Tag Archives: Drew MacDonald

June 12, 2022 · 8:25 pm

#9 Abington starts fast and defeats #1 Amesbury 12-3 in D4 state quarterfinals

Abington reaches the Division 4 Final Four

(Amesbury) These tournament games can be tense.

Last inning.

Last batter.

Last pitch.

Not this one.

#9 Abington took over the game from the get-go and never let up.

#1 Amesbury was on the other end of things and lost 12-3 on Sunday afternoon in the Division 4 state quarterfinals.

“The well ran dry,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “When we’ve been going well, we’ve been able to set the tone early. Today was the complete opposite.”

Amesbury ace Drew MacDonald opened the first allowing two walks. Stephen Madden and Spencer Merrick followed immediately with RBI doubles. Before the first inning was over, AJ Nash added a sacrifice fly and the home team was down, 4-0.

Those early runs changed the whole complexion of the game.

“Getting the run support right away really got a weight lifted off,” said Abington’s complete-game winner Aidan O’Donnell post-game.

“We came out in the first inning and scored some runs and took the pressure right off,” said Abington coach Steve Perakslis afterwards.

Amesbury coach Joel Brierley and Abington coach Steve Perakslis

The relaxed Green Wave had runners on in every inning and collected ten hits.

Amesbury (18-5) did finish with seven hits, but they couldn’t package them into any multiple-run innings.

Amesbury’s hardest hit of the day was a long homer to left off the bat of St. Anselm’s commit Drew MacDonald in the second inning.

Aidan O’Donnell (UMass Dartmouth commit) had plenty of help from his defense. The Green Wave (18-5) turned three double plays. One was a standard 5-4-3 while the other two involved catches with Amesbury runners getting caught off first base afterwards.

Abington catcher Spencer Merrick also picked an Amesbury runner off first base.

You add good pitching to that kind of defense and the opponent is in for a long game.

“I tried to keep us in the game,” said pitcher Aidan O’Donnell. “I was just trying to get outs. I had full faith in the boys behind me.”

The Green Wave now moves on to the D4 state semi-finals against Manchester-Essex on Tuesday night (7PM) at Fraser Field in Lynn.

The Hornets won the state title in 2019.

Eight different players from the Green Wave scored runs, with leadoff batter Ryan Tobin doing it three times.

Stephen Madden and Spencer Merrick led Abington in RBI’s with three each.

Drew MacDonald and Will Arsenault paced Amesbury with two hits apiece. Drew also scored twice.

“We knew that we needed to play a good defensive game against a team like Amesbury,” said Coach Perakslis. “We always know that we’re going to be in the game when Aidan O’Donnell is pitching.”

“Our offense had been a little stagnant for a while,” he added, “but we’ve been taking good swings in practice and in our two previous games.”

Stephen Madden had three RBI, two hits, and scored a run

Drew MacDonald, Aiden Donovan, and Josh Sorgini pitched for Amesbury.

Abington had five doubles.

Besides the Drew MacDonald homer, Amesbury got RBI’s from Drew Scialdone and Will Arsenault.

Plenty of banter from both benches all game long. It made it feel like an indoor event.

“There’s no reason to hold our heads down,” said Coach Brierley. “Amesbury hasn’t had a season like this in a while. I’m very proud of what the kids have done.”

The weather was perfect and the crowd, including many from Abington, was good-sized.

Abington 4 0 2 2 3 1 0 = 12

Amesbury 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 = 3

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Filed under Abington, Amesbury

Tagged as Aidan O'Donnell, Coach Joel Brierley, Coach Steve Perakslis, Drew MacDonald, Spencer Merrick, Stephen Madden

May 28, 2022 · 7:25 pm

Drew MacDonald leads Amesbury past Triton 5-1

(Georgetown) If this isn’t his best game it’s got to be awfully close to it.

Impressive performance by Drew MacDonald leading Amesbury past Triton, 5-1, on Saturday afternoon in the rain-shortened opening round of the Spofford Tournament.

The Amesbury senior drove in three of his team’s five runs and pitched a five-inning, no-hitter.

Amesbury (15-4) faces Georgetown in the title game tomorrow afternoon (2PM).

The Vikings (11-8) took a one-run lead into the bottom of the fourth inning. Cole Daniels reached on an infield error and scored after a wild pitch, a stolen base, and another wild pitch.

Cole Daniels scores the Triton run on a wild pitch

Triton’s DJ Watson had limited Amesbury to two hits going into the fourth inning.

However, in the fourth inning a single (Drew Scialdone) and a double (Trevor Kimball) set Drew MacDonald up for a two-run single to give Amesbury the, 2-1, lead.

Unfortunate decisions cost Triton in the fifth inning. On two occasions, batters reached on infield grounders when plays at other bases backfired.

Shea Cucinotta’s single in that inning drove across Luke Arsenault and Jake Harring. Later, an infield grounder by Drew MacDonald scored Drew Scialdone with Amesbury’s fifth run.

And then the incoming dark clouds, with accompanying thunder, put a pause to the game. The game never resumed and Amesbury had itself a 5-1 win.

And Drew had himself a no-hitter.

Drew ended up walking two and striking out six.

The defensive gem on this afternoon belonged to Triton centerfielder Cole Daniels. Leadoff batter Jake Harring looked to have hit a ball into the left/centerfield gap, but Cole ran it down and dove to finish a terrific play.

Drew Scialdone and Drew MacDonald led Amesbury’s seven-hit attack with two hits each.

The twosome also had a “hit” in the first inning as they collided going after a popup in the first inning.

Shea Cucinotta tagged out by Triton 2B Connor Rumph

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Tagged as Cole Daniels, Drew MacDonald, Drew Scialdone, Shea Cucinotta

May 24, 2022 · 9:39 pm

Amesbury seniors lead to 13-4 win over Hamilton-Wenham

(Amesbury) It’s your day, why not put on a show!

Drew MacDonald, Shea Cucinotta, Cam Stanley

And that’s what the three Amesbury seniors did on Senior Day.

Amesbury defeated Hamilton-Wenham, 13-4, on Tuesday afternoon.

Drew MacDonald had five RBI.

Shea Cucinotta had four hits.

Cam Stanley scored three times.

Each of the Amesbury seniors led the category they were mentioned in.

The win evened the season’s series with the (10-9) Generals.

Three weeks ago, HW defeated Amesbury, 2-1, at Patton Park in Hamilton.

“In that 2-1 loss, we left a lot of runners on base,” recalled Amesbury coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “We had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh and couldn’t score.”

“Today, when we got runners on base we scored them,” he added.

Amesbury (14-4) had thirteen hits and received five walks in their six innings at the plate.

Junior Connor McClintock led the Generals with three hits and two RBI. Only a leaping catch by Amesbury shortstop Shea Cucinotta in the fifth inning kept Connor from having four hits.

Connor also impressed on defense. The HW centerfielder showed good lateral range robbing Drew MacDonald of extra bases in the third inning. Later, he rushed in to take a hit away from Jake Harring on a sinking line drive.

“No question, Connor is good,” said HW coach Reggie Maidment afterwards. “We’re glad he’s on our side.”

Connor led off the game with a triple and was driven home by Nick Freni. In the second inning, Connor came up with two runners on and delivered both of them.

Amesbury was able to match the Generals’ run in the first inning with a Drew MacDonald RBI single.

Amesbury picked up three runs in their second inning. Jake Harring had a two-run double and Drew Scialdone had a sacrifice fly.

So, it was 4-3 after two innings in a game that looked to have a high-scoring future.

That future became a reality for Amesbury but not for Hamilton-Wenham.

Amesbury starter Trevor Kimball settled in over the next four innings allowing just one hit (Nick Freni) and one run.

Amesbury gained separation with a five-run fourth inning.

Cam Stanley – scored 3 runs and had 2 hits

“We had one tough inning,” said Coach Maidment referring to that inning. “We made a few mistakes. Against a lineup like Amesbury’s, you can’t do that or it’s going to hurt you.”

Amesbury batted around in their productive fifth inning. The big hit was Drew MacDonald’s bases-clearing double. Will Arsenault and Shea Cucinotta drove in single runs.

Amesbury picked up an unearned run in the sixth inning and batted around (again) to collect three more runs in their sixth inning.

“This was probably one of our best team performances of the season,” said Coach Brierley post-game. “Trevor threw strikes and got a lot of outs. Our defense was good, and we hit the ball.”

Today’s game featured two of the best teams in the state in Division 4. Amesbury is ranked second while Hamilton-Wenham is fourth in the MIAA Power Rankings that came out May 23rd.

The two teams could face each other again but this time in the post-season. Being so highly ranked, that possible next meeting would probably be somewhere in Final Four territory.

It was indeed a big day for Amesbury’s three seniors. The trio scored six runs, had nine hits, and drove in eight runs.

Hamilton-Wenham 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 = 4

Amesbury 1 3 0 5 1 3 – = 13

The weather became less comfortable as the afternoon wore on.

Trevor Kimball gave up four hits and four runs.

Amesbury coach Joel Brierley busy coaching third

Luke Arsenault scores Amesbury’s fifth run

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Filed under Amesbury, Hamilton-Wenham

Tagged as Cam Stanley, Coach Joel Brierley, Coach Reggie Maidment, Connor McClintock, Drew MacDonald, Shea Cucinotta, Trevor Kimball

May 17, 2022 · 9:36 pm

7-6 walkoff win for Amesbury vs Ipswich

(Amesbury) Amesbury may not have played well…..but they played well enough.

Amesbury (12-4) got a walkoff, 7-6 win against Ipswich on Tuesday afternoon.

Jake Harring delivered the walkoff hit.

“It felt good,” he said, “but I’m not sure we should have celebrated that hard. We’ve got to be better.”

Unofficially, Amesbury had more errors (eight) than they had runs. Outfield drops, infield bobbles, you name it, it was happening this afternoon.

“It was an ugly baseball game,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “Someone had to win, and it happened to be us.”

Luke Arsenault homered in the second inning for Amesbury

It was just another tough loss in a season of tough losses for Ipswich (3-11).

“Today is the third game we’ve had the lead going into the seventh inning and lost in a walkoff,” said Ipswich coach Zack Lamkin afterwards.

The Tigers had seven hits and stranded ten baserunners.

Matt McGowan ended up with three hits and drove in two runs for Ipswich.

Trevor Kimball was the hard-luck starter for Amesbury. The AHS junior went five innings, allowing six hits and five runs (all unearned).

Amesbury, despite its defensive misadventures, put single runs on the board in each of the first four innings.

A Luke Arsenault homer to left accounted for the Amesbury run in the second inning.

Ipswich carried a 5-4 lead after five innings.

Things turned for Amesbury in the Ipswich sixth inning when centerfielder Drew MacDonald made a good catch and then a very good running catch. Those catches kept the Tigers from enlarging their one-run lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Drew whacked a double to rightfield that drove in two runs and put Amesbury in front, 6-5.

Credit Ipswich for recovering.

Drew Lane walked leading off the seventh. Josiah Scarano pinch-ran and was bunted to second by AJ Pezza. Matt McGowan delivered the tying run with a single.

Amesbury came into this game averaging seven runs per game. They only had six going into their half of the seventh inning.

Luke Arsenault doubled down the leftfield line with one out to lead off the seventh. He was moved to third by a Tyler Bartniski sacrifice bunt. That set Jake Harring up for the game-winning hit.

“It was off the end a little bit,” said Jake of the game-winner. “I didn’t think it would go over his (rightfielder) head, until I saw his back turned.”

“For the most part we controlled this game,” said Coach Lamkin afterwards. “We battled today. It’s just a matter of finishing.”

Amesbury is currently #1 in the Division 4 MIAA power rankings. Staying there will eliminate any early-round bus rides in the post-season. Playing on the Amesbury High School field does have its drawbacks, however.

“This field is tough to figure out,” said Coach Brierley. “You would think that we would have an advantage since we practice here but not necessarily. Shea (Cucinotta) is a D2 shortstop and he still doesn’t know how to play this field.”

“That being said,” he added, “we still have to make the routine plays if we want to go far in the tournament.”

Cade Wetter scored two runs for Ipswich while Evan Stein had two hits.

Jake Harring, Drew Scialdone, Drew MacDonald, and Luke Arsenault each had two hits for Amesbury.

Drew Scialdone pitched two innings and picked up the W for Amesbury.

The weather was perfect.

Ipswich 0 1 3 0 1 0 1 = 6

Amesbury 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 = 7

(The pictures will enlarge.)

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Filed under Amesbury, Ipswich

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Drew Scialdone, Jake Harring, Luke Arsenault, Matt McGowan, Trevor Kimball

June 15, 2021 · 10:10 pm

Georgetown defeats Amesbury in surprising fashion

Iain Kantorski tagged out at home by catcher Tim Gilleo

(Amesbury MA) Georgetown certainly didn’t do it the easy way.

The Royals had two runners thrown out at home.

They had two others caught at third.

Didn’t matter, Georgetown still came away with a satisfying, 6-3, season-ending win over Amesbury on Tuesday afternoon.

The sunny skies at the start gave way to dark clouds, thunder, and then game-ending lightning as the Amesbury half of the sixth inning was about to start.

I usually talk to coaches and some players afterwards but not today. That lightning changed my plans and had me and my camera equipment beelining it immediately for the AHS parking lot.

Ayden Kent was one of six Royals pitchers

Not only did Georgetown (6-10) run into outs on the bases but they also used a different pitcher in each inning. Those frequent pitching changes would seem to have been a recipe for disaster sooner or later but not on this afternoon.

We’ll never know what the Indians (8-7) might have done with two more innings of batting, however. I’m betting though that we would have seen two more Georgetown pitchers.

The Royals had eleven hits, at least one in every inning, off Amesbury pitchers (Trevor Kimball & Josh Sorgini).

Georgetown got off to a great start with RBI doubles by Nick Gaeta (two hits) and Jack Lucido in the first inning.

That inning ended with Jack getting caught trying to steal third base.

Amesbury got a run back in their half of the first inning. Jeremy Lopez (three hits, two RBI) doubled home Shea Cucinotta.

Drew MacDonald was caught stealing in that inning.

Georgetown continued to hit during the next three innings but ran themselves into outs on the bases that kept them from scoring runs.

Great throws by LF Drew MacDonald (2^nd inning) and RF Drew Scialdone (3^rd inning) were key plays for the Indians in staying close on the scoreboard.

In the fourth inning, Garrett Sedgwick tried to go to third (from second) on an infield out but was thrown out at third on a good throw by 1B Tiernan Bentley.

I thought that the wasted opportunities might catch up to Georgetown, but it didn’t happen.

New pitchers came and went each inning for the Royals, yet the one-run lead stayed in place.

The Indians loaded the bases against Ayden Kent in the third inning but a two-out liner by Trevor Kimball was snagged by 1B Nick Gaeta to end the threat.

The Royals finally scored more runs in the fifth inning. RBI by Iain Kantorski & Carter Lucido finished starter Trevor Kimball’s afternoon.

Josh Sorgini came on in relief.

Twice Georgetown, with runners on first and third, sent the runner on first and were able to score the runner from third and add two more runs to their total.

Amesbury did not recover completely from those four additional runs. They did score two runs, however.

Jeremy Lopez doubled to the rightfield corner sending home Drew MacDonald. Later, Jeremy stole third and came across when the throw (from the pitcher) to third was wild.

That 6-3 score turned out to be the final as the threatening weather kicked in.

Everyone in Georgetown’s starting lineup had at least one hit. Rob Popielski and Nick Gaeta each had two hits for the Royals.

Jeremy Lopez had a perfect day going three-for-three with two RBI.

Drew MacDonald and Trevor Kimball each had two hits for the Indians.

The Georgetown season ends on an upswing as they finished winning three of their last five.

Amesbury will be in the post-season tournament. They suffered losses yesterday and today.

Amesbury defeated Georgetown, 5-4, in early May at Georgetown.

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

Ayden Kent caught off 3B by Josh Sorgini

Drew MacDonald – 2 hits and an outfield assist

2B Jake Harring tags out Nick Gaeta as a run scores

Shea Cucinotta, Jake Harring, and Trevor Kimball wait on a pitching change

Rob Popielski scores a run for Georgetown

Baserunner Iain Kantorski and SS Shea Cucinotta

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Iain Kantorski, Jack Lucido, Jeremy Lopez, Nick Gaeta

May 25, 2021 · 11:27 pm

Amesbury scores ten runs in the first inning and defeats Ipswich 15-5

Shortstop Shea Cucinotta saw his first action today in Amesbury’s big win

Evan Stein scores the second Ipswich run

(Amesbury MA) Ipswich was coming off their first win.

Amesbury was coming off two tough late-inning losses.

Two teams trending in opposite directions.

And Ipswich kept trending in a positive direction with a three-spot in the top of the first inning.

But that’s where it ended for the Tigers.

Amesbury responded with ten runs in their half of the first inning and cruised from there to a 15-5 victory.

The mercy rule kicked in during the Amesbury fifth inning.

“We needed this after last week,” said AHS coach Joel Brierley afterwards. “However, we didn’t plan on beginning the way we did today.”

“We started today thinking that we would win,” said shortstop Shea Cucinotta post-game. “You just can’t take a team for granted. But we did pull together and get a victory.”

Special game for Shea because it was his first of the season. The Cape Ann League All-Star has been missed by the Indians (5-3) for sure.

“Now we have Shea back as well as our senior catcher (Tim Gilleo),” said Coach Brierley. “So we have a couple of weeks to put everything together before the tournament.”

The Amesbury hitting has been good and continued to be just that today.

The Indians had fourteen hits to go with the fifteen runs in only 4+ innings.

Eight of the nine AHS starters had hits. Luke Arsenault had three hits, while Trevor Kimball and Jake Harring added two hits.

The biggest hit in the game may well have been Jeremy Lopez’s in the big first inning. The Amesbury senior cleared the bases with a two-out triple to right.

That opening inning had all sorts of nightmarish ingredients for the Tigers (1-8). There were two outfield errors, two hit batsmen, and two walks. That’s a mix that will get a team in serious trouble for sure………and it did in the visitors.

Ipswich was coming off an exciting 9-8, last-inning, win over Pentucket. Their bats were still hot at the outset of today’s game.

Two batters in they had a run after Finn MacLennon doubled and Evan Stein singled. A few batters later Wes Smith drove in another run with a single. A fielder’s choice (Jake Reily) led to the third run.

Jeremy Lopez drove in 3 runs and scored 2 runs

Great start for Ipswich but it didn’t continue. AHS starter Drew MacDonald pitched clean innings in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings. Tiernan Bentley took care of things in the 4^th and 5^th innings.

The Indians needed a run in their fifth inning to activate the mercy rule. They got what they needed. Will Arsenault doubled. Josh Sorgini’s fielder’s choice moved Will to 3B. Tiernan Bentley’s single brought home the game-ending run.

“We came out here and we wanted to have some fun today and that’s what we did,” explained Drew MacDonald.

Drew claimed that he knew the source of Amesbury’s good hitting. “We’ve been having Jeremy’s older brother throw some BP. I think he’s our good-luck charm now.”

Shea Cucinotta was excited to be playing again after being injured playing football. “It was great to go out there with the boys. I missed it. Getting in for the next half of the season is going to be real good. I was a little rusty out there today, but it feels good to be moving again.”

Ipswich finished with six hits. Wes Smith had two of them to go with an RBI.

The Indians added three runs to their ten runs in the second inning. Jake Harring’s double brought in two of the runs.

Ipswich had single runs in the fourth (Finn MacLennon rbi) and the fifth (Drew Lane rbi).

Jake Harring, Shea Cucinotta, Jeremy Lopez, Drew Scialdone, Aidan Donovan, and Luke Arsenault each scored twice.

Jake Reily started for Ipswich and gave way to Drew Lane in the first inning.

The weather was splendid. Temperatures were in the 70’s with a nice breeze.

There will be a tournament at the end of the season. “It will be different this year because any team, no matter what their record is, can be in the tournament,” said Coach Brierley. “We want to be over .500 and deserve to be there.”

The tournament won’t START until June 15^th. Amesbury gets out of school on June 17^th. “Our guys are completely okay will playing after school is over,” said Coach Brierley.

Amesbury faced Ipswich at Ipswich a week ago. Drew MacDonald pitched a complete-game three hitter with seven strikeouts. AHS won, 11-0.

Nice running catch by Amesbury CF Cam Stanley.

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

Tiernan Bentley did some late-game pitching and hitting

Drew Scialdone had a hit and scored two runs

Drew MacDonald scores the 4th Amesbury run

Shortstop Nate Baise and baserunner Jake Harring

Shortstop Shea Cucinotta and baserunner Evan Stein

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Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Evan Stein, Luke Arsenault, Shea Cucinotta, Tiernan Bentley

May 22, 2021 · 5:22 pm

Undefeated Newburyport gets 7-6 walkoff win over Amesbury

Amesbury catcher Will Arsenault can only watch as Luke Stallard crosses with the winning run

(Newburyport MA) If it wasn’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.

Nice song but today we could apply it to the Amesbury Indians.

Twice in three days Amesbury has been close to a win only to have their hopes dashed in the late innings.

On Thursday it was a loss in extra innings to Hamilton-Wenham.

Today, it was a, 7-6, walk-off loss to Newburyport at Pettingell Park.

The undefeated Clippers (7-0) are into a remarkable season.

“Our team never feels as if they’re out of any game,” said NHS coach Mark Rowe afterwards, “There is something special going on.”

This game definitely required some of that “special” stuff for Newburyport because Amesbury was up, 6-0, after 4 ½ innings thanks to a five-run fifth inning.

“The third time through the lineup we started hitting the ball and we scored some runs,” said AHS coach Joel Brierley afterwards.

Newburyport, however, answered with five runs in the bottom of the 5^th. Jake Buontempo’s 3-run, two-out homer was the big shot.

“I was down 2-2 so I had to protect the plate,” explained Jake. “I choked up on the bat. I think it was a fastball away. I got all of it.”

“Jake’s homer was huge,” said Nick White. “The momentum after a home run is like nothing else. It gets the whole dugout fired up.”

The Clippers tied the score in the sixth. Quinn Fortuna (two hits) started the inning with an infield single. Freshman Connor Stick was inserted as a pinch-runner. Connor stole second and came home on Ryan Archer’s single up the middle.

Jake Buontempo (gold helmet) had a 3-run shot during the Clippers’ rally

The Indians (4-3) had the go-ahead run on second with one out in the top of the seventh, but reliever Charlie Forrest got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.

Newburyport won the game in their half of the seventh inning.

Luke Stallard singled off reliever Josh Sorgini and stole second. Jake Buontempo walked. Quinn Fontana’s deep grounder to short would have loaded the bases but a wide throw to second allowed Luke to score from second with the game-winner.

“That last play was a hit,” recalled Coach Brierley. “The throw probably should have gone to third base because it was in front of him. He’s a good kid. He’ll learn from it.”

Amesbury took a 1-0 lead in the 4^th inning on a Jeremy Lopez home run over the rightfield fence. It was the senior’s first varsity homer.

“Jeremy’s our leader on the field, on the mound, and at the bat,” said Coach Brierley.

The Indians had five runs in the fifth inning on five hits. Tim Gilleo cleared the bases with two-out double. Before Tim’s hit, Drew MacDonald had singled in a run. After Tim’s hit, Trevor Kimball drove in a run.

Amesbury looked in good shape, with a six-run lead, to pin a loss on Newburyport, but the Clippers rallied and remain undefeated.

“We have a lot of good hitters,” said Coach Rowe. “I now kind of expect something good will eventually happen.”

Drew MacDonald and Trevor Kimball paced Amesbury with two hits each. Will Arsenault, Jeremy Lopez, Tim Gilleo, and Drew Scialdone each had a hit.

Quinn Fortuna led Newburyport with two hits. He also got the “cooler” treatment after his single contributed to the winning run being scored.

It was hot and humid enough that we all could have used some cooling off.

Newburyport’s other hits were by Jax Budgell, Tony Lucci, Luke Stallard, Jake Buontempo, and Ryan Archer. Jax, Luke, and Ryan each had an RBI.

Luke Stallard started for the Clippers and went 4 2/3. Charlie Forrest took it from there.

Charlie came on in the fifth inning with two-on, two-out, and five runs already in for Amesbury. He got a ground out to end the inning.

“It hurt us to leave those two runners on,” said Coach Brierley.

Jeremy Lopez went five innings for Amesbury. Josh Sorgini followed and pitched into the seventh.

“It was great to catch sophomore Charlie Forrest,” said Nick White. “I think it was his first time pitching varsity.”

Nick will be attending Clemson in the fall. He assured me that it had nothing to do with the weather! “I have family down there, and they have a good business program. I might try to play club baseball.”

Jake will be playing baseball at Framingham State next year. “I will be majoring in criminology,” he said.

Coach Brierley: “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but we’ll bounce back.”

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

Tiernan Bentley congratulated after scoring

Tim Gilleo scores as catcher Nick White corrals the throw home

Celebrating the win begins for the Clippers

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Drew MacDonald, Jake Buontempo, Jeremy Lopez, Quinn Fortuna, Tim Gilleo

April 30, 2021 · 7:28 pm

Baseball is back

Newburyport’s Mark Rowe and Amesbury’s Joel Bierley meet pregame

(Newburyport MA) It’s been nearly two years for the Cape Ann League.

Today baseball resumed and I decided to catch a look.

Didn’t keep score because it was only a Friday afternoon scrimmage at Pettingell Field.

But it was high school baseball between familiar foes Amesbury and Newburyport.

The players were not in game shirts and the scoreboard was not being used. The atmosphere was relaxed.

The scrimmage was the first chance to get back doing something the participants, including the coaches, missed badly.

Baseball in April around here? You know the weather will be a factor! Today, we had cloudy (Will it rain?) mixed with sunshine (Is it June?). The wind didn’t disappoint. Gusty at times, causing outfielders to misjudge flies in right field. The Clippers, in fact, collected two runs on a wind-influenced single to right.

Without rosters I won’t attempt to put names to all the pictures. I am, however, planning to post the pictures from this blog entry onto my Instagram site (@mcclellandmiscellanea) and if I get identifications, I’ll edit them into captions on this entry. Give me some help, would ya!

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

Killian Cronin questions the call after being picked off second by Tony Lucci

Nick White and Jake Buontempo listen to Coach Mark Rowe between innings

Josh Sorgini and Cam Stanley in the Amesbury dugout

Jaken Harring takes the throw as Finn Sullivan steals second

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Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

Tagged as Coach Mark Rowe, Drew MacDonald, Jack Fehlner, Jeremy Lopez, Kienan Hague

April 17, 2021 · 9:16 pm

Amesbury unveils more weapons in 22-0 win over Pentucket

Nick Marden brings Andrew Melone to a halt

Kyle Donovan follows blocker Jarrid Schwindt

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury is good and appear to be getting even better.

Today the Indians (4-1) made it look easy as they defeated Pentucket, 22-0, on Saturday afternoon.

The significant issue for Amesbury ahead is whether or not they will play another game.

Next Friday they were scheduled to face Newburyport but the Clippers, for Covid-19 reasons, have cancelled that game and therefore the rest of their season.

Amesbury will try to find an opponent to fill that final slot.

“It’s a shame what happened to Newburyport,” said AHS coach Colin McQueen afterwards. “We just want to keep playing if we can.”

Kyle Heidt tackles Johnny Igoe near the Pentucket sidelines

The Indians might scare off possible opponents if the livestream of this afternoon’s game is seen.

Amesbury now has three straight shutouts and appears to be getting stingier each week.

“Our defense loves running to the football,” said Coach McQueen. “They take pride in it. They watch a lot of film and they understand the game. They have a good idea what the other team is trying to do.”

I don’t keep “official” stats, but I think Pentucket had only one first down all afternoon.

Kyle Donovan powers toward a 2-point conversion

Five of the Sachems six series ended in punts. The other series was done after a fumble.

“Amesbury was tough,” said Pentucket coach Steve Hayden postgame. “It was what it was.”

The Indians scored on both possessions in the first half and were on the Pentucket two when the half ended.

Amesbury loves to run the ball and run the clock. Teams that can’t stop the run are likely to get a non-stop dose of it.

That’s what happened to Pentucket early on.

The Indians reached the Pentucket 32 on run after run (three first downs).

JT Tilton on his way to the first Amesbury TD

A fake inside and JT Tilton went around the left side to open the scoring for his second TD of the season.

“That buck sweep today for the first touchdown may have been executed as well as we’ve done it during the four years I’ve been here,” said Coach McQueen.

“We kept on our blocks and the back let the blocks develop. He cut up like he was shot out of a cannon!”

Senior Kyle Donovan plunged over right tackle for the 2-point conversion. Amesbury was in front, 8-0, at 3:40 of the first quarter.

The AHS second touchdown drive was the one that surely would get a future opponent’s attention.

The key to the second drive was the passing of QB Drew MacDonald. Who saw this coming? To date, the AHS passing attack had been as ineffective as the running game had been effective.

QB Drew MacDonald (10) has Tyler Mazzaglia (9) open

“Drew told us pre-game that he felt good,” said Coach McQueen. “He played with confidence. He threw some awesomely catchable passes. It was certainly his best passing game.”

Completions to Kyle Donovan and Tyler Mazzaglia put Amesbury in the Red Zone. Runs by JT Tilton, Jeremy Lopez, and Kyle Donovan (1 yard score) took it the rest of the way. This was Kyle’s sixth touchdown of this season.

Drew’s pass to all-alone Kyle Donovan gave Amesbury the 2-point conversion and a 16-0 lead with 4:24 to go in the second period.

“We wanted them to pass, and we made them go to the air more than they usually want to,” said Coach Hayden.

Unfortunately, for the visitors from West Newbury, the Amesbury passing game was very good on this afternoon.

“We did pass more than we usually do,” confirmed Coach McQueen. “It’s all about what the defense will give you. They were stout in the middle and were moving defensive linemen and slanting a little bit. It was difficult at times for us to do what we wanted to do.”

The “difficulty” seemed a minor hindrance on an afternoon when the home team moved the chains twenty-two times, by my count.

The Pentucket defense had their best moments in the third quarter. On Amesbury’s first second-half series, junior Will Sutton intercepted a pass at the goal line. On AHS’s next series the Sachems were able to take over on downs.

Coach Steve Hayden and Joe Lynch at halftime

On Amesbury’s third possession of the second half, Pentucket wasn’t as fortunate. A heavy dose of Brady Dore’s running led to a score. Brady ran for three first downs in the drive and finished the final eight yards on a sweep left for his second TD of the season.

The two-point conversion attempt was easily Pentucket’s best defensive effort of the day. Drew MacDonald tried to roll right but at least five of the Sachems had the play figured out and drove him out of bounds with authority.

The Amesbury lead was 22-0 with 7:40 left in the game.

After Andrew Melone’s fifth punt, the Indians went heavily to their reserves.

“It’s the best when you can get everyone in,” explained Coach McQueen. “We don’t have many bodies, so everyone is involved in some capacity. They work and prepare just like the starters. I’m proud to see how happy our team was to see them out there.”

Pentucket (0-4) will get another chance to get that elusive first win on Friday against Triton.

Derek Couture celebrates a fumble recovery

Pentucket had won six of the previous seven meetings against Amesbury.

Taking pictures of the Amesbury offense in action is particularly challenging. There are often fake handoffs and many of those fakes worked against ME!

I asked Drew MacDonald about the steady flow of deception, that he’s a big part of, after the game: “It is the whole point of this offense. If the defense doesn’t know where the ball is, then they can’t stop it.” Or get many good pictures of it…..in my case.

Pentucket fumbled on the first play of three drives and were able to recover two of them.

Derek Couture had a fumble recovery for Amesbury.

It was a cloudy day, but it didn’t rain. Surprised a bit by the teams that opted to play in the bad weather of Friday night.

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

Runner J’Quan Neal faces tackler Frank Majewski

Henry O’Neill follows blocker Jarrid Schwindt

Luke Arsenault (3) takes over at quarterback

Runner Jeremy Lopez faces tackler Will Sutton

Drew MacDonald scrambles for a first down

Kyle Donovan hands the ball over after scoring

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Filed under Amesbury, Pentucket

Tagged as Brady Dore, Drew MacDonald, JT Tilton, Kyle Donovan

April 3, 2021 · 8:07 pm

Amesbury shuts down North Reading 20-0

Amesbury’s blocking gave running backs openings all afternoon

(Amesbury MA) Amesbury got an early break.

A likely punt turned into a third-down retry.

Their opening drive, as a result, was kept alive, and a touchdown followed.

After that the Indians (3-1) were overpowering on both sides of the ball, registering a 20-0 shutout against North Reading on Saturday afternoon.

Amesbury struggled on their first possession. A Zach Sampson sack and a Kyle Donovan fumble (recovered by Amesbury) had the Indians in trouble. Their third-down play went nowhere BUT the whistle of a sidelines official had gone off enabling the home team to try that third down play again. A first down resulted and Amesbury was literally off and running.

JT Tilton brought down by Robbie Tammaro

“If that inadvertent whistle doesn’t happen on their first drive, it’s fourth-and-four and they’d have to punt,” said North Reading coach Eddie Blum afterwards.

But the replay was rightly allowed, and Amesbury took full advantage cashing from the NR 37 with three minutes left in the first quarter.

Senior Kyle Donovan scored twice in the first half.

The first one went thirty-seven yards up the middle. “I just shot the gap and was free,” said Kyle. “One kid was there and I high-stepped by him.”

That TD was the longest AHS run of the day but certainly not their last run.

“We try to attack multiple gaps on either side of the football from a balanced look,” explained AHS coach Colin McQueen post-game.

“Their interior linemen took our traps away,” said Coach McQueen. “When one thing is taken away, generally something else is there. Today we moved the ball pretty well off tackle.”

The ball-handling of quarterback Drew MacDonald was impressive for Amesbury. I will admit to following the wrong ball carrier on a number of occasions. I am quite certain that I wasn’t the only one.

“Each guy on defense has read keys and responsibilities,” said Coach Blum. “Amesbury is a senior-laden team that has been running that offense for a while. Give credit to their offensive line and their blockers.”

The Amesbury defense, led by Nick Marden, made is tough for the Hornets (2-2) to put any drives together.

Drew MacDonald tacked a two-point conversion onto Kyle Donovan’s first touchdown and Amesbury led, 8-0, after a quarter.

Nick Marden ended NR’s first possession with a fourth-down fumble recovery.

Nick Marden (32) keyed the Amesbury defense

Nick came off the edge to give the Hornets trouble all afternoon.

Drew MacDonald had a TD and a 2-point conversion

“Nick is a physical specimen,” said Coach McQueen. “Having him on the edge can be dangerous for the other team.”

Coach McQueen referenced former coach Geno Burnham who died this week. “I coached with Geno and in our staff meetings he always wanted to ‘fire off the edge.’ We decided today that we were going to send a couple ‘off the edge’ today in Geno’s honor.”

Nick turned the ‘off the edge’ approach into run stops and sacks for the Indians this afternoon.

After Nick’s fumble recovery the Indians started at their own 46. The rest of the drive was all runs with four first downs along the way.

Kyle Donovan hit the middle from four yards out and backed into the end zone for a second score. The rush for two failed but AHS now led, 14-0.

The Hornets followed with a 40-yard kickoff (Robbie Tammaro) return to set them up at the Amesbury 35. NR nearly got a score as Will Taylor ran a down-and-out into some serious open space, but Brian Heffernan’s pass sailed over his head.

Twice Amesbury ran their way deep into North Reading territory in the second half with nothing to show for it. In both tries, fourth-down passes fell incomplete.

The Hornets had a 4^th down converted but a fumble (recovered by Chip Kelley) gave the ball back to Amesbury with 4:43 left in the game.

Amesbury completed a pass to Tyler Mazzaglia for a first down and two more chain movers set the home team up on the NR four.

Jarrid Schwindt congratulates Drew MacDonald after his TD

QB Drew MacDonald faked a handoff up the middle and rolled left to score with a minute left in the game.

“We had two TDs at the end of sustained drives,” said Coach McQueen. “Our goal is to wear people down. We want pads on pads and for our backs to run hard.”

Coach Blum: “Our defense battled all day. You just have to turn the page after you learn what you can learn. We’re on to Triton.”

Coach McQueen: “Kyle is a tough runner. Any time we put the ball in his hands he has a chance to go. It comes down to him getting the second and third level and making some guy miss.”

Kyle Donovan: “It was a great all-around team effort. Our offense was at its finest and our defense held up.”

The weather was sunny and remarkable for early April. Temps were in the upper 40s and I was over-dressed for sure.

The Amesbury ground game was so good that their passing game stood out as needing to improve considerably. Of course, if the Indians can get early leads, they won’t be forced into any passing catch-up attempts.

The Landry Stadium scoreboard has a habit of not consistently working. More of that today.

Is there a turf football field in Amesbury’s future?

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