McClelland Miscellanea

May 20, 2013 · 10:29 pm

Newburyport rallies past Triton 9-5 in Cape Ann League softball

Casey Barlow (3 hits) caught in a rundown.

Catcher Julia Hartman waits for the throw as Kendra Dow tries to score.

(Salisbury) The Newburyport Clippers scored the last seven runs of the game and defeated Triton, 9-5, at Lions Park on a nice Monday night.

The Clippers (12-5/9-4) have now won six of their last seven games and are still in the hunt for the Cape Ann League Division 1 title. They trail D1 leader North Reading (10-3) by a game and are looking for help from Masconomet which hosts the Hornets on Wednesday.

This was yet another tough loss for Triton (7-9). The Vikings have now dropped five straight after being a promising 7-4 not too long ago. Fielding miscues were the primary culprit in the loss to Newburyport.

Seniors Kelsey Trudel and Cory Simons converge on a popup

Triton closes its season tomorrow at Manchester-Essex. The Hornets (1-13) won their opening game and haven’t won since. One of the teams tomorrow will be ending a losing streak.

The keys to the Newburyport win were clutch hitting and errorless defense. The Clippers rapped fourteen hits off of Triton’s Mara Spears and only left five baserunners.

The infield defense of Kendra Dow (SS), Jackie Krusemark (2B), and Carley Siemasko (1B) was flawless.

Kendra’s best play and was a catch of Kylie Gilroy’s hard-hit liner that put an end to Triton’s three-run third inning.

Carley took care of two potential doubles down the first baseline off the bats of Mara Spears and Kelsey Trudel.

The solid Clippers defense enabled pitcher Vicki Allman to retire eleven of the last twelve batters she faced, including nine straight. The only Vikings baserunner over the final four frames was Cory Simons.

And while the Vikings were held scoreless over the final four innings the Clippers pounded two doubles (Lauren Singer and Casey Barlow) and eight singles collecting seven runs over the final four innings.

Rylee Culverwell injured on this play

It certainly hurt the Vikings to have #3 hitter Rylee Culverwell leave the game injured in the third inning. Freshman Rylee’s bat was missed the rest of the way as well as her excellent defense at third.

Of the seven, last-four-innings, runs for Newburyport only five of them were earned. A bobble at third (Casey Ross) and a single that turned into a 2-base error (CF Ashley Shute) allowed the two extra runs.

Newburyport opened the scoring in the second inning. Ashley Hodge and Vicki Allman singled and both Ashley and Vicki’s pinch-runner (Molly Stanton) came home on 2B Kylie Gilroy’s two-out error.

Triton put together a single (Kylie Gilroy), double (Cara Orlandi), and a single (Julia Hartman) to tie the score, 2-2, in the second.

Rachel McCarthy caught stealing

The Vikings jumped ahead by three (5-2) in the third. A double (Cory Simons) and three singles (Rylee Culverwell, Kelsey Trudel, Lily Anderson) were keys. However, the promising inning ended when pinch runner Rachel McCarthy was tossed out trying to steal and the next batter’s line drive was taken by NHS shortstop Kendra Dow. The Viking would have only one hit the rest of the way but at the moment they had a 5-2 lead after three innings.

Newburyport pulled ahead for good with four runs in the fourth. A big hit was Kendra Dow’s two-out double to the CF fence driving in a pair.

In the fifth, Casey Barlow (3 hits) hit a rope to center and reached third with no outs when the ball skipped by CF Ashley Shute. Ashley Hodge’s sacrifice fly delivered Casey with the Clippers seventh run.

Lea Tomasz

Newburyport added to its 7-5 lead with two more runs in the seventh inning. The Clippers went double (Lauren Singer), single (Lea Tomasz), double (Casey Barlow), and single (Ashley Hodge) to get the pair of runs.

Lily Anderson made an excellent play on a foul popup in the fourth inning.

Rylee Culverwell had her right arm in a sling afterwards. I believe that her injury occurred when she slid home scoring Triton’s fourth run.

Casey Barlow paced the Newburyport hitters with three. Lauren Singer, Lea Tomasz, Ashley Hodge, and Vicki Allman had two hits each.

Senior Cory Simons led Triton with two hits. Teammate Kelsey Trudel scored two runs for the Vikings. Both of these quality players will be suiting up for their last game tomorrow.

Lions Park was a nice setting. The infield was smooth and the outfield was green. One of the bank of lights went out in the seventh inning but most of the fast-paced game was played in daylight.

Triton is a team that certainly has had some highs and lows. They are the only team to beat Amesbury (4-3). They defeated Newburyport the last time they met. But then there’s the loss early in the season to 2-12 Ipswich.

Newburyport boxscore

Triton boxscore

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

Carley Siemasko and Cory Simons

Ashley Hodge settles under a flyball

pitcher Mara Spears

Pitcher Vicki Allman

Cara Orlandi

shortstop Kelsey Trudel

Casey Ross

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Carley Siemasko, Casey Barlow, Cory Simons, Kelsey Trudel, Kendra Dow, Mara Spears, Rylee Culverwell, Vicki Allman

May 16, 2013 · 10:33 pm

Newburyport rallies to defeat Triton 8-7 in Cape Ann League baseball

Scott Webster struck out four and earned a save against Triton

Nick Desrocher (#2) hit a 3-run homer over the centerfield fence.

(Byfield) Plenty of excitement in this one.

Newburyport ended a three-game losing streak defeating Triton, 8-7, at windier-than-usual Triton on Thursday afternoon.

The game had runs, hits, errors, clutch relief pitching, and controversy.

(It was also the game where my camera stopped working and it surely wasn’t from lack of use!)

The Clippers (8-7) had a nice 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the third inning. However, a 2-out error by shortstop Colby Morris enabled the Vikings to add four runs to the two they already had scored in the inning. After three innings, the home team had a 7-6 lead.

Newburyport would regain the lead in the fifth inning with two runs. One scorer (Mike Sweeney) reached on an error (Jon Seward) and another (James Nutter) was hit by a pitch.

Those two Clippers runs provided the one-run margin that held up for the winners.

The hero for Newburyport was reliever Scott Webster. The freshman righty came on with the bases loaded in the fifth and two outs. He fell behind 3-1 to leadoff batter Dmitri Hunt before getting him to ground out.

Triton came very close to tying the game in the sixth. A two-out walk to Nick Cornoni was followed by a double over rightfielder Ryan Short’s head. The Clippers were fortunate that the double bounced over the fence because with two outs Nick probably would have tied the game if the ball had stayed in play. But it didn’t and Scott fanned pinch hitter Matt Souliotis to escape with Newburyport’s one-run lead (8-7) still in place.

Brian Fiascone

Controversy was a big part of the Newburyport half of the seventh inning. One sure way to create “excitement” if you’re umpiring is to make one call and then change it in a one-run game. But that’s what happened. Blame Brian Fiascone. Thinking there were three outs (there was only two) after grounding into a force play, Brian left the field and headed for the Clippers bench. Both coaching staffs realized what had happened and Brian scampered back to first……..barely and was called “safe.” The Triton coaching staff had a bad reaction to the call and got the two umpires to discuss it. Next thing we knew Brian was “out.” Now it was Newburyport’s turn to get a bad reaction. A protest was going to be filed by NHS coach Steve Malenfant and in addition Connor Wile and Andrew Fiascone were kicked out of the game for their comments.

But the “out” call stood and the inning was over.

The bottom of the seventh was all Scott Webster. He K’d the side getting Nick Desrocher (who had hit a 3-run homer in the third) as the final out to earn the save.

Justin Cashman

Justin Cashman surrendered ten hits and took the loss for the Vikings but five of the eight runs against him were unearned by my figuring. Second baseman Jon Seward had a rough day in the field with three errors.

Conditions were tough in the field. The combination of bright sun, gale-force winds, and swirling dust gave both teams trouble.

Two errors in the first inning (Jon Seward and Brad Whitman) allowed the Clippers to get off to a 3-zip lead.

Triton got one back in the bottom of the first. A two-base throwing error by third baseman Colton Fontaine, a fielder’s choice, and a wild pitch (Evan Habib) enabled Dmitri Hunt to score.

In the second inning, Newburyport added a pair of runs. Smart base-running was the key. James Nutter walked, stole second and came home on Colton Fontaine’s single. Colton took second on the throw in and scored from there on Colby Morris’ single to left.

Catcher Bob Wolcik waits for Chance Carpenter

The Clippers ran into an out in the third but came away with their sixth run. Chance Carpenter went from first to third on a wild pitch. However, his attempt to get home on, what looked to be, a suicide squeeze failed because he left early and was tagged out easily. But with two outs Ryan Short walked, took second on a passed ball, and rode home on James Nutter’s single to center.

Triton started the third with a walk (Cote Wolcik) and three straight singles (Justin Cashman, Nick Cornoni, and Adam Chatterton) and had two runs in with two outs. Colby Morris’ error led to the third Vikings run and then Nick Desrocher delighted the sizable Triton crowd with a 3-run blast to straightaway center. No question the wind helped. It was Nick’s first home run.

The Clippers capitalized on an error and a hit bats man in the decisive fifth inning to set the stage for an RBI double (Colton Fontaine) and an RBI sacrifice fly by Brian Fiascone.

James Nutter (#6) scored the 8th Newburyport run

Colton Fontaine scored a run, had three hits, and drove in two runs. Colby Morris had two hits while James Nutter scored two runs.

Adam Chatterton had two of Triton’s five hits and an RBI. Nick Desrocher walked twice and had the 3-run long one.

Jake Barlow filled in for Connor Wile behind the plate in the seventh inning.

The Clippers defeated Triton, 4-3, at Newburyport on April 19th.

Both teams return to action on Saturday (10AM). Triton hosts Pentucket while Newburyport hosts Hamilton-Wenham.

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

Triton wind/dust

Rough day in the field for second baseman Jon Seward

James Nutter slides into second

Dmitri Hunt scores the first Vikings run

Colby Morris slides back to first as Adam Chatterton waits to apply the tag

Brad Whitman reaches first on a bad throw

3B Billy Mical and slider Chance Carpenter

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Brian Fiascone, Colton Fontaine, James Nutter, Nick Desrocher, Scott Webster

May 14, 2013 · 9:19 pm

Sean Whooley 2-hits Amesbury in Ipswich 4-0 shutout

Sean Whooley pitched a 2-hitter, had two hits, scored a run, and drove in a run.

Sean Whooley tracks down a bunt attempt

(Amesbury) In years to come, when the talk around the water cooler turns to the Ipswich Tigers’ 2013 season, I strongly suspect that their games with Amesbury will get mentioned.

Why? The Tigers defeated Amesbury twice and didn’t allow a run in either game.

Today, was the second win as Ipswich (4-10) put pitching, hitting, and defense together in a perfect package and shut out Amesbury, 4-0, on a cool Tuesday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Ipswich starter Sean Whooley allowed just two hits (Zack Fitzgerald and John Pesci) picking up his second victory of the season.

Mac Short – robbed by Ryan Silva

Sean struck out just one batter so the outs were made in other ways. On this day, the Ipswich defense made numerous big plays highlighted by a run-saving stab by leftfielder Ryan Silva in the corner off Mac Short in the Amesbury sixth.

The Tigers collected ten hits off of Amesbury’s first-time starter Devlin Gobeil getting at least one in every inning. Josh Guertin, Sean Whooley, and Austin Rubino each had two hits for the visitors.

Ipswich scored its first run in the second inning. Austin Rubino doubled to left with one out and came home on Eric Gongas’ single to center.

In the fourth inning, Sean Whooley singled, stole second, and reached third on a wild pitch. Ryan Law drove Sean home with a bullet single to center.

Shawn Bannon takes in a foul popup

Despite all the hits, Sean Whooley’s pitching, and the tight defense, the Tigers lead was only, 2-0, through six innings. Let’s toss a cliché’ out here: it was still anyone’s ballgame!

But in the seventh Ipswich added two more runs. Josh Guertin was hit by a pitch with two outs. Josh then stole second and came home on Kyle Barber’s double over John Pesci’s head in rightfield. Sean Whooley singled to left bringing Kyle Barber in with the fourth Tiger run.

That four-run lead held up through the Amesbury seventh.

Amesbury (7-8) hit the ball hard a couple of times with nothing to show for it. Devlin Gobeil nearly reached the fence in straightaway center in the second but Ryan Law tracked it down. Twice the Indians lined to third baseman Josh Guertin. One of those line drives turned into a double play.

Kyle Barber crosses home with the fourth Ipswich run

The heartbreaker for Amesbury, however, was Mac Short’s rope in the sixth. Tommy Connors was on first with two outs when the Amesbury catcher lasered a ball toward the leftfield corner. Ryan Silva had a great jump on it and stabbed it near the 344-foot sign to end the inning. If that ball lands, Tommy Connors would have scored and Mac Short would have been on second. The score would have been, 2-1, instead of 2-0 with the inning over.

Sean Whooley has now allowed two earned runs in nineteen innings. For those doing the ERA math at home: earned runs (2) divided by innings pitched (19) times nine, means that Sean’s current ERA is 0.74. That is awfully good!

In the first Ipswich/Amesbury game, the biggest play in the Tigers win was a seventh inning, game-ending catch in leftfield by Dan D’Agostino off the bat of, you guessed it, Mac Short.

Ipswich catcher Henry Sacco had his left arm in a sling. He injured the shoulder sliding into second in the Hamilton-Wenham game on Monday. Eric Gongas was the catcher for Ipswich in today’s game.

Alex Amoroso was tagged out at home in the fifth inning by Mac Short on a very close play. Here are four pictures of the play:

The Tigers have now won two straight after losing six straight and will face Rockport at Rockport on Thursday.

Amesbury will look to end a two-game losing streak at Manchester-Essex on Thursday.

Ipswich boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Austin Rubina and Zack Fitzgerald

Eric Gongas prepares to throw out John Pesci at first

Shortstop Mike Savoie fires to first for the final out

Josh Guertin

Sean Whooley handles a popup

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Alex Amoroso, Austin Rubino, Devlin Gobeil, Eric Gongas, Josh Guertin, Kyle Barber, Mac Short, Sean Whooley

May 13, 2013 · 10:00 pm

Triton edges Amesbury 5-3 in Cape Ann League baseball

Triton pitcher Nick Cornoni gets congratulated after his complete-game win.

Nick Desrocher sends Amesbury catcher Mac Short flying

(Amesbury) Triton took advantage of walks and errors defeating Amesbury, 5-3, on a cold Monday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Triton (8-6) broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning thanks to four straight two-out walks by Indians starter Andy Reidy.

In the seventh inning, with Nick Hawruchiew now pitching, Tommy Connors (playing second in a drawn in infield) bobbled a grounder enabling the Vikings to get an insurance run.

Nick Cornoni pitched a complete game for Triton getting his third win of the season. Nick gave up eight hits over the first five innings but held Amesbury hitless over the final two innings.

The Indians (7-7) left the bases loaded in the first and the fifth.

Devlin Gobeil and Adam Chatterton

The biggest play in the game (in my opinion) was in the Amesbury half of the fifth inning. To set the scene: the Indians had tied the score, the bases were loaded, and the Vikings had already committed two errors (Billy Mical & Justin Cashman) in the inning. A grounder came Justin’s way and his throw was low to first but Adam Chatterton made the scoop ending the inning.

Triton went on from that scary inning to get the two runs that spelled the final difference.

Nick Cornoni scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning after leading off with a walk. A wild pitch and a fielder’s choice got the senior to third. Adam Chatterton’s fly ball to center drove in the first Vikings run.

The Indians tied the score (1-1) in the fourth. Ben Cullen walks, stole second, reached third on a wild pitch, and came home on John Pesci’s two-out single.

The visitors grabbed a 2-run lead in the fifth inning. A two-out error by third baseman Zack Fitzgerald allowed pinch runner James Wood to score. Cote Wolcik followed with an RBI single to bring Nick Desrocher home.

Amesbury would tie the score in their half of the fifth but Triton added two more runs to win in the last two innings.

Vikings catcher Cote Wolcik saved the day in the third inning by corralling a wild pitch with an Amesbury runner on third base.

Shortstop Justin Cashman leaps to end the fourth inning.

Shortstop Justin Cashman made a leaping catch to end further Indians scoring in the fourth inning.

Close calls in the infield had both coaching staffs unhappy.

Both teams return to action tomorrow. Triton is at Hamilton-Wenham while Amesbury hosts Ipswich.

Devlin Gobeil had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run for Amesbury.

Dmitri Hunt had two hits for Triton. The Vikings centerfielder had five putouts including three straight in the sixth inning.

Andy Reidy

Indians starter Andy Reidy gave up only three hits in the six innings he worked to go with six strikeouts. However, the junior lefty walked eight batters and three of them scored.

Triton is now two wins away from making the post-season tournament. The Vikings were 9-11 last season.

Amesbury turned a 4-6-3 double play in the fourth inning.

Triton boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Ben Cullen in the middle of a 4-6-3 double play

Nick Cornoni

James Wood heads home in the fourth

Justin Cashman

Ryan McCarthy and Gene Burnham

Jack Germinara

Nick Cornoni slides across with the first Triton run

Tommy Connors races home with an unearned run

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Filed under Amesbury, Triton

Tagged as Adam Chatterton, Andy Reidy, Devlin Gobeil, Justin Cashman, Nick Cornoni, Nick Desrocher

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.)

Kendra Dow throws to first

Emily Faulds caught in a rundown with Meghan Stanton

Molly Kelley

Pitcher Hannah Lorden

Third baseman Meghan Stanton ready to toss to first

Pitcher Vicki Allman set to throw to first

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Filed under Newburyport, Rockport

Tagged as Carley Siemasko, Hannah Lorden, Kendra Dow, Meghan Stanton, Meghan Tupper, Mollie Watson, Vicki Allman

May 7, 2013 · 9:18 pm

Connor MacRae (13 K’s) pitches Newburyport past Amesbury 4-1

Chance Carpenter scores the fourth Newburyport run

Connor MacRae

(Newburyport) Have some sympathy for Amesbury, would you!

Saturday afternoon the Indians faced the hitting machine (20 hits) known as North Reading. This afternoon they faced the K-Master Connor MacRae and fanned thirteen times.

Newburyport (7-4) defeated Amesbury, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon in weather that needed no improvement.

Andy Reidy pitched very well for Amesbury recording eight strikeouts and allowing only six hits.

Senior Connor MacRae not only had the 13 K’s but also had two hits and scored a run for the Clippers.

Amesbury (6-6) errors in the third and fourth innings led to Newburyport runs and questionable base-running snuffed out a promising Indians rally in the last inning.

Ryan Short gets third on an infield error

In the third inning, Ryan Short (2 hits/RBI/run scored) doubled over Devlin Gobeil’s head in centerfield. Third baseman Zack Fitzgerald then fumbled Ian Michaels’ grounder and Ryan reached third with one out. Five days ago the suicide squeeze failed against Manchester-Essex. Not today. Brian Fiascone put a bunt in play and Ryan scored the Clippers first run without drawing a throw.

In the fourth inning two more Newburyport runs would score. A walk by Connor Wile was followed Connor MacRae’s deep-shot double to right. The throw in from the outfield (John Pesci) sailed over third base allowing Connor Wile to score and Connor MacRae to take third. Connor MacRae came home when Mike Sweeney flaired a single over Amesbury’s drawn-in infield.

Down 3-0, Amesbury collected a tainted run in the fifth inning. Zack Fitzgerald reached on shortstop Colby Morris’ bobble to lead off the inning. Zack got to second on Matt Napoli’s single and scored on two passed balls by NHS catcher Connor Wile.

The Clippers added a run in the sixth thanks to the speed of Chance Carpenter. Chance pinchran for Colby Morris. When the speedy junior took off for second, pitcher Andy Reidy threw to first. By the time first baseman Shawn Bannon’s throw reached second, Chance was easily there. Ryan Short’s single to left center drove home the Clippers’ fourth run.

John Pesci reaches third as Tommy Connors single heads for centerfielder Ian Michaels

Amesbury’s questionable base-running happened in the last inning. The Indians had two runners (John Pesci and Adam Ivancic) on with one out down three runs. Tommy Connors singled sharply up the middle to centerfielder Ian Michaels. John Pesci tried to score but Ian Michaels’ throw home was there in plenty of time to record the second out of the inning. So instead of bases loaded with one out, the Indians had two on and two out. Connor MacRae then K’d Devlin Gobeil to end the game.

Newburyport has now won four straight and five of their last six games. They next play on Thursday at Georgetown.

Andy Reidy allowed six hits and struck out eight.

Amesbury has now lost two straight after winning three straight. They will be hosting Triton on Thursday.

Tommy Connors and Matt Napoli led Amesbury with two hits each.

I distinctly heard Amesbury assistant coach Thom Connors tell his team as they watched Newburyport go through pregame practice, “Good arm in center.”

Devlin Gobeil had the Golden Sombrero.

Connor MacRae struck out at least one Indian in each inning. He K’d the side in the third.

Andy Reidy struck out five Clippers in a row including three straight in the fifth inning.

Former AHS principal Les Murray found time in his busy schedule to take this game in.

Newburyport boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Zack Fitzgerald fields a grounder as Ian Michaels races to third

Zack Fitzgerald reacts to a high throw

Colby Morris looks for the handle

dust or high heat?

Shawn Bannon

Mac Short

Connor Wile

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Andy Reidy, Chance Carpenter, Connor MacRae, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Short, Tommy Connors

May 4, 2013 · 9:07 pm

Undefeated North Reading coasts by Amesbury 18-0 in Cape Ann League baseball

Ryan McAuliffe scores on a wild pitch

Riley Warnock struck out six in four innings

(Amesbury) Undefeated North Reading is good…….very good.

The Hornets (11-0) won their 19th straight game, extending back into the 2012 season, as they coasted past Amesbury, 18-0, on a windy Saturday afternoon.

The visitors whacked twenty hits against three different Amesbury pitchers (Zack Fitzgerald, Kyle Arseneau, and Matt Napoli).

The Indians (6-5) made a game of it for two innings before the defending D3 champs put up fourteen runs over the next two innings.

There is no mercy rule in Cape Ann League baseball so this game went seven innings. There is a mercy rule in the state tournament.

URI-bound Riley Warnock went four innings for NR giving up two hits and striking out six Indians. The fourteen-run cushion prompted Hornets coach Frank Carey to use Scott Allan over the final three innings. Scott only allowed one hit.

Amesbury’s best chance to score was in the third inning. Adam Ivancic and Tommy Connors both singled with one out but Riley Warnock got consecutive grounders to third baseman Tom Day to end the threat.

Zack Fitzgerald catches a popup

Zack Fitzgerald, making his third start, held NR hitless through two innings.

The third inning didn’t go nearly as well for Amesbury. The Hornets collected seven runs on five hits. The Indians didn’t do themselves any favors when they couldn’t make two plays on foul balls.

The Hornets sent twelve men to the plate. Ryan Sanborn had two RBI while teammates Colby Maiola, Ryan McAuliffe, Alex Schaefer, and Dennis Rollfs had one each.

North Reading came back with seven more runs (on six hits) in the fourth inning. Four of those runs were unearned as rightfielder John Pesci dropped a two-out fly ball. Ryan McAuliffe, Shane Driscoll, Ryan Warnock, and Keith Linnare collected RBI.

The final three innings had a bit of the pro wrestling flavor to them as North Reading stopped being aggressive on the base paths. Doubles became singles. Wild pitches led to no base advancement. Run scoring happened when there was no other option. With that approach, the Hornets stranded nine baserunners over the last three innings while picking up four runs.

NR coach Frank Carey has 708 wins over a 46-year career

NR coach Frank Carey now has 708 wins in a 46-year career. His teams have won four state championships.

He told me that he had a team win 33 straight games over several seasons.

He also told me that last year’s championship was a surprise because they didn’t have much power. This year has been different. It certainly doesn’t hurt the Hornets to have Riley Warnock and Ryan McAuliffe back pitching. Those two accounted for twenty-one of the Hornets twenty-two wins in 2012.

You would want to believe that North Reading has the team to make a serious run at a second consecutive Division 3 state championship.

Shortstop Ben Cullen leaps for a high bouncer

I saw Newburyport win the D3 title against Pioneer Valley in June of 2011. Ironically, the game was on the same day as the Boston Bruin’s championship parade after winning the Stanley Cup.

I learned that Tommy Connors will be attending Endicott College next year to play football. Tommy had two hits today against Riley Warnock.

Amesbury next plays at Newburyport on Tuesday afternoon. The Hornets will host D4 champs Georgetown on the same day.

The sun may have been shining but the wind negated the warming effects considerably.

North Reading boxscore

Amesbury boxscore

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

Colby Maiola (#10) scores the fifth NR run

A try for a forceout in the third inning

Riley Warnock

NR catcher Kevin Linnare

Mike Brandano tracks down a foul pop

Scott Allan

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Filed under Amesbury, North Reading

Tagged as Coach Frank Carey, Colby Maiola, Kevin Linnares, Riley Warnock, Ryan McAuliffe, Scott Allan, Tommy Connors

May 2, 2013 · 8:06 pm

Newburyport defeats Manchester-Essex 3-0 on James Nutter’s six-hitter

Connor MacRae and Colby Morris both scored on Ryan Shorts single in the second inning.

James Nutter tossed a six-hitter in his first start of the season.

(Newburyport) The Clippers (5-4) put together their second straight shutout as they defeated Manchester-Essex, 3-0, on a chilly Thursday afternoon of Cape Ann League baseball.

Senior James Nutter tossed a complete game, six-hitter in his first start of the season. Another first-time starter (Evan Habib), had a complete game, three-hitter against Ipswich on Monday.

The visiting Hornets (2-7) have now lost six of seven including two in extra innings. They did, however, knock off defending D4 state champs Georgetown last Saturday.

Newburyport collected two runs (one unearned) in the second inning and another run in the third. That turned out to be more than enough on this day.

The Clippers loaded the bases in the second inning on an error (first baseman Max Nesbit throwing), a single down the third-base line (Colby Morris), and a bunt single (Mike Sweeney). Senior Ryan Short hit a ground single up the middle driving in Connor MacRae and Colby Morris.

A throwing error cost Manchester-Essex a run in the second inning

It looked as if the Clippers might add more runs after Andrew Fiascone walked. However, a double-steal attempt nabbed Mike Sweeney at third. Then a popout to first (Ian Michaels) turned into a double play when Ryan Short, who broke for the plate, couldn’t get back to third. But Newburyport did get two runs.

Their third run came in the next inning. Brian Fiascone doubled to right center leading off. Colton Fontaine’s sacrifice fly moved Brian to third and Connor Wile’s fly to center brought Brian home.

Brandon Bartlett

Hornet pitcher Brandon Bartlett allowed just one hit (Mike Sweeney single) over the final three innings but his teammates couldn’t break through against James Nutter.

ME’s Max Nesbit started the game with a double but James whiffed the next three Hornets to escape.

Clippers leftfielder Mike Sweeney, in the fourth inning, tried unsuccessfully to make a running catch but recovered quickly and gunned down the batter (Craig Carter) at second base.

After Corey McCollum singled in the fifth inning with one out, a bunt attempt (Henry Gedney) was caught in the air by James Nutter. His quick toss to first baseman Connor MacRae doubled off Henry Gedney to end that inning.

Second baseman Brian Fiascone took Mike Sweeneys throw and waits for baserunner Craig Carter

The visitors had two men on in the last inning with two outs before leftfielder Mike Sweeney made a running catch in foul territory to end it.

Newburyport’s next game is tomorrow night (6:30PM) at Rockport. ME returns to action next Tuesday at Pentucket.

A little over a year ago (April 26th) on the same site, Manchester-Essex defeated the defending D3 state champs, 5-2, ending the Clippers 18-game winning streak.

Max Nesbit catches a popup as Ryan Short starts back to third

Brian Fiascone and Mike Sweeney each had two hits for Newburyport.

Craig Carter and Corey McCollum each had two hits for the Hornets.

Shortstop Colby Morris made a nice play on a slow grounder in the second inning.

First baseman Connor MacRae made a nice scoop of a low throw (Colton Fontaine) in the fourth. Connor also put his body in front of a grounder in the final inning recording an unassisted putout.

James Nutter was on one of the winning relay teams for the 2013 D4 state indoor track champion Clippers.

Ryan Short drove in two runs

The weather? Where did the 70 degrees and sunny disappear to?

Newburyport boxscore

Manchester-Essex boxscore

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

Brandon Bartlett chases a bunt as Colby Morris runs for second

Colby Morris

Kevin Carter

Craig Carter tags out Brian Fiascone

Brian Fiascone reaches third base.

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport

Tagged as Brandon Bartlett, Brian Fiascone, Corey McCollum, Craig Carter, James Nutter, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Short

May 1, 2013 · 8:26 pm

Amesbury defeats Newburyport 18-0 in mercy-rule shortened game

Amanda Schell (#16) had five hits, 5 RBI, and scored four times for Amesbury

Amanda Schell (#16) had five hits, five RBI, and scored four times for Amesbury

(Newburyport) “When she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid!” (part of a nursery rhyme by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Now that you know the score it will take very little imagination to place “Amesbury” and “Newburyport” in the rhyme.

The two teams played a week ago and Amesbury won, 4-1. Who saw an 18-0, mercy-rule game coming? I will admit to being stunned by the way this game went!

Indians jam the base paths

The Indians (9-1) had only six hits two days ago in a loss to Triton against Mara Spears. But today they battered the Clippers Vicki Allman for eighteen hits………and most of them were hard hit.

The big story out of this game was Amesbury’s second inning. The Indians sent eighteen batters to the plate and collected twelve hits and scored thirteen times. Amesbury had two triples (Amanda Schell), a double (Alexi Boswell), and singles galore.

The normally sure-handed Clippers shortstop Kendra Dow had three miscues in the Newburyport nightmare. It actually took two terrific outfield plays (Ashley Casellini and Lea Tomasz) to keep the visitors from getting more runs.

The Indians had gotten a run in the first inning as Cassie Schultz’s double brought in Amanda Schell. So the Clippers found themselves down, 14-0, after 1 ½ innings.

trouble in the field

The big question then was, “How does the Mercy Rule work in the Cape Ann League?” The answer was that it’s twelve runs after five innings played. So Newburyport obviously had its work cut out for it to extend the game beyond five innings. It didn’t happen on this afternoon.

As I suggested in the opening paragraph, Amesbury had everything going well including pitching, fielding (no errors), and hitting.

Starter Carolina Merrill gave up four hits in four innings. The Clippers (5-4) had two on (Kendra Dow and Lea Tomasz) with one out in the first inning but the AHS senior struck out Carley Siemasko and Jackie Krusemark to end the threat.

Rachel Cyr pitched the fifth getting two strikeouts.

shortstop Amanda Schell

Junior Amanda Schell had a Cape Ann League Division 2 Player-of-the-Year game for Amesbury. The AHS shortstop handled six chances in the field without error. She was more impressive at the plate going five-for-five and driving in five runs. She also scored four runs. Remarkable performance!

Cassie Schultz reached base all five times she batted getting three hits and adding three RBI.

Freshman Lauren Fedorchak also had three hits. The second baseman scored three times.

Alexi Boswell registered three RBI on two hits. The junior crossed home twice.

Kendra Dow had two of Newburyport’s four hits.

Newburyport has now lost four straight games to Amesbury.

close play at second

Both teams return to action on Friday. The Clippers visit Lynnfield. Amesbury, the top team in the CAL D2, will host North Reading, the top team in the CAL D1. That matchup should be a good one.

The weather was remarkable.

This game was originally scheduled for 7PM under the Cashman Park lights.

Amesbury boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

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

Rachel Cyr

Vicki Allman

Lauren Fedorchak had three hits and scored three runs

play at third

Starter Carolina Merrill

Cassie Schultz had three hits and three RBI

Meghan Stanton throws to Carley Siemasko

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Alexi Boswell, Amanda Schell, Carolina Merrill, Cassie Schultz, Lauren Fedorchak

April 30, 2013 · 8:47 pm

Evan Habib pitches 3-hit shutout as Newburyport downs Ipswich 3-0

Evan Habib congratulated by catcher Connor Wile after pitching a 3-hit shutout against Ipswich

Connor Wile races home with the third Newburyport run

(Ipswich) Evan Habib tossed a 3-hit shutout as Newburyport defeated Ipswich, 3-0, on a very pleasant Tuesday afternoon.

Evan (making his second start) permitted only one runner to reach second and issued only two walks. The defense behind him was flawless.

The Clippers (4-4) took advantage of four Tigers errors to get the runs needed for the win.

Ipswich pitching (Ryan Law and Sean Whooley) was solid and allowed only four hits but the defense did in the Tigers (2-6).

Newburyport picked up it’s first run in the third inning. Three Ipswich errors (Josh Guertin, Sean Whooley, Mike Savoie) set up Ian Michaels for the first Clippers score. On Colton Fontaine’s single to deep short, Ian reached third and kept going home as the throw from short to first was low.

Colton Fontaine ready to put the tag on Alex Amoroso

This was a one-run game into the top of the sixth inning with the outcome far from figured out.

In the sixth, Ipswich starter Ryan Law gave up a single to Colton Fontaine and a walk to Connor Wile. Ipswich coach Gardy O’Flynn brought in Sean Whooley to replace Ryan. Sean got Colby Morris to pop out but next batter Connor MacRae lofted a long fly to right center. Rightfielder Austin Rubino raced after it but the ball bounced off his glove and both Colton Fontaine and Connor Wile crossed home. Connor MacRae ended up at third.

Connor MacRae had two hits.

In Connor MacRae’s two previous at-bats he had singled down the rightfield line each time. In the Connor’s third at-bat (in the sixth inning), rightfielder Austin Rubino was positioned closer to the line. That placement cost him a couple of steps as Connor’s deep fly went to right center.

Sean Whooley was able to get the next two batters (Mike Sweeney and Ryan Furlong) to ground out. The damage, however, had been done.

The Tigers had tough luck in the fourth inning after Alex Amoroso singled and reached second on a passed ball. Alex was on the move toward third when teammate Henry Sacco hit a grounder directly to third baseman Colton Fontaine. Colton had plenty of time to tag Alex and then throw to first to complete the double play.

Ipswich has now lost four of their last five.

Colton Fontaine and Connor MacRae each had two hits for the Clippers. Colton also had two stolen bases.

Jordan Thibault

Alex Amoroso, Jordan Thibault, and Austin Rubino had singles for Ipswich.

Newburyport turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the third inning.

The Tigers had a double play in the fourth when shortstop Mike Savoie speared Ryan Furlong’s liner and Connor MacRae was picked off second to end that inning.

The weather was terrific for late April.

This game took less than two hours to play.

On Thursday Newburyport will host Manchester-Essex while Ipswich visits Triton.

Newburyport boxscore

Ipswich boxscore

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