Category Archives: Pentucket

January 29, 2012 · 10:46 pm

Solid ending gets Pentucket past Masconomet (57-54) in girls basketball

Coley Viselli (16 points) made three free throws in the last fourteen seconds to seal the Pentucket win.

Chelsea Nason (17 points) connected on five triples.

(Topsfield)  Before a sizable Sunday afternoon crowd, Pentucket turned a strong final two minutes into a, 57-54, win over Masconomet in a matchup between two of the best girls teams in the state.

Evenly matched?  How about eleven ties over the course of the game with five of them in the frantic last quarter?

After the last tie (47-47) with 2:54 left, Masco broke out with a triple by Chelsea Nason (17 points) and two Danielle Davis (9 points) free throws to get up by five (52-47) with 2:13 left.

Pentucket’s response won the game for them.  Two freebies by Sarah Higgins (she was an amazing 9-for-9 from the line), a driving layup by Alex Moore, and gutsy triple by Alex (from Kelsi McNamara) went unanswered by the Chieftains.  This consecutive action put the Sachems on top, 54-52, with thirty seconds left.

Masco’s Katie Hutchinson missed the front end of a one-and-one with fifteen seconds left.  Coley Viselli (16 points) took the rebound and was immediately fouled.  She made both free throws to stretch the Pentucket advantage to 56-52.

Coley Viselli shoots a three as Chelsea Nason defends

Brooke Stewart (8 points) drove the length of the court to close her team’s deficit to two (56-54) with six seconds left.  Coley Viselli received the inbounds pass and Chelsea Nason (5th foul) sent her to the foul line with five seconds left.

Coley missed the first and made the second.  Danielle Davis dribbled to midcourt before attempting a tying long one that went wide as time ran out.

If Chelsea Nason hadn’t fouled out she probably would have been the one taking the last shot.  She had connected on five 3’s during the game.

The foul shooting was excellent for both teams.  Pentucket made 21-of-25 while Masco hit 10-of-13.

The Chieftains started the second period with six unanswered points (21-15) before the Sachems strung thirteen unanswered back (28-21) over the next eight minutes of playing time stretching into the third quarter.

Chelsea Nason’s triple midway through the third quarter finished Masco’s rally back to a 32-32 tie. Seven ties followed the rest of the way.  Pentucket closed with a 10-2 game-decider.

Alex Moore chases Brooke Stewart

Pentucket (7-0 in Cape Ann League D1 / 11-4 overall) lost Tess Nogueira (groin injury) with a minute left in the third quarter and the score tied at 37-37.  I thought at the time that Pentucket might be in serious trouble because Tess had shadowed Brooke Stewart into a non-factor status.  But Alex Moore took over and, although at least six inches shorter than Brooke, was able to limit the talented senior to just four points the rest of the way.

Besides the good fill-in defense, Alex (13 points) put up seven in the final quarter including the go-ahead triple with thirty seconds left.

Masco (5-1 in CAL / 9-2 overall) had won seven of their last eight games before today’s loss.  I saw them defeat a highly regarded Central Catholic team in Lawrence last Sunday.

Both Masco and Pentucket are in Division 1 of the Cape Ann League.  When it comes to the MIAA tournament, however, Pentucket slides down to Division 3. Could that have been why St. Mary’s Jeff Newman was in the house??  I saw Jeff’s Spartans oust Pentucket from the tournament last year at Wilmington.

Two of the most sideline-active coaches were in action today and it was hard not to watch them even as the game was going on.

Bob Romeo (Masco) is at least 6’5” with a loud voice.  Dressed in a pink shirt for the Coaches vs. Cancer event he was pretty hard to miss.

Pentucket coach John McNamara gets a technical in the 4th quarter.

Meanwhile, down the other end was Pentucket’s John McNamara.  He spent more time on the court than most of his players.  I did see him kick the bench – I have a coaching friend who broke a toe doing that.  John had a legitimate complain late in the game when someone in the Masco band used their trumpet (?) as a noisemaker while Coley Viselli was shooting free throws.  Earlier, with 4:16 left John got hit with a technical foul.  Brooke Stewart made both technical foul shots.

I guess it begs the question, why are coaches allowed on the floor when the game is going on?  At the least, it is very dangerous.  What do the rules say??

Both coaches have tremendous records and produce competitive teams year after year.  Graduation never seems to slow them down.

Brooke Stewart (8 points) was overheard saying at halftime that she “had a blister the size of Mexico.”  That’s big and surely a distraction.

Pentucket has won eight of their last nine.  They are at Manchester-Essex on February 3rd.

Masco hosts Hamilton-Wenham on January 31st.

Driving bare roads with snow nowhere in sight on January 29th?  Delightful!

Pentucket box score

Masconomet box score

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

Danielle Davis on her way to last shot

Kelsi McNamara

Alex Moore

Sarah Higgins looks for an opening

Tess Nogueira drives – Katie Hutchinson defends

Brooke Stewart and Sarah Higgins eye rebound

Claudia Marsh

Masco student section

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January 8, 2012 · 10:00 pm

Whittier Tech (7-0) still undefeated after 62-57 win over Pentucket in boys basketball

Justin Reyes (26 points)

Will Angelini (26 points)

(Haverhill) Undefeated Whittier Tech (7-0) broke away from Pentucket (3-3) in the final three minutes and defeated the Sachems, 62-57, in a nonleague game at Whittier.

Pentucket lost despite having a nine-point lead in the first half and getting big numbers from Will Angelini (26 points) and Corey McNamara (21 points).

The remarkable thing about Will’s points is that he didn’t score any during the last 1 ½ quarters thanks to a concentrated Wildcat defense.  With Will under control, Whittier’s scoring duo of Justin Reyes (26 points) and Ryan Grant (15 points) took over.  Between them, the two juniors tallied seventeen of Whittier’s points in their final game-winning run (23-10) over the last twelve minutes.

I saw Ryan Grant last year when Pentucket won, 63-52.  He’s a clever dribbler always looking for his shot or a chance to penetrate.  He put seven points together and took the Wildcats from a 49-46 deficit late in the 3rd period to 53-53 tie 2 ½ minutes into the final quarter.  His two free throws, three minutes later, gave Whittier the lead for good, 57-55.

Justin Reyes (6-3), kept the ball away from the dangerous Will Angelini over the final 1 ½ quarters, converted two rebounds, and took a steal in for a 3-point play down the stretch.  The slender lefty put back three other rebounds successfully earlier in the game.

Corey McNamara (21 points) drives while the two coaches (Tom Sipsey & Leo Parent) watch

The Sachems became one-dimensional (Corey McNamara) late in the game.  And it seemed that every time Corey had the ball he had multiple defenders flying at him.   He put up nine points late but it just wasn’t enough to hold off the Wildcats.

Trailing, 61-57, with a minute left, the Sachems had at least three shot attempts to get closer before Justin Reyes got a rebound, was fouled, and scored the final point of the game.

Good crowd on hand to watch the unusual girl/boy double-header.  The Pentucket girls won a close one in the first game.

The Whittier staff recovered nicely after having no rosters available at game time to provide them at halftime.

To say that Will Angelini (6-6) had it going in the first half is an understatement.  The Wildcats were unable to defend his fall-away jumper in the lane area.  The senior collected twenty points in a remarkable half of basketball.

Whittier Tech box score

Pentucket box score  (Corey McNamara should total 21 points)

(The pictures above and below all enlarge if clicked on.)

Ryan Grant breaks with Parker Kelly pursuing

Justin Reyes drives on Tim Freirmuth (20) and Will Angelini

Will Angelini triple-teamed

Corey McNamara launches 3

Will Angelini (51) looks to block

Gio Gomez in Sachem traffic

Justin Reyes elevates

Ryan Grant (15 points)

Noel Dragon drives

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December 12, 2011 · 11:43 pm

Strong Finish Gives Pentucket Girls 2011 Provident Bank Tip Off Classic 44-37 Over Newburyport

Beth Castantini surrounded by three Pentucket players.

Game MVP Coley Viselli puts up layup in traffic.

(Newburyport)  Two of the best girls’ teams in the area opened the 2011-12 basketball season against each other in the Provident Bank Tip Off Classic on Monday night.

A strong final quarter gave the visiting Pentucket Sachems a 44-37 win over the Newburyport Clippers.

Pentucket (20-5 in 2010-11) predictably came at the Clippers in defensive waves all over the court and let the long ones fly with abandon on offense.  Sometimes it worked……….sometimes it didn’t.

After a fast start (3-for-5) Pentucket’s long ball accuracy vanished, as 2-for-16 the rest of the way would suggest.  But three minutes into the final quarter junior Alex Moore hit one and was fouled by Meri Adsit.  Alex completed the 4-point play to give the Sachems a 39-33 advantage.

Newburyport rallied nearly all the way back after trailing, 18-4, early in the second quarter.  Pitiful Pentucket shooting in the 3rd quarter (1-for-13) opened the door for the Clippers (5-for-9 shooting) to erase a 27-14 halftime deficit.  A Lea Tomasz three with two seconds left put this one in the “very interesting” category (31-29) with a quarter left.

Leigh McNamara (25) sails in for a first half layup.

As I said, Alex Moore hit a huge three in the final quarter but it was the Pentucket pressure over the final 5+ minutes that really did in the Clippers.  The pressure seemed to work best in the half-court as there were no turn-2’s (steal and get a layup) in the decisive final minutes.

Newburyport got within one (32-31) on a Lea Tomasz converted rebound and two (35-33) on a Beth Castantini jump shot with 5:40 left.

Plenty of time left and certainly close enough score-wise for the home team to pull the upset.

However, the Pentucket defense gave up only one point (Beth Castantini free throw) over the next 5 ½ minutes!  Molly Rowe hit a three with a few seconds left but by then, as they say in farm country, the cows had left the barn.

The shocking numbers for the Clippers during those game-deciding 5 ½ minutes were: one point in eleven possessions, eight turnovers, three shots in one possession and only one shot in the other ten.  Those are dream/nightmare numbers depending on which bench you were sitting on.

Speaking of nightmares, Clipper coach Gregg Dollas will probably remember this game for a while as one where he learned something about the numbers on his players’ uniforms.

Cady Bennett

As the game was about to start the Clippers were assessed a technical foul because Cady Bennett was in the scorebook as #14 but was wearing #21.  Coley Viselli sank both technical foul shots.

Later in the first quarter, Lilly Donovan was put in the game wearing #9.  Players can’t wear single digit numbers above 5.…….probably because officials can’t finger signal 6-9 without possibly confusing the scorekeepers.  Coley made one of the technical foul shots.

That’s three points, and in a close game like this one, they were a tough giveaway.

Coley Viselli was chosen MVP of the game.  Good thing they didn’t ask me.  I’d have given it either to teammate Sarah Higgins and her 16 points or to Alex Moore for her 4th quarter heroics.  Alex had the 4-point play and less than a minute before that had an old-fashioned 3-point play.  Those seven points were huge in this low scoring game.

Molly McDonough and Molly Rowe were given student/athlete scholarships afterwards thanks to Provident Bank.

A good crowd of Sachem support was on hand.

We saw the debut of a couple of Pentucket freshman – McKenna Kilian & Kelsi McNamara.

The Clippers will be able to count on points from seniors Beth Castantini (15) and Molly Rowe (11).  Bettering last year’s 13-7 record could well depend on steady scoring from other players.

Molly Rowe gets student-athlete scholarship from Coach Gregg Dollas.

Tess Nogueira and Leigh McNamara both spent time defending Beth Castantini.  Both players picked up their fourth foul in the final period.

The quickness and all-out approach of junior Meri Adsit was impressive.

Newburyport box score

Pentucket box score

(The pictures will enlarge to normal size if you click on them.)

Beth Castantini (10) & Leigh McNamara (25)

Coley Viselli – Lilly Donovan – Sarah Higgins

Tess Nogueira (32) & Mary Pettigrew (33)

Pentucket coach John McNamara

Beth Castantini

Meri Adsit (5) & Sydney Snow (3)

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November 6, 2011 · 11:11 pm

Newburyport Gets By Pentucket 2-1 in Girls Soccer to Reach Quarter Finals

Carly Brand (11) heads the ball into the net past Pentucket goalie Sam Bomba.

Leigh McNamara had the Pentucket goal.

(Newburyport) The Newburyport Clippers defeated Pentucket, 2-1, in the First Round of the Division 2 North girls soccer tournament on Sunday afternoon at sunny Cherry Hill Field.

Carly Brand’s head-in on Hannah Martin’s direct kick, three minutes into the second half, proved to be the game winner.

The Clippers (14-2-3) face Belmont (9th seed – 10-4-3) in the Quarter Finals on Tuesday at 2PM back again at Cherry Hill. Belmont played at home last year as the #1 seed and took out the Clippers.

The Sachems (7-7-5) figured to be tired (they had beaten North Reading on the road the day before) and overmatched by Newburyport (the Clippers had defeated them 3-0 in October).  Someone forgot to tell Pentucket about this.

Down 2-0 early in the second half, the Sachems finally got a goal 32:20 into the half as Leigh McNamara was on the scoring end of a pass from Maddy Torissi in close to NHS goalie Lilly McNamara.

Unfortunately, for Pentucket they weren’t able to muster a serious threat thereafter.  They will probably wonder for some time about the disallowed goal (offsides) that was headed in at the twenty-minute mark.  Put that goal on the board with the Leigh McNamara goal and who knows what would have happened down the stretch.

Julia Kipp (2) and Jaycie Triandafilou (19) watch the shot of Liza Twomey go into the net past the PHS goalie.

Liza Twomey notched the Clippers’ first goal thirty-five minutes into the first.  Two things about the Newburyport forwards are that they are fast and persistent.  In this case it was “fast” that did the trick as Liza started about midfield with the ball and raced by the Sachem defenders for an open shot from the right on PHS goalie Sam Bomba.

Newburyport’s second goal featured probably the most dangerous player in the Cape Ann League taking direct kicks – Hannah Martin.  She can hit the ball hard and she’s usually going to have the ball be close to the net.  This time the direct kick came from just up from the corner kick flag to the right of the goal.  Carly broke for the far corner just as the ball was kicked and was in perfect position to head Hannah’s kick past Sam Bomba.

Once Pentucket fell behind they attempted to press the attack.  The Clippers ended up with some excellent scoring opportunities (Kerry Johnson & Jaycie Triandafilou) but defender Sarah Higgins and goalie Sam Bomba denied a third goal.

The weather was in the mid-50s with some wind.  The crowd was sizable although it was hard to tell when the crowd is relegated to one side.

This was only the second time I have been kept away from the goal line.  I probably would have missed Carly’s head-in if I had been located where I wanted to be.

Haley DesRosiers gets a yellow card.

Haley DesRosiers surprised me in the second half by giving Meghan Corbett a two-hander that dropped the Clipper captain to the ground.  Less surprising was the yellow card Haley got and the escort by the official to the sideline.

PHS coach Greg Scruton got in the way of a ball going out of bounds and put on a bit of a juggling show.  I’m told he was quite a player at Gordon College.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own information.  The mistakes are mine.)  Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them to normal size.

Sam Bomba robs Jaycie Triandafilou

Kerry Johnson shot

Sarah Higgins & Liza Twomey

Alex Moore

Carly Brand

NHS cross over

Hannah Martin

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October 12, 2011 · 7:51 pm

Masco boys cross country still undefeated – Pentucket girls cross country loses tight one

Jay Polakiewicz, Liam Davis, Marco Caserta, and Jake Moorman approach the finish line for undefeated Masconomet.

Rebecca Morse finishes first.

(Topsfield)  No question that Hamilton-Wenham has the best girls cross country team in the Cape Ann League and probably in the state.

The question of which girls team was second best was decided yesterday afternoon at Bradley Palmer State Park as Masconomet (8-1) edged Pentucket (7-2), 27-28.

Fiona Davis of Manchester-Essex finished 5th overall but her placement is not included in the scoring between Masco and Pentucket.  Fiona fooled me because she was wearing a green shirt and I thought she was with Pentucket and was part of a 26-30 Sachem win.

As I saw it, the race within the race was over positions 5-8 between Masco and Pentucket and that was where the Chieftains Mila Zernich and Lily D’Agostino held off Sachems Brianna Repke and Emma Marchant.  When the four runners went past the starting line partway through the race, they were close but by the end of the race there were sizable gaps and Masco had the key 5th and 6th spots.

Senior Rebecca Morse cruised to victory for Pentucket and has to be the favorite to win the Cape Ann League Open on October 29th back at Bradley Palmer.

The Masconomet (9-0) boys team remains undefeated with a convincing, 16-45, win.  The top four runners finished together for Masco and Scott Gilfeather crossed 6th for the Chieftains to complete their scoring.

Four girls battle for 5th and 6th partway through the race.

Next week (October 19th) the Chieftains return to Bradley Palmer for a showdown with equally undefeated Newburyport.  It will be nice to see how individual runners can do.  I doubt that we’ll see runners from either squad slowing up so that they can finish side by side with teammates as both teams have done repeatedly this season.

This was my first look at the Sachems identical twins, Tom and Joe Labrecque.  The only hope of telling them apart is that they wear different colored running shoes.

I chose this meet because after checking records I assumed that the Masco/Pentucket girls race would be a close one with something (2nd place in CAL) at stake.  I also assumed that the boys race would be a mismatch, based on the records, but I would get a look at the undefeated Masco boys.  I have seen the Newburyport boys win easily twice (North Andover & Hamilton-Wenham).  Next Wednesday’s meet between Masco/Newburyport should be an excellent take.

I will admit that trying to cover yesterday’s cross country meet has been an adventure that only a retiree with time to spare could pursue to the end.  The Newburyport News had the meet at Pentucket.  I called Pentucket and they said the meet was at Bradley Palmer.  I called Masconomet and was assured that the meet would be held at Bradley Palmer which was where Masco’s meets were held.  I took pictures at the meet and assumed that the next day the Lawrence Eagle Tribune or the Newburyport Daily News would post the complete results which I could match with my pictures.  Wrong again.   That left me needing help to identify pictures and that’s where Patrick Mahoney (Masco boys) and Todd Ruland (Pentucket girls) came to my rescue.  Thanks, gentlemen.

(I take my own pictures and collect my own information.  In this entry two coaches helped me out.  I am keen on being accurate and fair.)

The pictures in this entry assume normal size if you click on them.  Enjoy.

Mackenzie Shelgren 2nd

Kelsi McNamara 3rd

Megan Collins 4th

Mila Zernich (left) 5th – Lily Dagostino (right) 6th

Shannon Beaton 10th

Brianna Repke 7th

Emma Marchant 8th

Shannon Lozier 9th

Scott Gilfeather 6th – Joe Labrecque 7th

Tom Labrecque 5th

girls start

boys start

Labrecque twins running side by side (in green) – note the shoes.

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May 11, 2011 · 9:11 pm

Julianne Meehan K’s Thirteen in 3-1 Pentucket Win Over Newburyport

Bernadette Corrado stretches for the throw beating Cassie Davis for the final out as Julianne Meehan (#12) watches.

Julianne Meehan – thirteen strikouts/ two hits/1 run scored/1 RBI

(Newburyport) Pentucket scored three runs in the first and they held up as the Sachems defeated Newburyport, 3-1, in Cape Ann League softball on Wednesday afternoon at Cashman Park.

Weather conditions were challenging with a steady gale blowing in from right field under a cloudy sky.  I thought I saw whitecaps on the Merrimac River in the distance!

Julianne Meehan struck out thirteen batters after she had those three runs to work with in the top of the first.

The Sachem runs were the result of two Clipper errors.  Taylor Summit’s bobble on a grounder allowed Colleen Jenkins to reach safely and she was driven home on Julianne Meehan’s double to left.  Beth Castantini had the next batter (Megan Haley) struck out but catcher Cassie Davis dropped the ball and then threw it into right field scoring Julianne with the second run.  Bernadette Corrado long triple to left scored Megan with Pentucket’s third and final run.

Megan Haley rounds third heading home as Bernadette Corrado runs out an RBI triple in the background.

Those runs didn’t seem like that many early on but as Julianne flashed the K pitch it became difficult for the Clippers to string hits together.  In fact, they didn’t get their first hit until Shannon Brunault’s infield one in the 5th.

The Clippers (8-3) didn’t lack base runners through five innings.  They stranded eight.  The key for Julianne was her ability to strike out Kendra Dow.  She did it in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th.  Each time for the last out of the inning with runners aboard.  Kendra ended up stranding seven runners.

The Clippers broke through for an unearned run in the sixth inning.  Molly Rowe, who had replaced Beth Castantini in the fifth, hit a sinking liner to right that got by right fielder Julia Torvi and Molly reached third.  Taylor Summit’s single to center drove in the run.

Molly Rowe reaches third in the sixth inning.

Newburyport didn’t get another hit or base runner over the final inning and 2/3.

Pentucket (7-5) has now won two straight.

CF Eleni Kacher and SS Kendra Dow had a near collision in the sixth chasing a pop fly.

Sarah Dickinson made several strong throws from short for Pentucket.

Pentucket stranded runners in every inning.

Julianna allowed just four hits.

Pentucket had seven hits including two infield hits by Kaci Dumas.

( I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  Mistakes sometimes happen.)

Eleni Kacher and Kendra Dow converge on a pop up. They did collide but Eleni held onto the ball and neither player was injured.

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May 3, 2011 · 9:15 pm

Alex Ministeri Pitches Pentucket Past Amesbury 9-3

Alex Ministeri leaves the mound at game’s end after a 3-hit, 12-strikeout performance.

Alex struck out the side in three innings including the 7th.

(Amesbury) Way too much Alex Ministeri for Amesbury (5-4) as the Pentucket junior K’d twelve and scattered three hits in the Sachems, 9-3, win at AHS on Tuesday afternoon.

Pentucket defeated Amesbury, 6-2, in their first meeting at Pentucket on April 19th.

Alex Ministeri’s only struggles were in the second inning when he issued a couple of walks and then a hit to Noah Cligerman to load the bases with two outs.  Next came a grounder to third by John Fournier that bad-bounced past Corey McNamara to drive in two.  John tried to steal and a bad throw from catcher Mike Doud gave the Indians a third run.

The 3-0 lead didn’t last long as Pentucket (5-3) answered with six runs in the top of the third.  That 6-3 advantage was more than enough for the Sachems as Alex dominated Amesbury over the final five innings.

How dominating was he?  He retired the side in order in four of the five innings.  He struck out the side in the 3rd, 5th, and 7th.  He gave up just one hit.

Amesbury starter Mac Short sailed through the first two innings before getting into big trouble in the third facing ten batters.  Walks (5) and hits (3) were the deadly combo that produced six runs.  Both Josh Creamer and Zack Brut had two RBI for Pentucket during the explosion.

Chris Eiserman (#34) scored two runs and drove in two as well.

Pentucket added to their lead in the fifth off reliever Tim Williams with three more runs.  Chris Eiserman drove in a pair with a liner to center and Turner Newton sent Chris home with a infield hit.

I was impressed with Amesbury’s field.  Also, the hillside seating provided a great view of the field of play.

Third baseman Corey McNamara was victimized by a bad-hop grounder that led to Amesbury runs in the second and then it was shortstop Tyler Lay’s turn for the same fate on a similar grounder in Pentucket’s six-run third.

Alex picked Tyler Lay off first in the second inning.

(I collect my own stats and draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

Tyler Smith (#16) scores one of Amesbury’s three second inning runs.

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April 29, 2011 · 8:06 pm

Pitching and Defense Send Pentucket Softball Past Georgetown 6-1

Julianne Meehan gets some well-deserved congratulations from her Pentucket teammates.

Sarah Dickinson – two hits, two RBI, and two defensive gems

(Georgetown)  Pentucket (4-3) erupted for five runs in the sixth inning and defeated Georgetown, 6-1, in a CAL league game on Friday afternoon.

The pitching of Pentucket’s Julianne Meehan and Georgetown’s Sarah Erlandson was impressive.  About the only swatting was of the ever-friendly gnat population by everyone in attendance.

Julianne had eleven strikeouts while Sarah collected fifteen.  Each pitcher allowed only four hits.

The difference between them was walks.  Julianne gave up just one (in the first inning) while Sarah gave eight free passes.

A deadly combination of walks (4) and wild pitches (3) along with an error and two hits did in the Royals in the sixth inning.  Sydney Snow and Colleen Jenkins were home on wild pitches before Sarah Dickinson’s single to left brought in two more.  Sarah would score the fifth run on an error by Kassi Barba at third.

The tough part for the Royals was that all this happened with two outs.

Sarah Erlandson – 15 strikeouts for Georgetown

Georgetown (2-2) had trouble mounting any sort of attack against the Sachems because of Julianne’s pitching plus some extraordinary defense.

The Sachem centerfielder set the tone in the first inning by running in and snagging a low line drive by Taylor Nelson.  If that ball gets by her, with two outs, the runner on base and possibly Taylor herself may have scored.

Later it was shortstop Sarah Dickinson’s chance to impress.  She ended the fifth with a diving stop to her left of Amy Cronin’s base-hit-in-the-making and got up and made the play to first.  She ended the 6th inning by again going left and taking a hit away from line-drive hitting Shannon O’Brien with a runner on.

Julianne closed things out in the seventh by fanning the side.

Georgetown got its only run in the fourth.  What looked like bad running by Sarah Erlandson (who had doubled) turned into a run.  After Shannon O’Brien struck out for the second out, Sarah broke for third.  A good throw by catcher MK Corrado gets Sarah out easily but the throw sailed into left and Sarah scored.

Pentucket also picked up a run in the fourth.  Second baseman Shannon Killian dropped Julieanne Meehan’s pop up and then the ball was thrown away (right to where I was sitting) and Julianne was awarded third.  A wild pitch brought her home on a close play at the plate.

I was introduced to something called the “look back” rule.  It led to Pentucket’s final out in the 6th inning.  The drift of it seems to be that if the pitcher has the ball in the circle, a runner has to continue in the direction she’s going.  Sounds like one of those dreaded judgment calls.

Shannon O’Brien – tripled to lead off the second inning

Shannon O’Brien led off the second with a triple for Georgetown to deep center but was stranded there.

Sarah Dickinson scored a run, had two hits including a double, and drove in a pair for Pentucket.

If you want to see a Georgetown softball game you have to be able to climb a hill.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  Errors are unintentional.)

Sydney Snow slides home in the 6th on a wild pitch with Pentucket’s second run of the game.

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March 9, 2011 · 11:29 pm

St. Mary’s Holds On to Edge Pentucket Girls 62-60 in D3 North Semi-Finals

St. Mary’s celebrates their semi-final win over Pentucket.

(Wilmington)  The Pentucket girls took an excruciating exit in the Division 3 North semi-finals coming up just short in a 62-60 loss to St. Mary’s of Lynn on Wednesday night at Wilmington High School.

Kirsten Ferrari – 13 points

Cassi Amenta – key rebound and free throw in last minute

This was the third straight year that these two teams have met in the D3 North semis and the first time that the Spartans were successful.  They now move on to the Tsongas Center on Saturday where they will play the winner of the Stoneham/Ipswich game being played at Wilmington on Thursday night.

This game was tied (47-47) with five minutes left and you just knew it would be a close finish.  Actually St. Mary’s scored the next four points (layups by Cassi Amenta and Tori Faieta) and never trailed thereafter although the Sachems were a made shot away from overtime or a regulation win.

With the pressure mounting, Coley Viselli hit a three from the top of the key with forty seconds left and suddenly Pentucket was within one (57-56).

Tori Faieta (#32) hit two last-minute free throws

Tori Faieta followed with two free throws while Sarah Higgins made one and we had a two-point game (59-57) with twenty-nine seconds left.

Pentucket then gave the quick foul to freshman Sharell Sanders.  When Sharell missed, teammate Cassi Amenta got the rebound, got fouled and drained two free throws in what may have been the biggest sequence of this game, giving the Spartans a four-point cushion (61-57) with twenty-five seconds left.

Those free throws became real important when Coley Viselli hit yet another three, this time from the left corner to make it a one-point game again (61-60) with fourteen seconds left.

The Sachems followed with another quick foul and sent Kirsten Ferrari to the line.  Because Pentucket was over the limit she had two free throws.  She missed the first and made the second and so it was 62-60 with nine seconds left.

Coley Viselli (18 points) heads for the corner for this game’s last shot.

You knew the last shot would be Coley from somewhere.  She dribbled into the left-hand corner with Kirsten Ferrari guarding her and took what looked like a 2-pointer to me that wasn’t close to going in and the game ended in the scramble for the rebound.

The key for the Spartans was having experienced seniors (Kirsten Ferrari, Cassi Amenta, Tori Faieta) step up down the stretch.  Cassi’s offensive rebound of a missed free throw followed by two made free throws couldn’t have come at a better time for St. Mary’s.

Pentucket (20-5) now knows what St. Mary’s felt like the past two years when their season ended in the semi-finals.  With the nucleus Pentucket returns next season you’d like to believe that they could well be back in another D3 North semi-finals next season with more experienced players.

The Sachems had a classic good/bad first half.  In the first quarter they collected twenty-three points (23-16 lead) on ten-for-eighteen shooting with no turnovers.  In the second quarter, the same team scored only THREE points making just one-of-fourteen shots and turning the ball over seven times.

There is no way to explain how such a thing happens but I do know that it left Pentucket trailing, 29-26, at halftime.

St. Mary’s still had the three-point lead (41-38) after three quarters.

An early layup by Sarah Higgins (assist to Alex Moore) put Pentucket within one before consecutive three’s from Kirsten Ferrari and Sharell Sanders gave the edge to the Spartans, 47-40, 1 ½ minutes into the final quarter.

The Sachems rallied with seven straight (47-47) – Vanessa Cahill layup from Sarah Higgins, a 3-pointer by Coley Viselli off the backboard, and a Tess Noguiera layup.

This set the stage for the final five minutes which ended with the Spartans celebrating a trip to the D3 North finals.

The Spartans (21-4) had four players in double figures – Kirsten Ferrari (13), Tori Faieta (12), Sharell Sanders (11) and Brianna Rudolph (10).

sophomore Tess Nogueira (13 points) shoots over Cassi Amenta and Tori Faieta

Pentucket was led by Coley Viselli (18), including eleven in the final quarter, Sarah Higgins (14) and Tess Noguiera (13).

This makes two tough basketball losses in two days for Pentucket.  The boys bowed out to Newburyport on Tuesday night.  Ironically, in both games bad second quarters had a bearing on the losses.

( I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  I draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes happen……..unintentionally.)

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March 8, 2011 · 11:08 pm

Newburyport Boys Defeat Pentucket 53-39 to Reach Division 3 North Finals

Brett Fontaine (21 points) sinks a free throw in the midst of an eighteen point run by Newburyport.

Newburyport players celebrate after defeating Pentucket at Triton to reach the D3 North finals.

(Byfield) Who knows what goes on in a timeout?  In a quiet gym you might catch a word or two but certainly not in an MIAA Division 3 North semi-final game held at Triton with an overflow crowd and two student cheering sections trying to outdo each other.

Newburyport called the timeout I’m referencing here after Pentucket had scored six straight points and taken a 17-13 lead with 5:04 left in the second quarter.

I don’t know what Clipper coach Tom L’Italien said, and maybe it wasn’t profound, but his team came out and totally dominated Pentucket for the rest of the half.  The domination (eighteen unanswered points) was so significant that it put the Sachems in a hole they could never get out of thereafter.

Newburyport (15-7) went on to win, 53-39, but this game was decided in the last five minutes of the second quarter as the Clippers went from down four (17-13) to up by fourteen (31-17) at the half.

The victory sends Newburyport to Division 3 North finals against Watertown on Saturday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

The secret to success for Newburyport against Pentucket was turning up layups all night long.  Whether it was on a fast break or on dribble penetration the Clippers traveled the inside, high-percentage road getting seventeen layups in the twenty-two baskets they accumulated.

In the game-winning, eighteen point run, Newburyport had six layups, and an in-the-lane floater and a three by Matt Leavitt.

What was Pentucket (13-10) doing while this was going on?  Missing nine shots, including five 3’s and committing two turnovers.

Brett Fontaine – 21 points and a willingness to drive to the basket

Junior Brett Fontaine was huge for Newburyport with 21 points and a willingness to take the ball to the basket in traffic.  He took a whack in the third quarter and missed three minutes but was back in the final quarter to score the Clippers first four points on drives to the hoop.

Chris Jayne chased Corey McNamara around for the entire game.  That meant fighting through the numerous screens the Sachems set for their long-range shooter.  Corey managed to get off seventeen shots but only made two of them.  He was a very surprising 1-for-14 from long range.

Without Corey’s normal 17+ points, the Sachems needed points from elsewhere and on this night no one filled that void.  Will Angelini and John Modlish led Pentucket’s scorers with just eight points apiece.

Drew Carter (10 points) and Chris Jayne (9 points) were the other leading scorers for Newburyport.

The Clippers led throughout the first quarter before two free throws by John Modlish, a jumper by Will Angelini, and a layup by Mike Doud in the second quarter gave Pentucket the lead (17-13) and necessitated the Clipper timeout which was followed by the eighteen point Newburyport run.

Cory McNamara comes off a Will Angelini screen on Chris Jayne looking for a pass.

Pentucket trailed 39-27 after three quarters.  In the 4th, a John Modlish layup and a Serge Smaila three put the Sachems within nine (41-32) with 6:40 to go but layups by Brett Fontaine and Eric Meyer restored the Clipper’s double-digit advantage and they held it the rest of the way.

Both schools had good student turnouts and Triton is set up nicely to accommodate student sections with space in between them.  I’m not sure why chanting obscenities is tolerated by schools.  I wonder if that sort of thing will be “fixed” by the time Saturday’s Tsongas Center game is held.

During halftime the adults gave the student sections lessons in how to cheer.

Pentucket team huddle and student section

Newburyport team huddle and student section

This will be Newburyport’s first divisional final game since 2000.  If Pentucket had won it would have been the first time they had ever been to the division finals.

The Clippers will have to deal with Marco Coppola and his 26.4 points per game average on Saturday when they face Watertown.  I saw Marco’s freshman sister Gabby play against Pentucket.

(I accumulate my own stats and take my own pictures.  I also draw my own conclusions.  The errors along the way are unintentional.)

(Note the error in adding up Brett Fontaine’s points. It should be 21 not 22.)

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