McClelland Miscellanea

May 5, 2022 · 10:15 pm

Vaughn O’Leary tosses 2-hitter as Manchester-Essex shuts out Pentucket 4-0

Colin Coyne scores the first Hornets run

Ethan Hunt had 12 K’s in six innings of relief

(Groveland) The two runs that Manchester-Essex put up in the first inning didn’t seem like too much at the time.

But then the pitching of Hornets starter Vaughn O’Leary kicked in and those runs grew in size as the innings rolled by.

Manchester-Essex defeated Pentucket, 4-0, on Thursday afternoon at Groveland Pines.

Vaughn finished with a two-hitter and collected eleven strikeouts.

“The umpire was giving me the outside corner and I was able to command all my pitches,” said Vaughn afterwards. “I know I’m on when I can start with off-speed pitches against 3-4-5 hitters.”

“I give their pitcher a lot of credit,” said Pentucket coach Kevin Murray. “He didn’t throw many balls. He came right at our hitters and attacked us all game. He lived on the outside and we didn’t do a great job of adjusting to that.”

A walk (Colin Coyne), and a double (Ryan Andrews) were followed by a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice. The result was a two-run first inning for the visitors.

“Obviously, getting two runs in the first helped us a lot,” said Hornets coach James Weed post-game. “It puts pressure on the other team.”

Coach Murray brought on Ethan Hunt to pitch in the second inning. The UMass Boston commit struck out twelve Hornets over the next six inning of relief.

“Ethan pitched very well,” said Coach Murray. “Even during the inning with the runs, the hits weren’t hit that hard.”

Pentucket’s best chance to get back in the game was in the third inning. An infield error and a Max Ligols’ single put two runners on with no outs. Vaughn then struck out the next three batters to end the threat and the inning.

Manchester-Essex (6-3) added two more runs in the sixth inning. The Hornets had two hits early in the inning (Ryan Andrews, Henry Otterbein) and two hits later on (Mike D’Oreo, Zak Porat) to drive in the runs.

Pentucket (5-5) got two runners on with two outs in their half of the sixth inning, but Vaughn ended the threat by getting Chase Dwight to fly out deep to center.

Vaughn O’Leary: “I couldn’t have done it without my defense. We could have lost this game if they hadn’t made plays.”

Coach Weed: “This team reminds me of the 2019 state champion team. They’re not as talented but they’re proving a lot of doubters wrong. They’re hitting as well as the 2019 team. They’re fun to coach. They play with energy.”

Kyle Ventola and Max Ligols had Pentucket’s two hits.

Ryan Andrews and Mike D’Oreo each had two hits for Manchester-Essex.-

The weather was perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold with sunshine.

Manchester-Essex 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 = 4

Pentucket 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0

(The pictures will enlarge.)

2B Justin Majka waits to tag Colby Doane

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Pentucket

Tagged as Coach James Weed, Coach Kevin Murray, Ethan Hunt, Vaughn O'Leary

May 3, 2022 · 10:16 pm

Pentucket plays ‘best game’ shutting out Newburyport 3-0

Max Ligols had a two-run homer for Pentucket

(Groveland) “It was absolutely our best game of the year,” said Pentucket coach Kevin Murray afterwards.

Pentucket defeated Newburyport, 3-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Groveland Pines.

Chase Dwight pitched a 3-hitter. Max Ligols had a 2-run homer and the Pentucket defense was error-free.

“You have to tip your cap to them (Pentucket),” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe. “They got the big hits when they needed to, and Chase (Dwight) pitched a great game. He threw strikes and if you do that in this league good things are going to happen.”

The biggest hit was by Pentucket’s Max Ligols. The UMF commit had two strikes on him in the fourth inning before clearing the leftfield fence.

“I was down on the count,” recalled Max. “He threw me a first-pitch curve and then came back with it. I just stayed behind and let loose on it. It was the first homer I’ve ever hit. I didn’t even have one in Little League! It sure felt good.”

Max’s homer brought home teammate James Davis who had a long-count single leading off in that fourth inning.

“No one was an easy out today,” said Coach Murray. “We didn’t have any first-pitch outs and we battled back from 0-2 counts.”

Pentucket collected an unearned run in the previous inning. Trevor Kamuda reached on an infield error, stole second and took third on a fielder’s choice. Chase Dwight’s two-out double brought Trevor home.

Newburyport’s best chance to get run(s) was in the fourth inning. The Clippers loaded the bases with one out. A walk (Lucas Stallard), a double (Owen Tahnk) and an intentional walk (Jack Fehlner) put Newburyport in a good spot. But Pentucket escaped as Chase caught Brady Ford looking and handled Tyler Cowles’ grounder to end the threat.

Pentucket answered with the Max Ligol homer in the bottom half of the fourth and had a 3-0 lead.

Chase retired nine of the last ten batters he faced to earn the win for Pentucket.

“My fastball was my best pitch today,” said Chase afterwards. “I had good location.”

“Our energy was high throughout the game,” he added. “We hit when we needed to. Whenever Newburyport did hit, my teammates were there making the plays.”

Chase told me that he will be attending Mass Maritime Academy in the fall. “I may go out for baseball,” he said. “You have to try out for the team, so we’ll see what happens there.”

The Clippers (8-3) came into today’s game averaging 6.9 runs per game. “We hit a lot of balls hard today but right at people,” said Coach Rowe.

Pentucket (5-4) finished with six hits. Max and Chase had two each. Ethan Hunt and James Davis had the other two hits.

The Clippers had hits from Owen Tahnk, Jack Fehlner, and Connor Stick.

Alex Robertson was solid for Pentucket at first base handling nine chances that included several low throws. “Alex had some nice picks,” said Trevor Kamuda post-game.

Prior to this afternoon’s game, Pentucket had won three straight, before losing to Lynnfield last game.

The Clippers entered today’s game having won seven straight. Last loss was on April 11^th to Amesbury, until this afternoon.

The weather was comfortably warm at the start and then became much cooler later.

Newburyport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0

Pentucket 0 0 1 2 0 0 – = 3

(The pictures will enlarge.)

James Davis heads for third base in the fourth inning

Chase Dwight had an RBI double in the third inning

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Chase Dwight, Coach Kevin Murray, Max Ligols

May 2, 2022 · 11:08 pm

Pentucket get six to get 7-6 walkoff win vs Notre Dame

(Groveland) “That pitch was just right, that’s all I can say,” said an excited Nikki Mitchell afterwards.

Nikki laced a two-strike, two-out double to right that drove across the game-winner for Pentucket.

“It was amazing,” Nikki said. “I am so happy. I knew we could do it.”

Notre Dame Academy took the hard-luck 7-6 loss on Monday afternoon.

The Lancers (6-3) carried a 6-1 lead into the Pentucket seventh. Lancers’ starter Carly Smith entered the inning with seven strikeouts and no walks. The home team only had two hits.

Lexi Martineau had three hits and scored three runs

There was little reason to think that things would change so drastically in the final half inning.

But change they.

“We’ve been in every game so far and we don’t give up,” said Pentucket coach Deb Smith afterwards.

Nikki Mitchell started the inning with a walk and ended the inning with a walkoff double.

Pentucket got four walks in the inning and benefitted from a high throw to the plate that scored a run.

The excitement grew as the inning unfolded.

After Carly Smith registered her eighth strikeout, Pentucket was down to its final out and trailed 6-4. They did, however, have two runners on and Kayla Murphy batting. Kayla had struck out twice but this time, down to her last strike, she found the gap in right-center and tied the game.

After an intentional walk to Meghan Hamel, it was Nikki Mitchell’s turn. Nikki had collected Pentucket’s first hit in fifth inning. Nikki, like Kayla, got two strikes on her before hitting a ball over the rightfielder’s head which easily scored Kayla with the game-winner.

The team immediately mobbed Kayla after she scored while Nikki stood at second base. “I was a little surprised by that,” laughed Nikki. Shortly thereafter, however, the team got it walkoff celebration corrected and descended on Nikki.

“Kayla and Nikki with two strikes on them got the job done for us,” said Coach Deb Smith.

“It was a tough loss,” said NDA coach Fred Smith. “At the end there were a couple of walks by us and a couple of big hits by them.”

“We were on the other end of a game like this against Whittier on Friday,” he added.

“We’ve been working so hard as a team,” said Coach Deb Smith. “Everyone did their job today. It was a total team effort.”

Lexi Martineau paced the Lancers with three of their five hits. She scored three runs and drove in two.

Lexi’s first hit drove in two runs in the 3-run NDA third inning.

Two walks, two hits, and two wild pitches gave the Lancers two more runs in the fifth inning.

Meanwhile NDA’s Carly Smith retired twelve straight batters before Pentucket put a hit batsman and two singles together to load the bases. Emma Lopata drove in Pentucket’s first run with a fielder’s choice.

NDA got the run back with a hit and three straight walks in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 6-1.

A key play in that NDA seventh inning was an attempt to steal home that turned into the final out of the inning. There had been three straight walks.

And that set the stage for Pentucket’s ten-batter, six-run, final inning.

The weather was unpleasant. You really have to dress for winter!

Notre Dame 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 = 6

Pentucket 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 = 7

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Sarah Freitas heads home with first NDA run

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Filed under Notre Dame Academy (Tyngsboro), Pentucket

Tagged as Carly Smith, Kayla Murphy, Lexi Martineau, Nikki Mitchell

April 30, 2022 · 8:03 pm

Amesbury’s 12-run fifth sinks Concord-Carlisle 13-1

Amesbury started making solid contact in the fifth inning

(Amesbury) Neither team had a hit through four innings.

Amesbury did have a run, however, as Ella Bezanson had walked, stolen second, and come home in the 4^th inning after two wild pitches.

No doubt that Concord-Carlisle’s Madi Gambino and Amesbury’s Liv DeLong were in charge.

But everything changed in the fifth inning. In fact, the game ended before the fifth inning ended!

In the top of the fifth, the Patriots (2-4) got their first hit (Brooke Boyle) and it drove in Phoebe Rodgers who had walked and advanced to third on an infield error.

That tied the score at 1-1 and now it was Amesbury’s turn to bat in the fifth.

And did they ever bat….and score. Eight hits and twelve runs before the mercy rule kicked in.

13-1 was the final.

“My team was competing for a while,” said CC coach Lisa McGloin afterwards. “Give credits to Amesbury. They made adjustments at the plate, and they hit the ball hard.”

Not only hard but far. There were six extra-base hits among the fourteen players who batted for (9-0) Amesbury in their explosive fifth.

Alana DeLisle, Olivia Levasseur, Cali Catarius, and Lexi LeBlanc each scored twice during the inning. The second time Lexi scored ended the game.

Olivia Levasseur had two triples in the inning and drove in three runs.

Maybe the events of last night played a part in the way this game unfolded? Concord-Carlisle played a game under the lights while the Amesbury girls had their prom.

“We had the prom last night,” said Coach Waters, “which is always a killer. They were all out late which was why the game was moved to a 2PM start.”

“The prom wasn’t a problem,” countered rightfielder Lauren Celia. “They were a good team.”

Madi Gambino impressed through four innings. She had solid support behind her. RF Lana Bardzik robbed Ella Bezanson of extra bases in the first inning with a running catch. Shortstop Nicole Cela got in front of Olivia Levasseur’s line-drive laser in the second inning.

In the Amesbury fifth, their hard hits found space while the Patriots’ defense allowed extra at-bats.

The nightmare inning (for CC) started with a fly ball that two outfielders went after. They got tangled up and Amesbury had its first hit. The home team went on to get seven more hits to gain the win.

The mercy ending kept Liv DeLong from pitching any longer. She did finish with eleven strikeouts and gave up just one hit in the five innings.

“They were definitely up there to hit,” recalled Liv. “The strike zone was a little tight and I wasn’t getting much on the outside. So, we worked inside. I can’t, however, be afraid to throw outside.”

Amesbury faced Concord-Carlisle a week ago, in a game that went the full seven innings, winning 11-0. Alana DeLisle pitched and had thirteen strikeouts.

“Our team today was resilient enough to know that we had to pick it up,” said Coach Waters.

“There are always a lot of coulda, shoulda, woulda’s but you can’t live in that world,” said Coach McGloin.

When the first Amesbury batter was robbed by a nice running catch in the outfield, I had an immediate flashback to last year’s title game against Turners Falls. TF had three remarkable outfield catches in that 5-4 heartbreaker.

“Every close game we have at the start, I think ‘Turners Falls,’ said Liv DeLong. “But we’ve learned from that experience. It just took us a while to get going today.”

Concord Carlisle’s run today was only the second run scored against Amesbury through nine games. Peabody had the first one on April 4^th in the season opener. Meanwhile, Amesbury has scored 112 runs over the same period. We’re talking special team!

It was cold (50’s) and a little breezy at the start but the wind died down to make things more pleasant.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Trouble in the Concord-Carlisle outfield

Super catch by CC outfielder Lana Bardzik

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Tagged as Coach Lisa McGloin, Liv DeLong, Madi Gambino, Olivia Levasseur

April 29, 2022 · 10:14 pm

Triton overtakes Malden Catholic 10-5

Emma Penniman pitched five innings of 3-hit relief

(Byfield) Triton had two runners thrown out at third and one at the plate.

But it didn’t matter.

“We were just being aggressive,” said Triton coach Alan Noyes afterwards.

The Vikings had baserunners in every inning and defeated non-league Malden Catholic, 10-5, on Friday afternoon.

Triton had thirteen hits and everyone in their lineup reached base.

“We’re swinging the bats well,” added Coach Noyes. “Even some of the outs were loud.”

Things didn’t go so well, however, for the home team in the first two innings.

“We came out swinging,” said MC coach Ariel LaRosa.

The Lancers (4-1) had three hits in that first inning including an RBI single by Zaria Jean-Pierre to get a run.

Control issues (three straight walks) and an infield error gifted MC with three more runs.

Their lead was 4-2 after two innings.

But freshman Emma Penniman came on in the third inning for Triton and pitched five terrific innings of relief. Emma struck out seven and allowed only three hits and one unearned run.

“Emma came in and settled things down,” said Coach Noyes.

The Lancers struggled against Emma curveball.

“She had crazy spin on that ball,” said Coach LaRosa.

The MC bats may have quieted down but Triton’s didn’t.

The Vikings batted around in the third inning and got four runs. In the fifth they sent up eight batters and got four more.

Junior Haleigh Harris let the Vikings hit parade with three hits and two RBI.

“I haven’t been hitting the strongest lately,” Haleigh admitted. “Today I was more relaxed, and the hits just popped off my bat.”

Sophomore Mallory Johnson cleared the bases with a double in the fifth inning.

“Mallory has been swinging a hot stick all year,” said Coach Noyes.

Junior Grace Romine had a two-run single in the third inning.

Rightfielder Molly Hickey had a big game for the Lancers. Molly handled four chances perfectly in a tough sun field. She also threw out a Triton baserunner at third plus she led the team with two hits.

A big moment in this game was in the third inning when senior Reghan Haley earned a 2-out, 3-2 count walk with the bases loaded to tie the score. Grace Romine followed with a 2-run single to give Triton the lead for good.

Malden Catholic is in the All-Girls Conference. “We’re in a weaker conference,” said Coach LaRosa, “but playing non-conference games like this will make us a better program.”

“Once we had three girls not hit (third inning) it got into the heads of all the girls,” added Coach LaRosa.

Emma Penniman only allowed one baserunner in innings three through six. “I’m happy with how I did,” said Emma afterwards. “I threw a lot of curves.”

Both coaches are looking for improvements.

“We’ve got to get better but we’re swinging the bats well,” said Coach Noyes.

“It’ll definitely be a better game when they come to us later in the season,” said Coach LaRosa.

Maddy Jacques, Kyla Story, and Emma Penniman each scored two runs for Triton.

Jaelyn Walsh and Molly Hickey scored twice for the Lancers.

The weather at Triton always includes wind. Put the breeze with temperatures in the low 50’s and keeping warm was challenging.

Malden Catholic 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 = 5

Triton 2 0 4 0 4 0 – = 10

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Catcher Jaslyn Iraola waits for the throw

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Filed under Malden Catholic, Triton

Tagged as Coach Alan Noyes, Coach Ariel LaRosa, Emma Penniman, Grace Romine, Haleigh Harris, Mallory Johnson, Molly Hickey

April 28, 2022 · 11:33 pm

Lynnfield turns Amesbury miscues into 10-8 win

Alex Gentile drove in the winning runs in the 7th inning

(Amesbury) Lynnfield came in struggling.

They were 1-6, scoring only sixteen runs.

They had lost four straight.

But today the Pioneers got runs and a happy-ending, 10-8, win over Amesbury on Thursday afternoon.

Lynnfield trailed 8-6 after six innings but put a four-spot up and Amesbury (6-3) didn’t recover.

“Both teams hits balls pretty well and put them in play,” said Lynnfield coach John O’Brien afterwards. “They made some mistakes. We made some mistakes.”

Only in the Lynnfield fifth did a side go in order.

Sophomore David Tracy came on in relief for the Pioneers in the fifth inning. He limited Amesbury to one run over the final three innings to get the win.

“David Tracy was clutch.,” said junior Alex Gentile afterwards. “He did the job for us.”

Alex paced the Lynnfield attack. He had two hits, two RBI, and scored two runs.

Pinch-hitter Nick Razzaboni tied the game in the 7^th with a double. After a walk to Henry Caulfield, Alex’s long single brought in both runners to gain Lynnfield a 2-run lead.

David Tracy gave up a double to Will Arsenault leading off the Amesbury seventh but then retired the next three batters to clinch the victory.

You sensed “long game” for Amesbury as the first inning played out. The Indians had four throwing errors in the infield, rolling up pitches on starter Drew Scaldone’s arm and handing Lynnfield three runs.

“We gave up seven outs in the first inning,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley post-game. “Can’t give a team like that extra outs.”

But Amesbury can hit, and they got two in the first and two more in the second to get the lead. Jake Harring drove in a run in the second with a triple and came home on a bad throw from the outfield to allow Amesbury to jump ahead, 4-3.

Lynnfield regained the lead in the fifth inning. An error, a wild pitch, and Dan Dorman’s sacrifice fly were factors.

Lynnfield gifted Amesbury back with two runs in the fifth thanks to an error, hit batsman, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.

But the Pioneers would recover and pull this one out in the final frame.

“I’m proud of the kids,” said Coach O’Brien. “They didn’t give up even when we were down going into the last inning.”

Henry Caulfield scores the 10th Lynnfield run

“This was a tough loss,” said Coach Brierley. “We’ve been hitting well and bailing out our errors. If we’re going to be a team that plans to do something we’ve got to be able to make routine plays.”

There were sixteen walks and wild pitches and passed balls were frequent.

Alex Gentile on his hit in the seventh: “He kept giving me curveballs in the count and I knew he was going to come back with another one. Luckily, I got a good piece of it.”

Junior Trevor Kimball had a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Will Arsenault led Amesbury with two hits. Both Cam Stanley and Jake Harring scored two runs.

Drew Scialdone started for Amesbury while Dan Dorman started for Lynnfield.

The weather was definitely unpleasant. The temps were close to 50 with an unwelcome wind.

Lynnfield 3 0 0 2 0 1 4 = 10

Amesbury 2 2 0 2 1 1 0 = 8

(The pictures will enlarge.)

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April 27, 2022 · 11:13 pm

Cole Mellett perfect as Newburyport defeats North Reading 12-5

Cole Mellett on the attack after winning a faceoff

(Newburyport) He was perfect.

“You can’t do any better than that,” said Newburyport coach Josh Wedge afterwards.

The NHS coach was referring to Cole Mellett and the twenty-one faceoffs he took.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone go perfect on faceoffs,” added Coach Wedge. “He won 21-of-21!”

Cole’s perfect game was a key piece in the Clippers’ 12-5 win over North Reading on Wednesday afternoon.

The win keeps Newburyport undefeated (5-0) in the Cape Ann League.

The Hornets (4-5) opened the second half with goals from Dan Oliveira and Ryan Long to cut the Clippers lead to, 6-4.

But the Clippers responded with three unanswered goals (Ryan Philbin, Jon Groth, Cam Tinkham) in a three-minute stretch to close out the third period.

“We kept it close for as long as we could,” said North Reading coach Charles Campobasso post-game.

“We struggled with faceoffs and ground balls,” he added. “If we can’t get possession there, we’re really in trouble and are limited getting down the other end of the field.”

Newburyport jumped ahead, 4-1, after a quarter and led, 6-2, at halftime.

“It was a 6-2 game that felt like it should have been 10-2,” said Coach Wedge. “We could have shot better in the first half.”

In the second half the Clippers did shoot better after the two early Hornets’ goals.

Jon Groth and Cam Tinkham led Newburyport’s scorers with three goals each. Zach McHugh and Ryan Philbin each had two while Ryan McHugh and Owen Kruez had one each.

Ryan Long scored twice for North Reading. Teddy Suny, Dan Oliveira, and Sam Morelli had solo goals.

North Reading has now lost four of their last five games.

“Josh (Wedge) does a good job of getting his guys prepared,” said Coach Campobasso. “We knew going in that we would have our work cut out for us. Our struggles with faceoffs and ground balls against a good team were a recipe for a tough day.”

North Reading will get another chance against Newburyport in a couple of weeks.

The Clippers were 14-1 last year and aren’t shying away from tough opponents this year with Cape Elizabeth, Portsmouth, and Concord-Carlisle on their schedule.
“Playing those teams will help our power rankings,” said junior Jack Hadden. “They are all reigning state champions.”

Jack Hadden: “Cole (Mellett) is unbelievable. It’s his first year doing faceoffs. He works so hard. Lacrosse is all about the faceoffs. If you can’t win faceoffs, you can’t win.”

Cole Mellett: “I guess it was my lucky day out there. It’s my first year doing it. My friend Colin McCoy took them last year and was very good at it. He taught me over the summer, and I just picked it up. It gave us a lot of possessions.”

There was a taste of winter in the air. No snow but temperatures close to fifty with a strong wind. It is still April.

Newburyport 6 6 = 12

North Reading 2 3 = 5

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Shot at North Reading goalie Andrew Peppe

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Filed under Newburyport, North Reading

Tagged as Cam Tinkham, Coach Charles Campobasso, Coach Josh Wedge, Cole Mellett, Jack Hadden, Jon Groth, Ryan Long

April 25, 2022 · 9:38 pm

Newburyport in control with 18-4 win over Ipswich

(Newburyport) They knew what to expect.

They prepared for it and executed against it.

The result was a convincing 18-4 win by Newburyport over Ipswich on Monday afternoon.

“We worked on moving the ball quicker and keeping our eyes open for off-ball cutters,” explained Clippers’ sophomore Rita Cahalane afterwards.

“They played a backer zone,” said NHS coach Catherine Batchelder post-game. “That defense presented man-up opportunities for us. We worked on it in practice and the girls saw it really well. They were able to get some wide-open shots.”

The Clippers (5-1) controlled the draws in the early going and locked the Tigers (2-3) into their defensive end. In fact, Ipswich didn’t get into the Newburyport end with possession for the first 9 ½ minutes.

However, by the time Ipswich penetrated Newburyport territory they were already down, 5-0.

Three Newburyport goals later the Tigers called a timeout.

The score was 12-0 at halftime.

The Clippers showed patience on offense opting for high-percentage shots.

“We spaced wide and got a lot of cutters open,” said Olivia McDonald afterwards.

Nothing selfish about an attack that gets eighteen goals and has ten different players contributing scores.

Anna Affolter and Lilly Pons led Newburyport with three goals each.

Avery Tahnk, Emily Fuller, Reese Bromby, and Olivia McDonald each scored twice.

Rita Cahalane, Maddie Heath, Sydney Turner, and McKenna Ward had solo goals.

The key contributor was probably Izzy Rosa who didn’t even score a goal but assisted on six of them.

The game went into running time with six minutes remaining in the first half and Newburyport ahead, 10-0.

The lead was stretched to 15-0 in the second half with eighteen minutes remaining.

Ipswich showed some scoring life thereafter with four goals including two from Halle Greenleaf. Julia Moseley and Kayden Flather had single goals.

The most celebrated Newburyport goal was probably in the last minute when defender McKenna Ward moved up into the offensive end and scored.

Weather was pleasant with sunshine and temperatures in the upper 50’s.

Newburyport 12 6 = 18

Ipswich 0 4 = 4

(The pictures will enlarge.)

Emily Fuller (2 goals) covered by Maddy Duffy

Anna Affolter (3 goals) heads for the net

Ipswich goalie Ashton Flather reaches for the ball

Maeve Sullivan, Azariah Leslage, Izzy Rosa

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Filed under Ipswich, Newburyport

Tagged as Anna Affolter, Coach Catherine Batchelder, Halle Greenleaf, Lilly Pons, Olivia McDonald, Rita Cahalane

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

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

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

April 18, 2022 · 9:46 pm

Molly LeBel strikes out 15 in Pentucket’s 11-1 win over Georgetown

Freshman Molly LeBel struck out 15 Royals

(Groveland) “Molly (LeBel) pitched an excellent game,” said Pentucket coach Deb Smith afterwards.

The stats confirm the assessment: 15 strikeouts, four-hitter, two walks.

Pentucket defeated Georgetown, 11-1, on Monday afternoon.

“This was our first win, and we needed that,” added Coach Smith.

Pentucket (1-3) now has something to build on.

Meanwhile, Georgetown (0-6) continues to chase that first W with a very young team. How young? Today they started six middle schoolers with the Royals only run today driven in by a seventh grader!

McKenzie Riley drove in the Georgetown run

Pentucket took control of this game in the first inning collecting five runs.

“We have been focusing on hitting,” said Coach Smith. “Today it paid off.” Pentucket had eleven hits.

Five of Pentucket’s hits were in their productive first inning when Pentucket sent up ten batters. Nikki Mitchell, Emma Lopata, Meg Hamel, Kayla Murphy, and Julia Daley all singled for the home team.

Georgetown coach Jay Santomassino thought that his team could have done better in the first inning. “We needed to make a play or two to limit the runs they scored,” said Coach Santomassino.

“We were much better defensively after that inning, but it was too late for us,” Coach Santomassino added.

Nikki Mitchell (3 rbi, 3 hits, 2 runs), Emma Lopata (3 rbi, 2 hits, 1 run), and Kayla Murphy (1 rbi, 3 hits, 1 run) put up the big numbers in the Pentucket offense.

“We’ve been working hard in practice to get better,” said senior Emma Lopata post-game.

While the hitting of Pentucket was very good, the pitching of freshman Molly LeBel was “very strong,” according to her coach.

“I was just trying to get it done out there,” said Molly afterwards.

Again, the stats confirm how successful she was. This game went the full seven innings and Molly had at least one strikeout in each inning.

Innings four, five, and six were special. Molly retired nine straight and eight of the outs were K’s. “She was hitting her spots,” said Coach Smith.

While the Royals struggled to make contact, Pentucket started adding runs. Emma Lopata drove in a run in the second on a fielder’s choice and two in the fourth on a loud double to left. Freshman Kayla Murphy tripled in the third inning and scored on a wild pitch. Nikki Mitchell knocked in two runs in the fifth inning with a single.

The Pentucket bats were good, and their pitching was excellent. Two things that will put a team into a good position to win a game.

The Royals (four hits) made solid contact in the seventh. Gillian Figueroa rapped a double to left and McKenzie Riley followed with an RBI single to right.

Windy at Groveland Pines with temperatures falling as the game went on.

Amesbury players were watching today’s action.

Pentucket seniors Emma Lopata (UMass Amherst) and Meg Hamel (Union) have settled on colleges.

Georgetown 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 = 1

Pentucket 5 1 1 2 2 2 – = 11

(The pictures will enlarge.)