Category Archives: Rockport

May 15, 2019 · 10:27 pm

Solid hitting and pitching sends Amesbury by Rockport 11-3

Freshman Ella Bezanson (2) hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

Liv DeLong struck out seven Vikings.

(Amesbury MA) It is not unusual for even the winning coach to find something that the team could have done better.

Not today.

“I have no complaints about this game at all,” said Amesbury coach Jacqui Waters after the Indians had defeated Rockport, 11-3.

The hitting and pitching were nicely in place for the home team on this Wednesday afternoon of Cape Ann League softball.

Amesbury (10-1) scored in every inning, including four runs in their half of the first inning.

“We all hit,” said AHS starter Liv DeLong. “We made good contact.”

The Indians had thirteen hits. Alana Delisle and Ella Bezanson homered, while Olivia Lavasseur had a triple.

Emma DiPietro (3 hits) steals second

Hitting like that can win you games but when you add excellent pitching, the opponent is in trouble.

Freshman Liv DeLong held the Vikings (6-8) hitless into the sixth inning.

“She hit her spots very well today,” explained catcher Avery Hallinan. “Her inside fast ball was very effective.”

Today’s game was a rematch of an April 10^th season opener in which Amesbury won, 5-3.

“This time we weren’t ready to play,” said Rockport coach Julie Ryan. “Their pitching was amazing today.”

Rockport starter Kelsea Anderson

The Indians put four runs together in the first inning with only one hit. Two errors (2B Abby Engel) extended the inning and two wild pitches (Kelsea Anderson) allowed runs to score.

In the AHS second, Avery Hallinan was hit by a pitch, went to 2B on a wild pitch, reached 3B on a fielder’s choice, and scored on a passed ball (Kylie Wheat).

In the Amesbury third, after Olivia Lavasseur was caught stealing, Alana Delisle homered over Taylor Frost’s (CF) head.

The Indians led 6-0 after three innings while Rockport was still looking for its first hit. Kylie Schrock (walk) was the Vikings only baserunner through three innings.

Amesbury collected ten hits over their final three innings scoring five runs and leaving the bases loaded twice.

Emma DiPietro (3 hits) and Liv DeLong had RBI in the 4^th.

Zoe Lucido (shortstop) and Ella Bezanson (base stealer)

Ella Bezanson (3 hits) hit a two-run homer to right center in the 5^th.

AHS starter Liv DeLong had a string of eleven straight batters retired into the sixth inning.

Rockport broke through in the sixth. Errors by Emily O’Donnell (1B) and Ella Bezanson (CF) allowed Liz Higgins to reach third. A perfect bunt by 8^th grader Sophie Lucido scored Liz and gave the Vikings their first hit.

Amesbury got one of those runs back in their half of the 6^th inning. Olivia Lavasseur tripled off the chalk in right field and came home on a passed ball.

Rockport opened the final inning with three straight hits. Liz Higgins drove home two runs (Kylie Schrock & Kelsea Anderson) with a ground ball through the left side.

Catcher Avery Hallinan tags out Kylie Wheat in the 7th

With runners on first and third in that promising inning, the Vikings tried to steal second. However, AHS shortstop Emma DiPietro cut off the throw to second and fired home catching Kylie Wheat trying to score from third.

The Rockport coaches questioned the out call. The catcher must have the ball in order to block the plate. The ruling was that catcher Avery Hallinan did indeed have the ball when she made the tag.

“If I have the ball, and I did, I can block the plate,” said Avery afterwards.

Despite the loss, RHS coach Julie Ryan was optimistic postgame. “We stepped up to the plate at the end. We are still in contention for a playoff spot.”

Sophie Lucido had the first Rockport hit

The Vikings are currently in 3^rd place in the Baker Division with Ipswich and Amesbury ahead of them. Rockport has two games left with Ipswich. A second-place finish, even with a losing record, earns a tournament spot.

Coach Waters: “It was a great team effort. Avery was excellent behind the plate. Ella had three nice hits.”

Liv DeLong: “The defense behind me worked really well. The end was a little rocky. I mixed my pitches and hit my spots.”

Avery Hallinan: “I have probably caught Liv for seven years going back to Little League.”

The weather? The calendar changes but the weather doesn’t. It was cold and windy but NOT raining.

This was my first visit this year to the field at Amesbury Middle School. Attempts have been made to minimize treacherous left field. There is now a fence keeping left fielders from running onto pavement chasing foul balls out there.

Amesbury started five freshmen while Rockport started four freshmen. Both team’s pitchers and catchers were freshmen.

Amesbury box

Rockport box

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

Abby Aponas takes charge on a popup.

Abby Engel

Alana Delisle (home run) congratulated by teammates

Avery Hallinan, Liv DeLong, and Olivia Lavasseur

Catcher Avery Hallinan

Emily O’Donnell

Zoe Lucido (shortstop)

Emma DiPietro (shortstop)

Kylie Wheat (catcher) and run scorer Ella Bezanson

Lauren Hale

Lauren Ryan

Liz Higgins (3B) and base stealer Emma DiPietro

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Filed under Amesbury, Rockport

Tagged as Alana Delisle, Ella Bezanson, Emma DiPietro, Liv DeLong, Liz Higgins, Sophie Lucido

January 2, 2019 · 11:08 pm

Rally in regulation sets Triton up for 54-51 win in OT against Rockport

Kyle Odoy (16 points) sends the game into OT with this last-second triple

Max McKenzie (16 points) and Jake Knowlton (14 points)

(Byfield MA) You hear it all the time, but how often does it mean anything?

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over.”

Triton’s Kyle Odoy (16 points) dropped that line into our post-game interview tonight after his team rallied late in regulation and then went on to defeat Rockport, 54-51 in overtime.

Triton (5-2) certainly needed a miracle finish to get this one into overtime and they pulled it off.

Three straight free throws by Jake Knowlton (14 points) put Rockport (2-6) up, 48-43, with only twenty-three seconds left in regulation. Comfortable lead…….or so it seemed.

“We had really good shots the whole entire game and we just missed them,” recalled Triton coach Ted Schruender. “We figured that they would eventually start falling.”

And fall they did as Kyle Odoy drained two straight from long range in the closing 23 seconds.

The first last-minute triple was on an inbounds play from in front of the Triton bench with eleven seconds remaining. The second was of the “Hail Mary” variety from straight away.

“I just got it and chucked it,” said Kyle describing the buzzer-beating second one.

Noah Rawson at the line in the closing seconds of regulation

In between the two Kyle triples, Noah Rawson (10 points) made one of two free throws for Rockport. Noah missed the second and there was a tie-up. The possession arrow favored Triton and gave them time to come down for the final shot.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably saying something like, “The game wasn’t won in regulation so what happened in the four-minute OT?”

“Not much,” would be the answer!

Noah Rawson tied the game (51-51) with a layup halfway through OT. Kyle Odoy then put Triton in front for good with 1:45 left on a jump shot.

Triton defense

After that the Triton man-to-man defense kept Rockport away from the basket. The visitors didn’t turn the ball over, they just couldn’t get their outside shots to fall.

On the other end, Triton took the ball to the basket and forced fouls. That “it’s not over ‘til it’s over” thing was still in play because Triton missed four of five free-throw attempts. Rockport had three possessions to catch up but not on this night.

“We had just enough to win,” said Coach Schruender.

Tonight’s game was tied ten different times.

TJ Overbaugh (8 points) hit a three in the closing seconds of the first period. Max McKenzie (16 points) drove the length of the court to end the third period with a layup. I guess we should have expected that something could happen at the end of regulation!

Triton had a 28-20 lead a minute into the third quarter. Ezra Mendoza, Gavyn Hillier (14 points), and Austin Matus put points together and knotted the score at 30-30.

Gavyn Hillier (14 points) shoots over Max McKenzie

Rockport used a 1-3-1 zone defense and kept Triton away from layups. Triton passed and dribbled their way into open looks but couldn’t make shots.

Triton’s man-to-man kept Rockport from doing much damage in close. A few times 6-7 Jake Knowlton was able to get the ball inside and finish.

Max McKenzie took the ball to the basket even against the Rockport zone. He was also a key defender.

Triton box

Rockport box

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

Kyle Odoy shoots

Mason Ferrick (2) covered by Ezra Mendoza

Max McKenzie at the free throw line

Max McKenzie to the basket in overtime

Max McKenzie shoots over Austin Matus (13)

Pressure on the ball by Kyle Odoy

Rebound battle

Andrew Guelli (30) rebounds

Austin Matus (13)

Facial

TJ Overbaugh (1) guarded by Jake Knowlton

Triton coach Ted Schruender

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Filed under Rockport, Triton

Tagged as Gavyn Hillier, Jake Knowlton, Kyle Odoy, Max McKenzie, TJ Overbaugh

December 12, 2018 · 12:01 am

Newburyport opens with a 61-49 win over Rockport

Max Gagnon was part of a very tight Newburyport defense

Casey McLaren at the front of the Newburyport defense

(Newburyport MA) The combination of two sizable runs of points and an effective full-court defense keyed Newburyport’s 61-49 win over Rockport on Tuesday night.

The Vikings (0-2) had won four of their last five previous meetings with the Clippers (1-0).

“Our bigs struggled to get going tonight,” explained Rockport coach Phil Whitley afterwards.

Some of that struggle was due to the never-ending in-your-face defense by the home team.

“The defense was good,” said NHS coach Dave Clay, “but there still are some things we need to clean up.”

Tight defense

Rockport had twenty-two turnovers (by my count). That’s a lot of empty possessions in a 32-minute game.

“We want the defense to be a staple of the team,” said Coach Clay.

Having 6’5” Casey McLaren at the point on the full-court defense, forced inbounds passes to the sides where the Clippers could double-team.

The Vikings broke open a close game (14-13) with a run of six points in the second quarter. A rebound basket by Jake Knowlton and two free throws apiece by Gavyn Hillier and Ezra Mendoza had RHS up, 20-13, with 3:49 left in the second quarter.

Ryan Archie (with the ball) was part of the run that gave the Clippers separation

Then junior Ryan Archie heated up.

A rebound basket by Jacob Robertson was followed by eight straight Ryan points (two three’s and two free throws).

Both of Ryan’s 3-pointers were set up by George Coryell.

Newburyport led by a point (23-22) at the half.

Rockport opened the second half with three points and then the Clippers ran thirteen points over the next 3+ minutes.

That streak sent the home team up by ten points (35-25) and Rockport didn’t have the shooting to get closer than six points (51-45) the rest of the way.

Jacob Robertson and Noah Rawson

The beauty of Newburyport’s run of thirteen points was that the scoring was done by four different players (Ryan Archie, Parker McLaren, Casey McLaren, Charlie Cahalane).

“When we moved the ball by passing instead of dribbling, we did better against their zone,” said Coach Clay.

Casey McLaren (19), Ryan Archie (14), Jacob Robertson (13), and Parker McLaren (10) were the top Newburyport scorers.

Rockport was paced by Jake Knowlton (17) and Gavyn Hillier (10).

The NHS defense was a factor in the outcome, but foul trouble was certainly a problem for Rockport as well.

Starters Jake Knowlton and Ezra Mendoza both had three fouls in the first half despite sitting out some minutes in that half.

Ezra Mendoza was gone in the third quarter

Ezra fouled out of the game in the third quarter and Jake had his 4^th before that same quarter was over.

Minus a primary ball-handler and their top scorer not only limited the Vikings offense but it added to their troubles handling pressure.

Jake Knowlton had thirty points in Rockport’s 83-77 loss to Bishop Fenwick in their opener.

I was impressed, as usual, with senior Casey McLaren. On a night when the three’s weren’t falling, he moved in for mid-range shots and drives. His defense within the press was important for NHS.

Parker McLaren above the Rockport defense

Coach Clay: “Parker (McLaren) played well. We need to keep him out of foul trouble. I love it when he attacks the basket. He’s such a big guy. Think of LeBron James in high school. I wouldn’t want to get in his way!”

Coach Whitley: “Their defense gave us trouble and our foul trouble didn’t help. I think we got tired in the second half.”

Serious man-to-man defense was played by George Coryell and Max Gagnon.

Good crowd in the house for the Clippers home opener.

Newburyport starts the season with six straight home games all in December.

Part of that good crowd was made up of other CAL schools scouting the two future opponents.

Newburyport box

Rockport box

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

Jake Knowlton in for two

Jake Knowlton fends off Parker McLaren

Jake Knowlton block a shot

Jake Knowlton at the line

Austin Matus (13) eyes the hoop

Casey McLaren layup

Gavyn Hillier (35)

George Coryell in the air with Ezra Mendoza

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Filed under Newburyport, Rockport

Tagged as Casey McLaren, Gavyn Hillier, Jacob Robertson, Jake Knowlton, Parker McLaren, Ryan Archie

May 5, 2018 · 8:43 pm

Luke Lagos leads Amesbury past Rockport 10-7 in CAL baseball

Luke Lagos struck out eight Vikings in today’s win

Luke Lagos on second after driving in three with a fifth inning double

(Amesbury MA) A losing streak had to end.

Today Amesbury’s two-game slide ended as they defeated Rockport, 10-7, on a sunny Saturday of Cape Ann League baseball.

The Indians’ Luke Lagos led the way for Amesbury with solid pitching and timely hitting. The AHS senior lefty recorded eight strikeouts in six innings of work while at the bat Luke had two hits, including a bases-clearing double. He drove across five teammates.

Amesbury coach Joel Brierley was pleased with the result: “It’s nice to win a home game but we have a lot of work to do especially defensively.”

Neither team was solid in the field with each squad erring three times. “We made some costly errors,” said Rockport coach John Parisi afterwards. “It was two young teams trying to get better.”

Noah Rawson had three hits and scored three runs for Rockport

Amesbury had a tenuous 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning before gaining separation with a five-spot. The resulting 10-3 lead was too much for the Vikings (1-10) to overcome, although they did rally for two in the 6^th off Luke Lagos and got two more in the seventh inning off AHS reliever Thomas Flanagan.

The breakaway fifth saw AHS get runs on wild pitches (Sean Reardon) and Luke Lagos’s double to the fence in right that drove three Indians across.

“I was tired by then,” said Luke afterwards about his double, “and hoping it would clear the fence. But it did clear the bases. I had been 0-for-7 coming into today’s game so it was nice to start hitting again.”

Senior Charlie MacDowell made his first start today

Despite the 4-game losing streak Coach Parisi saw some good things in today’s game: “This was pitcher Charlie MacDowell’s first start and I thought he did pretty well.”

The big stat collector for Rockport was senior Noah Rawson. The Vikings’ catcher had three of his team’s eight hits and scored three runs.

For Amesbury (3-6), Logan Burrill was on base three times and drove in two runs.

Both Tucker Molin and Graham Gannett had two hits, and each scored twice.

“Our pattern has been to play well for five or six innings and then have a bad inning,” explained Coach Brierley. “Just consistently making the routine plays will help us.”

Luke Lagos struck out the side in fifth with a nice mix of fastballs and sliders. “I had a good slider at times. Just need to be more consistent with it.”

Luke ended the Rockport 6^th catching Cal Twombly off the base and seeing Cal erased in a rundown.

Looking for the handle

Nice weather. All the rain we’ve had, now mixed with sunshine, will cause the grass to grow in a hurry. A couple of times the ball rolled toward the backstop and disappeared from sight!

In the last twelve meetings between the two teams, the Indians hold a 7-5 edge. The two teams will meet again this Thursday in Rockport.

The Vikings had been averaging 3 runs a game and giving up 10 runs per game. “When you score seven runs in a high school game like we did today, you should win,” said Coach Parisi.

The Vikings were 14-9 last season and reached the Division 4 North finals.

The Vikings will not be able to use the Sullivan Rule to get into the postseason because Ipswich and Hamilton-Wenham have moved to Division 4.

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

Tucker Molin, Graham Gannett, Thomas Flanagan

Umpire Mike Sullivan

Hillside crowd

Sean Reardon

Jeremy Lopez ready to apply the tag

Reaching for third

3B Austin Matus chases a grounder

Logan Burrill tags out Cal Twombly

Blake Bennett stretches for third

Holding the runner

Blake Bennett

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Filed under 2011 Division 3A Super Bowl, Amesbury, Rockport

Tagged as Graham Gannett, Logan Burrill, Luke Lagos, Noah Rawson

May 1, 2017 · 10:52 pm

Rockport wildness hands Triton 10-7 softball win

Bridget Sheehan set to catch a wild throw.

Walks led to Triton runs in the 5th and 6th innings

(Byfield MA) Walks in quantity will always get a team in trouble.

That team was Rockport this afternoon as they handed Triton a 10-7 win on a misty, cold Monday afternoon of Cape Ann League softball.

Rockport was up 5-3 going into the bottom of the 5^th inning. Then finding the strike zone became a problem for pitchers Jordan Fears, Miranda Roller, and Taylor Frost. Two innings and TEN walks later Triton collected seven runs and took the lead for good.

Credit the visitors. Down 10-5 in the final inning, Rockport had consecutive singles by Katie Favaloro, Jackie Connelly, and Cassie Camille to close to 10-7. They even had the tying run at the plate. The rally wilted, however, as Lauren Ryan was caught stealing and Triton pitcher Katherine Quigley registered her second strikeout getting Taylor Frost for the final out after a lengthy at bat.

Rockport (2-3) had ten hits including three by Katie Favaloro who also scored three times.

Triton (3-3) also had plenty of baserunners notching nine hits. Bridget Sheehan had three hits and scored three runs. Teammate Zoe Cesati had two hits while crossing the plate four times.

Miranda Roller homered over the fence in left center. The senior was a CAL first-teamer last season. She will be attending Merrimack in the fall and expects to try out for their softball team.

Shortstop Bridget Sheehan made a play that a “6-3” in the scorebook would do zero justice to. The sophomore dove to her right to stop a hard-hit grounder, got to her knees and made a long, accurate throw to nab Charlotte Salmon.

Later, Bridget backed up a play at third to prevent a run from scoring.

Katherine Quigley picked up the win for Triton. The freshman also had a 2-run double

Freshman Katherine Quigley had a 2-run double to right in the 5^th inning to tie the score.

Rockport had defeated Triton four straight times before today’s game.

Rockport was 11-9 last season while Triton was 7-11.

Rachel Haselgard, Zoe Cesati, and Bridget Sheehan made the Cape Ann League second team last season.

The weather was just plain ugly. Too cold. Too damp. The conditions, however, didn’t keep friends/family from both teams from attending.

Next game for Triton is at Hamilton-Wenham on Wednesday. Rockport hosts Manchester-Essex tomorrow.

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

Jackie Connelly (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 rbi)

Lauren Ryan catches a popup

Emily Karvalis waits to apply the tag

View from centerfield

Liv Doane ready to take a rip

Miranda Roller homered in the 4th inning

Emily Karvalis chases an infield bloop by Lauren Ryan

Kendall Mitchell

Cassie Camille (2 rbi and 2 hits) eyes a fly ball

Grace McGonagle catches a fly.

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Filed under Rockport, Triton

Tagged as Bridget Sheehan, Datherine Quigley, Jackie Connelly, Katie Favaloro, Miranda Roller, Zoe Cesati

June 8, 2015 · 10:19 pm

Amesbury rallies past Rockport 6-4 in D3 North softball quarterfinals

Miranda Roller and Emily Robinson collide at second base

Kayla Parisi scores the 4th Rockport run

(Amesbury MA) Rockport built up a 4-run lead after three innings but the #1 seed Amesbury took over from there getting a 6-4 decision on Monday afternoon.

The Indians (19-2) now advance to the D3 North semifinals on Wednesday afternoon (4PM) against Winthrop at Martin Field in Lowell.

#9 seed Rockport (14-6) hit the ball hard (six hits in the first three innings) and benefited from two Amesbury defensive lapses to get ahead 4-0 after three innings.

But after the third inning Amesbury tightened up their defense and took advantage of errors and wild pitches to get the lead in the fifth. An insurance run was added in the sixth.

Hayley Catania – 2 RBI & complete-game win

Hayley Catania, after not holding a runner on third which allowed her to score in the Rockport second, was masterful thereafter. In the fifth Hayley, protecting a one-run lead with a runner (Miranda Roller) on third, got a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.

Hayley at the bat? Timely. The freshman had two-out, RBI singles in the 4^th and 5^th.

The game ended on a play at third. Jess Collins grounded out shortstop-to-first with one out but baserunner Miranda Roller (on second) decided to try for third after the out at first. Unfortunate decision. First baseman Zoe Fitzgerald fired a strike to teammate Autumn Kligerman at third and Miranda never came close to reaching the base.

In the Rockport second, Rachel Balestraci doubled in Emily Faulds. Rachel was sacrificed to third by Allie Davis with one out. Allie’s sister Rachel grounded back to AHS pitcher Hayley Catania. Instead of looking the runner back at third, Hayley threw to first which allowed Allie to score Rockport’s second run.

In the Rockport third, an Emily Faulds’ single to right with two outs drove in Miranda Roller. On the same play Kayla Parisi reached third and literally stole home unnoticed by the Amesbury infield. Meagan Aponas made a nice catch in center to end that inning.

In the Amesbury fourth, Autumn Kligerman’s sinking fly to left fell off Allie Davis’ glove allowing Autumn to get second with two outs. Hayley Catania delivered Autumn.

CF Rachel Haselgard about to save a run with a terrific catch

The Vikings still held a 4-1 lead but the Amesbury fifth would give them the lead. A walk, a play that wasn’t made at second, and a wild pitch all led to Indians’ runs. It was only a great running catch by RHS centerfielder Rachel Haselgard for the final out that kept the damage to four runs.

In the Rockport sixth, the Vikings had two on and two out when Rachel Haselgard drilled a liner to AHS shortstop Maddie Napoli.

Now up 5-4 after five, the Indians added one more. Megan Reid reached on an error but was cut down on Lauren Fedorchak’s fielder’s choice. From there Lauren stole second and went to third on a wild pitch with two outs. Maddie Napoli’s ground single to deep third scored Lauren.

Meaghan Wonson was injured (nose) during Rockport’s pre-game infield practice but recovered in time to play the game. Yet another reason for infielders to wear masks.

Rockport catcher KT Favoloro made several nice plays on foul pops.

Amesbury defeated Rockport in April (14-9) and May (10-5).

Miranda Roller had a 3-run homer in Rockport’s opening round win over Greater Lawrence.

Amesbury box

Rockport box

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

Miranda Roller

Meaghan Wonson gets treatment

close play at first

Lauren Fedorchak

Catcher Caity Baker comes out after a bunt

Jess Collins pitched for Rockport

Rockport coach Diane Parisi in front of the crowd

trouble in the Rockport outfield

Miranda Roller and Autumn Kligerman

AHS coach Chris Perry

close play at second

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Filed under Amesbury, Rockport

Tagged as Allie Davis, Autumn Kligerman, Emily Faulds, Hayley Catania, Kayla Parisi, Lauren Fedorchak, Maddie Napoli, Meaghan Wonson, Rachel Haselgard, Zoe Fitzgerald

May 28, 2014 · 1:09 pm

2014 Cape Ann League All-League softball team (pictures)

Amanda Schell (Player-of-the-Year)

Emily Dow (Player-of-the-Year)

Carolyn Lynch

Shortstop Rachel Gallagher

Maddie Kelly

Carley Siemasko

Cassidy Gaeta

Jen Castro and Tarah Reilly

Tyler Feeney

Hannah Lorden

Jess Collins

Kylie Gilroy

(Jackie Whelan of Lynnfield also made the CAL 2014 All-League team.)

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Filed under Amesbury, Cape Ann League, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Masconomet, Newburyport, North Reading, Pentucket, Rockport, Triton

Tagged as Amanda Schell, Carley Siemasko, Carolyn Lynch, Cassidy Gaeta, Emily Dow, Hannah Lorden, Jackie Whelan, Jen Castro, Jess Collins, Kylie Gilroy, Maddie Kelly, Rachel Gallagher, Tara Reilly, Tyler Feeney

May 7, 2014 · 8:55 pm

Rockport ends Triton’s five-game win streak with 8-0 shutout

Jess Collins: 4 innings/1 hit/3 strikeouts

Hannah Lorden: 3 innings/2 hits/2 strikeouts

Emily Faulds tracks a popup

(Byfield MA) Triton ran into some excellent Rockport pitching and defense and lost, 8-0, on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon of Cape Ann League softball.

Senior Hannah Lorden and junior Jess Collins scattered three hits and never allowed a Triton baserunner to get past second base. The defense behind them made every play without an error.

The home team certainly didn’t help their chances of scoring some runs by running into two outs on the base paths.

Rockport took charge of this game in the fifth inning. Eleven batters came to the plate and six of them scored. Two Triton errors extended the inning for the visitors.

Rockport (7-4) picked up an unearned run in the first inning. Second baseman Kylie Gilroy dropped a popup by leadoff batter Hannah Lorden. Later in the inning, junior Kayla Parisi’s long double to center brought Hannah across.

Second baseman Kylie Gilroy makes a nice catch

Triton (5-10) kept Rockport off the scoreboard in the third and fourth thanks to some terrific defense. Rightfielder Cara Orlandi ended the Rockport third with a nice running catch. In the fourth, pitcher Mara Spears ended that one with a stab of a grounder that would have scored runs had it gone through.

Things unraveled for Triton in the fifth inning. Errors by centerfielder Casey Ross and shortstop Rylie Culverwell gave Rockport extra at bats. The visitors had six hits including doubles by Rachel Haselgard and Jess Collins which each delivered two runs. CF Casey Ross was injured running in on a fly ball during the inning and had to leave the game.

Rockport loaded the bases in the seventh inning. Hannah Lorden drove Meghan Tupper home with the 8th Rockport run.

Meghan Tupper had three hits, scored two runs, and had an RBI. Teammates Hannah Lorden, Emily Faulds, and Rachel Davis all had two hits for Rockport.

Senior Mollie Watson will be attending Division 2 Southern New Hampshire next year. Mara Spears will be going to Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Emma McGonagle had two of Triton’s three hits.

Weather? Blue sky and no wind. Beautiful afternoon.

Lily Anderson nearly picked off first base

Emma McGonagle and Lily Anderson made outs on the bases for Triton.

Rockport has won three straight. They will be at Lynnfield on Monday.

Triton will be hosting Amesbury on Friday.

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

Vikings looking for a handle

Casey Ross battles the sun to catch a fly ball in center.

Christine Ciccone fields a grounder

Lily Anderson doubled off second

Meaghan Wonson

Kayla Parisi beats Shannon Lyons to first for the final out of the game

Catcher Mollie Watson catches a foul popup

Second baseman Emily Faulds makes a backhand stab

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Rockport, Triton

Tagged as Casey Ross, Emily Faulds, Emma McGonagle, Hannah Lorden, Jess Collins

April 29, 2014 · 10:04 pm

Freshman Danny Ryan dazzles in Rockport’s 9-2 win over Newburyport

Danny Ryan pitched a complete game six hitter for the Vikings

Hayden Roller slides for home as Leighton Paradise covers the plate

(Newburyport MA) Freshman Danny Ryan pitched a complete game six hitter as Rockport ended a five-game losing streak and defeated Newburyport, 9-2, on a cold Tuesday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

This was a 2-2 game after four innings before the Vikings (2-6) put some timely hitting together with some Newburyport miscues to garner five runs in the fifth inning. The visitors added two more runs in the sixth.

The Clippers (3-6) had the bases loaded in the fifth and two on in the sixth but didn’t score. Credit Danny Ryan. He struck out Travis Wile to finish the fifth and ended the sixth with a force out.

Anthony Ciaromitaro (#18) heads for third

Senior James Nutter started for Newburyport. He surrendered an unearned run in the first as Anthony Ciaromitaro scored on 3B Ryan Furlong’s 2-base throwing error. The Vikings notched a second run in the third inning when Danny Ryan, who had doubled, came home on junior Josh Proposki’s single.

The Clippers got tainted runs in the first and third. In the first inning, Caleb Stott reached on 3B Joe Scatterday’s throwing error and later scored on a passed ball by catcher Kyle Nelson. In the third, Scott Webster struck out but reached when the ball eluded the Rockport catcher. Ryan Furlong’s fielder’s choice brought Scott home.

Shortstop Caleb Stott gets pulled off second by a high throw from Matt Short

This game was won/lost in Rockport’s five-run fifth inning. The Vikings sent ten players to bat and had RBI by freshman Matt Rich, junior Kyle Nelson, and freshman Danny Ryan. The Clippers inflicted pain on themselves in that inning by serving up two walks, allowing two runs to score on wild pitches, and making a costly error (2B Matt Short).

Rockport put across two more runs against reliever Leighton Paradise in the sixth inning. A walk, an error (3B Ryan Furlong), and wild pitches enabled freshman Hayden Roller to score. Later a fielder’s choice by Anthony Ciaromitaro drove in Matt Rich with the second run of the inning.

The Clippers threatened in their fifth and sixth but on this afternoon there was no late-game rally.

The Vikings were flawless in the field after Joe Scatterday’s error on the first Clippers’ batter.

First baseman Stephen Ryan scooped up two bad throws in the final inning.

Caleb Stott has the tag waiting for Josh Proposki

Josh Proposki was thrown out twice by NHS catcher Scott Webster trying to steal.

Leighton Paradise was pulled from the game after experiencing arm trouble in the seventh inning.

Rockport was 7-12 last season.

Jeremy Grabowski came off the NHS bench and got two of the Clippers six hits.

Rightfielder Josh Proposki catches a deep fly

Will Cataldo hit two deep flies to right field that were caught by Josh Proposki.

Newburyport had won three of four before the loss today.

The Clippers have scored more than five runs only once in nine games. When the bats are quiet the pitching and defense has to carry the day. Not today versus Rockport.

Next game (weather permitting) for Newburyport is at Amesbury. The Vikings will be at Pentucket that day.

Weather? It was winter weather minus the snow.

Rockport box

Newburyport box

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

Freshman Matt Rich scored two Rockport runs

Travis Wile strikes out in the fifth inning

Leighton Paradise

Freshman Hayden Roller fires from deep short

Danny Ryan (two hits and an RBI)

Matt Short leaps for a blooper

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Filed under Cape Ann League, Newburyport, Rockport

Tagged as Danny Ryan, Hayden Roller, Matt Rich

May 8, 2013 · 9:50 pm

Newburyport takes down Rockport 9-3 in Cape Ann League softball

Catcher Shelby OBrien gets Hannah Lorden at the plate.

Meghan Stanton gets home on a wild pitch

(Newburyport) That’s three straight for the Clippers.

Newburyport (8-4) rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat Rockport, 9-3, on a dry-wet-dry Wednesday afternoon at Cashman Park.

The Vikings (4-7) put two runs up in the first inning but had a quiet final six inning thanks to the pitching of Vicki Allman.

Vicki allowed six hits in the game but more important was that she didn‘t walk anyone. The visitors had few scoring opportunities.

On the other hand, Newburyport had baserunners in all six innings thanks to nine hits and seven walks.

The Clippers tied the score in the third inning and then added three runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good.

Kendra Dow

Carley Siemasko

Kendra Dow (3 hits/3 runs/2 RBI) and Carley Siemasko (3 hits/1 run/1 RBI) were the hitting stars for NHS.

Hannah Lorden paced Rockport with a triple, single and run scored.

In the opening inning, Kayla Parisi’s fielder’s choice drove in Meghan Tupper. Later, Mollie Watson came home on Emily Fauld’s RBI single up the middle.

The Clippers had two runners on in both the first and second but came away empty. Pitcher Hannah Lorden ended the Clippers scoring chance in the second by spearing Molly Kelley‘s liner up the middle.

Newburyport tied the game in the third inning. A throwing error at the end of a single (Kendra Dow) and a double (Meghan Stanton) produced a run. Meghan Stanton would later add a second run when she came home on a wild pitch.

Molly Kelley steps on home as catcher Mollie Watson chases a bad throw

The Clippers broke the game open in the fourth inning with some “exciting“ base running. A walk by Shelby O’Brien and a single by Molly Kelley gave NHS two baserunners with one out. Next batter Kendra Dow put a high, outside pitch on a line down the first baseline. Kendra is very fast and the other two baserunners…….not so much. By the time Kendra rounded third she and the other two baserunners were all between third and home. A good throw from the outfield to home would have nailed at least two of them I suspect. But on this day, the throw was up the third baseline and all three runners crossed home safely.

The Vikings cut a run off that 5-2 deficit in the fifth. Hannah Lorden tripled over Ashley Casellini’s head in left and when the throw back in was off target the Vikings had a run.

Meghan Tupper slides in with the first Rockport run

The Clippers got that run back in the bottom of the fifth. Carley Siemasko singled, advanced to third via a walk and a wild pitch and came home on Jackie Krusemark’s sacrifice fly.

Newburyport added to their 6-3 lead with three more runs in the sixth inning. They loaded the bases with no outs and Lea Tomasz drove in Molly Kelley with a sacrifice fly to left. Carley Siemasko then singled in Kendra Dow. Later in the inning, after the bases were again loaded, Meghan Stanton raced home on a wild pitch.

The six-run spread was more than enough the way Vicki Allman was pitching. She faced only six batters in the final two innings.

In the sixth inning, after Kayla Parisi singled, her pinch runner (Rachel Davis) was doubled off first on a line drive to second baseman Jackie Krusemark.

Mollie Watson

Junior catcher Mollie Watson has already been a Cape Ann League All-League player twice. Watching her stop a lot of pitches in the dirt showcased her defensive skills. She also threw out Casey Barlow trying to steal second base.

Isobel MacCrate made a nice catch in left field in the first inning for the Vikings.

Rockport lost CAL All-Leaguer Gabby Munoz to Pingree.

The Clippers recovered nicely from a humiliating loss (18-1) a week ago at Cashman Park to Amesbury. With their eighth win, the Clippers need just two wins in their final eight games to qualify for post-season action.

Newburyport will be at Georgetown on Friday afternoon. Rockport will be hosting North Reading tomorrow.

The weather was hard to figure. I had my camera put away for part of the game because of drizzle. Cameras and scorebooks never do well in rain!

Newburyport boxscore

Rockport boxscore

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