentucket lead to nine (50-41) with 6 ½ minutes left. A quick timeout by Coach McNamara was followed by eleven straight points by the Sachems. Ava DiBurro finished the run with two straight inside scores giving Pentucket a twenty-point lead (61-41).

Newburyport was undefeated at home (7-0) before tonight’s loss.

Emma Lopata: “We had really good energy from start to finish. The team is always supportive of each other.”

Abby Dube: “It felt amazing to win this one. We knew we could do it.”

Audrey Conover: “It was definitely a high-energy game. I think that our defense was the key tonight. Abby (Dube) really pulled through on offense. She was making everything.”

Alyssa Thompson: “We started off slow. We talked at halftime about working together as a team. We then passed the ball more.”

Ava DiBurro: “We really wanted to beat them. I just tried to do what the team needed me to do. I’m playing better, but there are things I need to work on.”

Coach McNamara: “Newburyport is a good team. They should make a deep run in the tournament. From the second quarter on we played really good basketball. We took care of the ball, and we minimized our turnovers.”

Great crowd from both schools. The crowd was mostly adults. Absent, but not missed by me, was the chanting that goes on when the crowd is dominated by students.

Both teams are in Division 2. Back in the day, only one of them could have made it out of the North sectionals. That changes now with the MIAA state-wide power rankings determining the seeding. Pentucket is currently listed behind Newburyport in those rankings but that will change after tonight’s game.

Pentucket 10 16 20 17 = 63

Newburyport 18 4 12 11 = 45

(The pictures will enlarge.)