Tag Archives: Jake Buontempo

June 12, 2021 · 9:28 pm

Jack Fehlner leads Newburyport to Spofford title

Jack Fehlner was the center of attention when the game ended

Newburyport Clippers win the 2021 Spofford Tournament

(Georgetown MA) Newburyport was desperate for a win.

After an impressive 9-1 month of May, June turned into a problem.

After an early win in June, three straight losses had followed, most recently, a 12-1 nightmare loss to North Reading.

Before that NR disaster had been a tough 7-2 defeat this past Wednesday to Triton. A game in which Jack Fehlner came in to give relief and suffered through a five-run outburst by the Vikings.

Fast forward to this afternoon. Again, it was Triton and again it was Jack Fehlner doing the pitching.

But what a difference this time!

Jack Fehlner limited Triton to four hits

Today, Jack pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout as the Clippers downed Triton, 5-0, to take home the championship trophy in the Spofford Tournament.

“After that loss to Triton, the team gave me some great words of encouragement,” said Jack post-game, “that really helped.”

Jack’s pitching was probably enough to make him the tourney MVP but when he added a home run in the seventh inning the guesswork ended.

“Jack’s homer wasn’t a surprise to me,” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe. “He hits bombs in practice.”

Through three innings, Jack allowed only one baserunner while Triton starter DJ Watson allowed just one hit (Luke Stallard).

The Clippers bats came to life in the fourth inning.

A single (Luke Stallard) and a walk (Jax Budgell) set up Newburyport’s leading hitter (Jake Buontempo) for an RBI single to left.

Jake took second without a throw and senior Tony Lucci followed with a two-run double to right center.

“It was an outside pitch,” recalled Tony. “Coach (Rowe) always tells us to take that one to rightfield and that’s what I did.”

Triton (7-7) threatened to cut into Newburyport’s 3-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Andrew Masher and Griffin Dupuis executed a perfect hit-and-run to put runners on first and third with two outs in that inning. Jack Fehlner, however, was able to get a strikeout to get out of it.

Jake Buontempo had a long homer to left in the sixth inning

The Clippers (11-4) added another run in the sixth as Jake Buontempo hit a long home run over the leftfield fence.

“I was down 0-2,” said Jake. “I had seen two curveballs. I choked up a little bit like I always do and got a nice curveball and ripped it.”

The Vikings were back threatening in the sixth inning. Consecutive singles by Brady Lindholm and Cael Kohan set up Triton with one out. After a flyball out to left, Ryan Lindholm hit a flare into short left. It had trouble written all over it! But Newburyport shortstop Tony Lucci ran straight back for it and caught it in true snow-cone fashion to end the inning and save a run.

“The catch by Tony was awesome,” said Jack Fehlner. “It was such a clutch play.”

“I was a bit nervous going after it, but I ran as fast as I could to make the catch,” said Tony.

Jack finished off the final Triton inning with consecutive strikeouts.

“Jack came in determined after they got to him the other day,” said Coach Rowe. “He felt that he had something to prove today.”

Triton coach Ryan McCarthy: “Both teams hit the ball hard today. I thought that the Fehlner kid pitched a great game today. We hit him hard the other day, but he bounced back.”

Nick White: “It was a nice bounce-back win. We’ve been struggling lately.”

Coach Rowe: “We were kind of on our heels after the last few games, but we had a long talk yesterday and had a good practice.”

There was some uncertainty on Jack Fehlner’s homer in the seventh inning. “I wasn’t sure it was out,” said Jack, “until their shortstop told me.”

Newburyport captains Tony Lucci, Ryan Archer, and Nick White with trophy

Jack Fehlner: “My two-seam fastball was working really well.”

Triton had seven infield groundouts.

Newburyport last won the Spofford Tournament in 2018.

Triton’s last one was in 2012.

Ideal weather.

Generous donations announced pre-game to help the family of a firefighter who is battling cancer.

I learned from Coach McCarthy that the post-season tournament will only be for the North title. He also thought that the tournament had to end by July 1^st.

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

Tony Lucci makes a (blurry) snow-cone catch

Jax Budgell heads home with the second Newburyport run

RF Cole Daniels made a terrific catch in the second inning

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Brady Lindholm, DJ Watson, Jack Fehlner, Jake Buontempo, Tony Lucci

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Amesbury, Newburyport

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

May 18, 2021 · 9:23 pm

Newburyport stays undefeated (5-0) after 2-0 win over Lynnfield

Sophomore Owen Tahnk allowed five hits and had six strikeouts in a complete game win.

Michael Habib scored the first Newburyport run

(Newburyport MA) The Clippers continue to win.

This afternoon it was, 2-0, over Lynnfield.

Coach Mark Rowe said afterwards that he was happy with the 5-0 start but wasn’t thrilled with the way his team played today.

“I think that we were a little flat,” he said. “Maybe it was because it was the first really warm day we’ve played in.”

There were popups and weak grounders by a team that has been making solid connections regularly.

“The majority of our at bats were disappointing,” Coach Rowe added.

But steady pitching by sophomore Owen Tahnk kept Newburyport in the game despite only three hits.

Senior Trent Balian pitched very effectively for the Pioneers.

Good teams find ways to win.

“We took advantage of our opportunities,” said Coach Rowe.

THE opportunity was the fifth inning. A one-out single by senior Michael Habib was followed by two walks (Jack Fehlner & Tony Lucci).

Luke Stallard’s long fly to center delivered Michael while Jake Buontempo’s sharp single to center brought Jack home.

Those two runs held up.

Lynnfield (1-4) had chances.

Spencer Riley doubled off the fence in left

The Pioneers collected five hits and had runners in scoring position in the first four innings as well as the sixth inning.

“We couldn’t get him in,” said Lynnfield coach John O’Brien post-game, “that was the story of the game.”

“Newburyport took advantage of a couple of walks that hurt us,” said Coach O’Brien referencing Newburyport’s two-run fifth inning. “They got the timely hit.”

Evan Balian paced Lynnfield with two hits.

Spencer Riley hit a part of the leftfield fence in the fourth inning in a section of fencing that doesn’t exist in most of the rest of the field. Could have gone out if it wasn’t pulled so much. He had to settle for a double.

Newburyport pitcher Owen Tahnk remembered it: “That double off the fence was a scare.”

Owen limited Lynnfield to five hits and yielded only two walks.

“His limiting the walks was important,” said Coach Rowe.

Owen had six strikeouts getting two each in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th innings. In each of those innings the Pioneers had runners in scoring position.

“My slider and curve were working well today,” said Owen. “I got grounders and fly balls on off-speed pitches.”

Coach O’Brien: “We’re back to ground zero after getting a nice win the other day.”

Ryan Archer: “Our goal every day is to go 1-0. We have two games coming up and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

I didn’t hear the news, but I saw the news. The players weren’t wearing masks! Is this where I say, “It’s about time!” and give away my politics?

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

Baserunner Michael Habib and SS Henry Caulfield

Aidan Burke out stealing as Tony Lucci takes throw

Nick White had one of the three Newburyport hits

2B Jack Bird tries for a force at second

Ryan Archer about to be tagged out by SS Henry Caulfield

Trent Balian slides into 3B in the second inning

CF Luke Martinho made some nice running catches

Leave a comment

Filed under Lynnfield, Newburyport, Uncategorized

Tagged as Evan Balian, Jake Buontempo, Luke Stallard, Owen Tahnk, Trent Balian

May 15, 2021 · 5:49 pm

Undefeated Newburyport shuts out Manchester-Essex 7-0

Jack Fehlner pitched a 2-hit complete game for the Clippers

Kellen Heney held the Clippers hitless for five innings

(Newburyport MA) The weather was perfect.

Manchester-Essex pitcher Kellen Heney was perfect…..through five innings.

But when the game ended, Newburyport was perfect (4-0) after defeating the Hornets, 7-0, on Saturday morning at Pettingell Field.

ME struggled in the field all game collecting miscues in five of the six innings.

“Our pitchers have been pitching well,” said ME coach James Weed afterwards. “I’m just not used to the kind of defense we’re playing.”

The shaky defense gave the Clippers a run in the fourth, but this was a one-run game going into the Newburyport sixth.

Then the wheels fell off for the visitors. An infield error and five Newburyport hits put six runs on the board and sealed this one for the home team.

Jack Fehlner pitched a complete-game two-hitter for the Clippers. He wasn’t overpowering (one strikeout) but gave up just two walks.

“Jack was in total command,” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe post-game. “It was as good as I’ve seen him pitch. It was his first complete game.”

Catcher Nick White: “Jack’s fastball was working today. Usually, it’s the off-speed pitch but today the fastball was the primary out pitch. He challenged them.”

The Clippers 1-0 lead looked anything but secure heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

“The scoreboard doesn’t show how close this game really was,” added Jack Fehlner. “They’re a great team.”

Jake Buontempo had the first Newburyport hit in the 6th inning

Senior Jake Buontempo was in the middle of the Newburyport success in the sixth inning.

Jake ended Kellen Heney’s hitless streak with a double that drove in Luke Stallard who had reached on an infield error.

Rare play alert! Demetri Connor popped the ball behind the plate near the backstop. Catcher Michael Quill and pitcher Kellen Heney both went after it and Michael got it. Jake alertly took advantage and raced in from third.

Jake reached third on Nick White’s infield hit.

“I was watching to see where the pitcher was going,” recalled Jake. “He followed the catcher to the backstop, so I knew the plate was wide open and I took what I had.”

Jake also made a nice running catch in rightfield in the fifth inning and ended the game with a routine catch.

The Hornets (1-4) are the defending Division 4 state champions. I was at LaLacheur Park (Lowell) on June 22, 2019 when they defeated Tahanto, 5-2.

Will Levendusky was part of that team but a football injury has kept him from playing so far.

“It hurts not to have Will but for us it’s “next man up,” said Coach Weed. “We have three freshmen playing. We’re just trying to find the right formula. We’ll get it going. We’ll make a run.”

Freshman Kellen Heney was the starter and winner in the state title game. He’s now a junior.

“Their pitcher was good,” explained Jake Buontempo. “He could locate really well. Toward the end we started to catch onto him.”

Coach Mark Rowe: “It was two top-notch pitchers out there. Unfortunately, his defense let him down a bit. We challenged by putting balls in play and forcing them to make plays. When they didn’t make plays, we took advantage.”

AJ Pallazola and Michael Quill had the hits for Manchester-Essex.

Jack Fehlner: “It was a beautiful day to be out here with the guys. Our guys made plays. I’ll put some ice on my arm and get back at it Tuesday against Lynnfield.”

Speaking of ice, I have a picture of Will Levendusky pouring the contents of an ice bucket over the head of Coach Weed in the celebrating after the D4 title win. On that hot day and under those circumstances, it probably felt pretty good.

Remarkable weather and plenty of fans from both schools out enjoying it.

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

Luke Stallard steals 2B as Michael Deoreo tries to tag him

Jack Fehlner dives back into 2nd as Satchem Ramos tries to tag him

AJ Pallazola dives back into first as Brady Ford takes throw

Leave a comment

Filed under Manchester-Essex, Newburyport, Uncategorized

Tagged as Jack Fehlner, Jake Buontempo, Kellen Heney, Nick White

May 11, 2021 · 10:39 pm

Newburyport hitting key to 7-1 win vs Pentucket

Jake Buontempo (gold helmet) congratulated after 2-run homer in sixth inning

Sophomore Owen Tahnk won his first varsity start.

(Newburyport MA) “Our whole team swings the bat well,” said Newburyport coach Mark Rowe post-game.

That skill was certainly on display today with eleven hits recorded for the home team.

Eight different Clippers (2-0) had hits as they defeated Pentucket, 7-1, on Tuesday afternoon at Pettingell Field in Cape Ann League action.

Meanwhile, the pitching of Owen Tahnk and Jack Fehlner held Pentucket to three hits. Only one of those hits came over the final five innings.

The Sachems (1-2) led early, 1-0, and could have had more. They had the bases loaded with one out in the third inning but came up empty.

“We’ve got to do a better job swinging the bat with runners in scoring position,” said Pentucket coach Kevin Murray.

Trevor Kamuda and Bryce Winter pitched for the Sachems.

Sophomore Owen Tahnk got the win for the Clippers going five innings in his first varsity start, giving up three hits, and striking out five.

“Owen was dominant early,” said Coach Rowe. “When he did get some baserunners (bases loaded in the 3^rd, second and third in the 5^th) he managed to find a way out of it. I’m incredibly proud of him.”

The Clippers struck twice with two outs; first in the fourth inning and then in the fifth.

In the 4^th, the runs came on a Luke Stallard double, an intentional walk to Jake Buontempo, and a bases-clearing double by Ryan Archer over the leftfielder’s head.

“The pitch was in my sweet spot, a little inside, a little low,” recalled Ryan Archer. “I just wanted to put it in play.

Those two runs gave Newburyport the lead, 2-1.

In the 5^th, Charlie Forrest was hit by a pitch and took second on a passed ball. Jack Fehlner’s double to left scored Charlie, and Tony Lucci’s next-batter double scored Jack.

Jack Fehlner had 2 hits, an RBI, and 2 innings of scoreless relief

The Clippers added three runs to their 4-1 margin in the sixth inning.

In that 6^th inning, Newburyport had four straight hits off reliever Bryce Winter.

The big shot was Jake Buontempo’s 2-run homer over the leftfield fence.

“It felt really good off the bat,” said Jake afterwards. “It was a fastball up and in. I caught it at the right time, and it just flew. It was my first home run in high school.”

Junior Quinn Fortuna drove home the seventh Newburyport run.

Coach Murray: “I thought we pitched well. We just didn’t swing the bats. We were better than what the score shows. We’re two weeks in with room to grow.”

Coach Rowe: “It was a good baseball game. I give the (Trevor) Kamuda kid a lot of credit. He was your typical crafty lefty. He threw strikes and he kept us off balance. We had hits at key opportunities.”

The defense was solid for both teams. Trevor Kamuda started a double play in the first inning. Shortstop Andrew Melone made a nice running catch in short left to end the Newburyport second.

The weather was good. It was breezy but the fielders didn’t let it bother them.

In the Newburyport win over Triton, the game ended on a running catch in foul territory. More of the same today, as 1B Charlie Forrest avoided the out-of-bounds line to catch the final out.

Ryan Archer: “We’re just two games in with a long way to go. We’ve got bigger goals than winning this game today.”

You know it’s not your day when you’re driving past the game and a foul ball catches your car on the roof as it did to some unlucky driver today.

Pettingell Field looked to be in terrific shape. I saw why afterwards when every member of the Newburyport team went to work on it to keep it that way.

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

(Some of the pictures will end up on Instagram eventually.)

Two of the Cape Ann League’s best athletes

Ryan Archer drove in the first two Newburyport runs

Jake Buontempo and Luke Stallard scored on Ryan Archer’s double

3B Luke Stallard gets a forceout to end the Pentucket 3rd inning

Leftfielder Alex Pinkham chases a hit to the outfield

Alex Pinkham scores while catcher Nick White waits for the throw

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Jack Fehlner, Jake Buontempo, Owen Tahnk, Ryan Archer, Will Roberts

May 6, 2021 · 11:20 pm

Newburyport hits and fields its way to a 10-4 win over Triton

Jax Budgell slides home safely during Newburyport’s six-run fourth inning

(Rowley MA) Newburyport made full use of the equipment they brought.

The Clippers collected twelve hits defeating Triton, 10-4, at Eiras Park in the season opener for both teams on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

And then there were the gloves.

Sometimes you’ll get one catch that earns a star in the scorebook. On this afternoon, all the Clippers outfielders (Ryan Archer, Jake Buontempo, Jax Budgell) had highlight moments.

“We have some great outfielders,” understated NHS starter Jack Fehlner afterwards.

Newburyport picked up six runs in the fourth inning with two outs and Triton couldn’t completely recover.

The Vikings did recover enough to close to 6-4 with a run in the 4^th and three in the 5^th.

Newburyport starter Jack Fehlner ended both of Triton’s run-producing innings with called strikeouts to limit their comeback attempts.

Jax Budgell makes a diving catch to end the game

“Triton is a very good hitting team,” said Jack.

Ryan Archer scored twice for the Clippers

“When Triton was down by six, I told the team between innings that they won’t lay down,” said Coach Mark Rowe, “and they didn’t.”

Catcher Nick White, usually known for his defense behind the plate, was instead recognized (by me) for his hitting. And why not, he had three hits and four RBI.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a hitting game like this before,” explained Nick.

“With the rain recently, we’ve done a lot of hitting under the stadium and I think it paid off,” said Coach Rowe.

Senior Ryan Archer also had three hits that turned into three RBI.

“Newburyport is a good team,” said Triton coach Ryan McCarthy. “They have returning players and they’re aggressive at the plate.”

Triton managed seven hits with senior Brady Lindholm getting two hits for the Vikes.

Things did not go Triton’s way in Newburyport’s six-run fourth inning. The Vikings nearly had baserunner Charlie Forrest picked off. Later in the same inning, Newburyport loaded the bases with two outs and no runs in at this point. An infield grounder didn’t result in an inning-ending force-out and two runs scored. Four more Clippers runs would follow before Triton could stop the damage.

“It stung that they got six with two outs,” recalled Coach McCarthy.

The Vikings rallied back in the 4^th and 5^th. Cael Kohan’s bases-loaded single gave Triton its second run.

Kyle Odoy followed with a grounder to 3B Demetri Connor. Demetri tried for a force at home, but his throw was wide, and two Vikings crossed the plate.

“I thought Jack (Fehlner) pitched great,” said Coach Rowe. “We made some mistakes in the inning they scored three runs.”

Sophomore Owen Tahnk pitched the last two innings for Newburyport.

Owen’s pitching probably won’t be remembered very much because it was during his two innings that Newburyport’s outfield trio put on their show.

In each of the catches, the outfielder had to dive forward to get the ball………and it worked for all three of them.

Plenty of sun and plenty of spectators.

“It was great weather, and we had a chance to play the game we love,” said Coach McCarthy.

Nick White: “Any time you can put up double-digit runs you’ve had a good hitting night. I think that our two pitchers (Jack Fehlner, Owen Tahnk) will be among the best in the league.”

Besides getting twelve hits, the Clippers took eight walks. Triton had only one walk.

Not counting today’s game, the last eight times these teams had met they had each won four times.

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