Tag Archives: Drew Scialdone

June 8, 2022 · 9:50 pm

Trevor Kimball pitches Amesbury past Blackstone Valley 7-1

Amesbury advances in the Division Four state tournament

Jake Harring scores Amesbury’s first run

(Amesbury) Two batters into the game, Amesbury had two hits and a run.

Nine batters into the game, Blackstone Valley Tech was still trying to get someone on base.

Amesbury ended up with nine hits in a 7-1 win over Blackstone Valley on Wednesday afternoon in the Division 4 Round of 16.

They will now face #9 Abington in a D4 Round of Eight game.

Trevor Kimball was the complete-game winner for #1 Amesbury. The junior lefty struck out eleven Beavers and gave up only two hits.

“I think it was my best performance all year,” said Trevor afterwards.

The combination of Trevor’s pitching and the team’s hitting made it difficult for #17 Blackstone Valley.

“It’s tough to overcome seven runs against pitching like that,” said BVT coach John Burke afterwards.

“My best pitch today was my breaking ball,” said Trevor. “I threw it as a secondary pitch for a lot of strikes. My fastball was moving good, and it was missing bats.”

The Amesbury batters gave Trevor runs to work with right from the start.

Jake Harring (3 hits) singled to open the Amesbury first and Shea Cucinotta tripled to the fence in right scoring Jake.

Coach Joel Brierley and Coach John Burke

In the second inning Cam Stanley reached on an error and took second on a messed-up pickoff attempt. Another Jake Harring single delivered Cam.

Amesbury sent up nine batters in the third inning and added four more runs. Trevor Kimball, Will Arsenault, and Jake Harring (2) had RBI for Amesbury.

After three innings, Amesbury led 6-0 and Trevor had yet to give up a hit.

Tade Riordan put an end to the no-hitter with a long double to left leading off the fourth inning. Tade reached third on a wild pitch and scored on Corey Magill’s sacrifice fly.

Tade Riordan scores for Blackstone Valley Tech

Nick Laflamme also had a hit in that inning.

The last three innings the Beavers were held hitless and only one batter reached base.

Trevor had six strikeouts over the final three innings including the last four batters he faced.

“Trevor pitched the best game I’ve ever seen him pitch,” said teammate Drew Scialdone post-game. “When you’re going like he was you’re going to win games.”

Aiden Donovan scored Amesbury’s seventh run on a Cam Stanley sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

“We came out swinging today and Jake and Shea set the tone for the rest of the game,” said Coach Brierley afterwards.

Jake Harring led Amesbury with three hits and three RBI.

“We had a good crowd, and we were able to string hits together,” explained Jake. “I like to sit on fastballs early in the count. If they give it to me, I try to pepper it to any part of the field.”

Aiden Donovan and Cam Stanley both scored twice for Amesbury.

“My arm is a little sore and I’ve got a headache,” said Trevor afterwards. “It’s hot but we got the win and that’s what counts.”

“We’ve got to take it one game of a time,” said Drew Scialdone. “We’re playing our best baseball at the right time.”

Blackstone Valley is located in Upton and play in the Colonial League.

Blackstone Valley 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 1

Amesbury 1 1 4 0 1 0 – = 7

Shea Cucinotta drove across the first Amesbury run

Drew Scialdone tripled during Amesbury’s four-run third inning

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Tagged as Drew Scialdone, Jake Harring, Tade Riordan, Trevor Kimball

May 29, 2022 · 8:26 pm

Amesbury wins Spofford Tourney 6-2 over Georgetown

Amesbury wins the 2022 Spofford Tournament

(Georgetown) You can’t always tell the end from the beginning.

Amesbury starter Aiden Donovan hit the first two Georgetown batters, walked the next one, and gave up a two-run single to Jack Lucido in the first inning.

Georgetown scored two runs in the first inning.

I’m not sure you could have a worse beginning.

But at the end the final score was 6-2 in favor of Amesbury.

Amesbury won the two-day Spofford Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Georgetown.

After the shaky start, Aiden Donovan retired the next three batters he faced to limit the damage to two runs. Over the next five innings, he only allowed two baserunners (on walks). That first-inning single was the only hit he allowed. Talk about a recovery!

“Credit to (Aiden) Donovan,” said Georgetown coach Phil Desilets afterwards. “He settled down. He got in a groove, and we couldn’t get anything going against him.”

Trevor Kimball scored the third Amesbury run in the first inning

Georgetown found its own share of trouble in the first inning. A walk, a hit batsman, and two errors opened up opportunities for Amesbury.

Tourney MVP Shea Cucinotti delivered the first Amesbury run with a sacrifice fly and Aiden Donovan’s blooper to rightfield delivered two more.

Zach Gilmore took over pitching for the Royals in the second inning and quieted Amesbury for three straight innings.

The Amesbury fifth inning was a different story. Shea Cucinotta started things with a single and then Drew Scialdone homered over the 342 foot sign in left center.

Drew Scialdone hit a two-run homer in the 5th inning

“It was an outside pitch, but I pulled it,” said Drew afterwards. “I thought it was a popup, but I’ll take the home run.”

“If you have a lead, you always want to work to extend it and put more pressure on the other team,” he added. “We were able to do that today.”

“Drew’s homer put us in a nice position,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley post-game.

Amesbury increased its comfort zone with a run in the sixth inning. Cam Stanley beat out an infield hit and scored when Jake Harring found the gap in left center.

Coach Brierley brought in Trevor Kimball in the last inning and three straight strikeouts later Amesbury had the victory.

“I thought Aiden (Donovan) pitched awesome today,” said Coach Brierley. “We knew that he would settle down. Very proud of what he did today.”

Senior Shea Cucinotta was selected as the tourney MVP. “I think that this award is about our team, but it means a lot to me,” said Shea. “Everyone played very well. There were tons of hits and great plays in the field. I think we’re in for a heckuva playoff run.”

Amesbury finishes 16-4 in Division 4 and are currently at the top of the Power Rankings. The pairings for the tournament come out this week. If Amesbury lasts, they are assured of home games until the Final Four.

Georgetown finishes 10-10 in Division 5 and are currently fifth in the Power Rankings. That could change because of their win over Newburyport on Saturday.

“We have to turn the page from today’s loss,” said Coach Desilets, “have a great week of practice and get ready for the playoffs.”

“It’s one game at a time from here on out,” he added. “It’s the best time to be playing ball.”

One of the best defensive plays of this game was made by pitcher Zach Gilmore. A foul popup behind the plate looked likely to fall in but Zach raced off the mound to make the catch.

Amesbury pitching (Drew MacDonald, Aiden Donovan, Trevor Kimball) gave up only one hit in the tournament.

Georgetown 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 2

Amesbury 3 0 0 0 2 1 – = 6

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Aiden Donovan, Drew Scialdone, Jack Lucido, Shea Cucinotta

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

May 10, 2022 · 10:40 pm

Amesbury gets strong pitching/hitting in 9-3 win over North Reading

Drew Scialdone (with Coach Brierley) had three hits and four RBI

(Amesbury) Amesbury (9-4) got excellent pitching and hitting and defeated North Reading, 9-3, on Tuesday afternoon.

Trevor Kimball went the distance and the Amesbury hitters had ten hits.

“Amesbury is a really good team especially with (Trevor) Kimball on the mound,” said NR coach Eric Archambault afterwards.

Trevor had eight strikeouts and ended each of the final four innings with K’s.

The Hornets (7-6) left baserunners in all seven innings. “We had our chances,” said Coach Archambault, “and we might have gained some momentum with some timely hitting.”

Drew Scialdone and Shea Cucinotta carried the Amesbury offense.

Drew was three-for-four, scored twice, and drove in four runs.

Shea also had three hits. In his other at-bat the AIC commit walked. He scored four runs.

“When guys are on base, you have to be a timely hitter and knock them in,” said Drew post-game.

“In my second at-bat I told myself not to swing at a curve,” he added. “But I got two strikes on me and so I took a swing at a curve and got a hit.”

“Drew has been awesome for us,” said Coach Brierley. “He’s hitting over .500 and has great confidence.”

Amesbury jumped ahead in the first as Drew’s double scored Shea.

In the third inning, Drew’s single (off a curve) produced one run and Will Arsenault’s single brought home two more.

Nick Doucette’s single in the fourth inning delivered Ryan McCullough. That lessened the NR deficit to 4-1.

Amesbury responded with their biggest inning of the game. Drew was again in the middle of the hitting attack. This time it was a single that drove home Luke Arsenault and Jake Harring. Trouble in the NR outfield led to two more runs in that productive fourth inning.

The Hornets put three hits together in their fifth inning. Ryan Baker and Aldo Vittozzi had RBI. Matt Ryan (who had three hits) scored one of North Reading’s two runs.

Trevor held the Hornets scoreless in the final two innings.

“He (Trevor) mixed his pitches, threw strikes, and commanded the zone,” said Coach Archambault.

“Trevor was phenomenal,” added Coach Brierley. “He was throwing breaking balls for strikes and he was keeping his fastball low.”

Second baseman Jake Harring made a nice play behind second base on a grounder at the start of the North Reading fifth.

“Our defense, for the most part, made the plays,” said Jake.

Amesbury has three straight wins over North Reading.

North Reading is now 0-5 on the road. “We’ve got to get back to the lab and turn things around,” said Coach Archambault.

Amesbury is now 6-2 in the Cape Ann League while the Hornets drop to 4-5.

A common occurrence in most of the games I’ve covered is that the visiting team arrives late, as North Reading did today. The reason is almost always the same one, getting a bus.

The weather was cold, windy, and unpleasant. I’m hearing of 80’s on Saturday. Now won’t that be nice!

North Reading 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 = 3

Amesbury 1 0 3 4 0 1 – = 9

(The pictures will enlarge.)