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Hull/Notre Dame softball
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Rick Seto
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Herein lies another great thing about the limitless space of a blog … boxscores!
NOTRE DAME ACADEMY
- Kara Stefanik, LF: 1-for-4, RBI
- Alicia Mossesso, 3B: 2-for-4, run, SB, CS
- Lauren Tarpy, 2B/P: 1-for-2, double, 2 walks, run; LP: 5 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 4 so
- Bridget Nestor, SS: 1-for-4, double, 3 RBI
- Molly Dunbar, CF: 0-for-4
- Molly Burke, DH: 2-for-4, 2 runs
- Maggie Holland, C: 1-for-4, double, run
- Meg McCarthy, RF: 1-for-4, run, RBI
- Erica White, 1B: 0-for-3
NOTES: Being DH’d was pitcher Jess Crimaldi (ND: 2+ ip, 8 h, 6 r, 5 er, 1 bb, 4 so), then second baseman Kara Stefanik (who made a nice diving catch for the first out in the bottom of the seventh) … Most coaches would cringe after having to relieve their ace, but Tarpy is more like a No. 1A than a No. 2. “It is a luxury,” NDA coach Cindy Tozzi said. “They complement each other. Crimaldi’s a little quicker and Tarpy’s got a different delivery. It’s good for us to be able to give teams two different looks.”
HULL
- Ashleigh Condon, CF: 2-for-5, run, 2 RBI
- Emily Carroll, C: 2-for-5, run, RBI (game winner)
- Rachel Allen, P: 1-for-3, triple, walk, run; WP: 7 ip, 9 h, 7 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 4 so
- Kelly Sheehan, SS: 3-for-3, run, HBP, SB, 3 RBI
- Rebecca Bender, 3B: 1-for-4, run, SB
- Amanda Barnes, 2B: 1-for-4, RBI
- Kayla Itzo, LF: 1-for-3, walk, run
- Alex Mainini, RF: 1-for-3, walk
- Julie Manning, 1B: 0-for-3
- Erin Hulverson, PH: 0-for-1, run (game winner)
NOTES: With both its games against NDA excluded from its MIAA record (for more information, go to http://miaa.net/game-exclusion-information.htm), Hull, at 6-6, needs to win two of its remaining four games, all of which are winnable. The foes: Cohasset, Norwell and NDA-Lawrence (twice). Friday’s win was the team’s fourth in five games this week … The future looks bright for Hull, given that only Itzo and Mainini graduate. The team is junior-dominated, with sophomores Condon and Manning as the other regulars … First-year coach Liz Londergan was the JV coach for the retired Joe Sullivan the last 5 years.
Ides of May update
Posted on May 15, 2008 by Rick Seto
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The clash of the area’s only unbeaten boys tennis teams between Norwell and host Hingham on Friday has been rescheduled for Tuesday the 20th.
And track and field fans, upon reading Wednesday’s Ledger, probably couldn’t help but look forward to Hingham vs. Whitman-Hanson dual meets in the Patriot League next year, be it in boys cross country, boys indoor or boys outdoor. Some lengthy unbeaten streaks are going to end.
Interesting development in Atlantic Coast League softball. North Quincy, one game behind Quincy, lost to a good Plymouth South team to drop two games back, then the Presidents unexpectedly lost to Whitman-Hanson. It’ll only make Wednesday’s Q/NQ rematch that much more fun to cover. By the way, we’ll be covering the W-H at PS game on Monday.
Andrew Paine
Posted on May 11, 2008 by Rick Seto
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Here’s some good material that could not make the print version due to space:
Andrew plays on Beantown’s top club team, Beantown Black (QHS teammates Mike Mottola and Anthony Acito play on the Red team that stays within New England). Beantown Black will be playing in Salt Lake City for the Junior Olympic nationals. It will mark the first time that a New England team has qualified for the 18/open division, and the fourth time overall at nationals.
A little-known fact about Andrew: he is playing this season with a bulging disc in his back. He’s already taken two cortisone shots to help relieve the pain.
Rivier coach Craig Kolek was very happy to land Andrew. “The fact is he has excellent ball control,” said the 12th-year coach of the Raiders. “He can do a little bit of everything. He can pass and obviously he can hit, with the 1,000 kills. He’s an intellectual player, a smart kid who understands the game.”
While Andrew has played mostly middle in his Quincy High career, there’s no doubt he’ll be at his natural outside hitter position (where he plays club) for the Nashua, N.H., school. Rivier is competitive enough where it has four middle hitters this season who are 6-feet-5 or taller. Andrew could be in for significant minutes at Rivier, given that outside is one of the positions where the team will be affected by graduation.
Week of May 12th
Posted on May 11, 2008 by Rick Seto
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As we get about two-thirds through the regular season, the games we’re covering have more league and postseason implications.
On Monday we’re covering two big games — weather permitting. Cohasset at Norwell girls tennis will decide the South Shore League championship; the visiting Skippers won their first meeting, 3-2, at home. Then we’ll be at the Silver Lake at Duxbury softball game that will help decide the Patriot League Keenan Division. The host Green Dragons won their first meeting, 9-3, in Kingston but had a five-game losing streak soon after due to unusually spotty defense.
Two league titles in boys track will be decided on Tuesday between unbeaten teams. Hingham hosts Middleboro in the Patriot League, while Whitman-Hanson is home against Marshfield.
On Wednesday, Thayer Academy hosts Roxbury Latin in a battle between two of the top teams in the Independent Schools League.
Two locals meet in boys lacrosse Thursday in a game that should decide first place in the Atlantic Coast League. Marshfield, the front-runner, is the visiting team at Quincy’s Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Presidents have one of the scorers in the area in Martin Bowes.
It’s just a non-league match on Friday, but either Hingham or Norwell will lose their first boys tennis match of the season. The two have dominated their competition in the Patriot and South Shore Leagues, respectively.
The second ‘big meet’ season of the track season takes place on Saturday with the MSTCA Class Relays. The Class C Relays are at Milton High’s fantastic facility, while the D Relays are at Abington’s relatively new facility.
Sunday (weather permitting) hopefully includes the completion of another few rounds in the South Sectional boys and girls tennis tournaments. Some of the South tournament directors postponed action last Saturday, only to see the forecast of rain turn out to be wrong.
Patriot League scholar-athletes
Posted on May 9, 2008 by Rick Seto
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The following student-athletes were recently honored as Patriot League Scholar-Athletes at Pembroke Country Club. The award recipients have excelled in the areas of academics, athletics, sportsmanship, leadership, and citizenship.
Duxbury High School
Mark Murphy, Alexandra Nee
Hanover High School
John Avitabile, Lesley Guenard
Hingham High School
Caryn Miller, Steve Sypek
Middleboro High School
Courtney Larrivey, Matt Pilla
Pembroke High School
Bob Nathan, Alexa Teevens
Randolph High School
Louis Bloom, Keisha Johnson
Rockland High School
Jackie Bohenek, Joseph Bohenek
Scituate High School
Chloe Hall, Greg Hall
Silver Lake Regional High School
Chris Ballerini, Samantha Ford
Marshfield/PN boys tennis
Posted on May 8, 2008 by Rick Seto
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It almost would have been better if Plymouth North had lost Wednesday by a score other than 3-2. The defeat to Marshfield by that margin was the Blue Eagles’ fifth of that variety this season. It was also North’s fifth loss in a row.
“This is the story of our season,” said first-year North coach Andy Dugan, who was an assistant last year under Ben Morse. “I was actually impressed with our second doubles (senior Jared Barnes and freshman Derek Grabhorn). They’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season.”
Grabhorn served for the match at 5-4, but Marshfield’s Brian Spitler and Trevor Duffy equally produced winning shot to break, hold and break Barnes’s serve to win and avoid a tiebreaker.
PN senior co-captain Spencer Withington said: “It’s frustrating. A lot of the doubles kids are new and haven’t played together. They need to work on chemistry and it’s tough to do that against teams like Marshfield and Quincy.”
Withington showed a lot of game in his 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex Langley. His opponent, normally a No. 2 singles player, played loose, unencumbered by expectations and led, 5-2, before Withington rallied behind his serve and net play.
“All in warmups all he was hitting was kick and slice serves, then he comes out with that heater and I was taken aback,” said Withington. “He stepped up real well.
“I’m used to playing No. 1 players who hit really hard, so I’m used to hitting it back with a lot of pace. He was hitting with a lot of spin and (good) placement, so that was tricky.”
Withington is a returning Atlantic Coast League all-star who upped his season record to 7-3. The senior could be a darkhorse this weekend in the South Sectional individual tournament.
The other entertaining match was that of Ryan Fahey’s at third singles. A senior whose tennis career had consisted only of doubles, the Marshfield senior captain pulled off an upset over one of PN’s more consistent player, Chris Carco.
“He plays with a lot of heart and that’s what got him through today. He’s so coachable and so smart out there. He adjusted his game to get the win out there today. I think he put a real charge for the guys.”
Offseason wrestling
Posted on May 2, 2008 by Rick Seto
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It should be no secret that the key to excelling in a sport is putting in some serious offseason work. For high school wrestlers, there are several clubs where they can participate in open mats and add more moves to their repretoire. One of the newer clubs on the South Shore, Dungeon, has a new home.
The Dungeon Training Center is having its grand opening Sunday at its new home at the Bryant VFW Post on 24 Broad Street in Quincy next to Father Bill’s. The brainchild of Russell Lindsay, the South Shore Votech coach, Dungeon is welcoming the public at 11 a.m. That time slot is one where Lindsay envisions Dungeon wrestlers competing from other area clubs like Grizzly and Wadsworth. The other sessions for wrestlers is 7-9pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Among the top-notch clinicians are former New England champions Mark Laramee (Rockland) and Lee Beane (Bridgewater-Raynham).
Lindsay has Dungeon incorporated as a non-profit organization, but charges a small membership fee. For more information, contact Lindsay at 781-308-1910.
Marshfield/Quincy girls tennis
Posted on May 1, 2008 by Rick Seto
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Sorry for the lack of posting lately (last week wasn’t vacation just for the kids), but it was interesting to see Marshfield and Quincy play at the Russell Park courts at Quincy High. For starters the Atlantic Coast League matchup offered a contrast between cultures. On one side you had the Presidents, who have few players who play year-round, and the Rams, whose starting roster honed their game indoors over the winter.
Peter Swanson, the so-called ‘father’ of Quincy tennis (he oversees the boys and girls teams), notes the high school’s large immigrant population who are enrolled in the English as a Second Language program. Still, you won’t hear many complaints about playing more schools from more affluent demographics.
“I suppose if we get lucky, we could make the tournament,” said Swanson, whose last six boys and 11 of the last 12 girls teams have made the postseason. “But this is one of the nicest teams I’ve ever coached. They come to practice every day and we can count on them … They work hard and do every thing they’re suppose to do in terms of citizenship.”
Robbie Yee has broken through, drawing rave reviews from opponents. The senior is undefeated at No. 1 singles and could earn a seed in the upcoming South Sectional individual tournament. “He’s got everything,” Marshfield coach Andrew Pelish said after Yee beat his top player, Kenny Weiand (son of Randolph coach Ed). “He competes, but in a good way. He’s a kid you want to root for.”
Most QHS players hit a certain level and falter due to a lack of sophistication in their game. “You watch them play and they get to a point where they lack confidence,” Swanson said. “Sometimes at the end (of the season) we can surprise kids because they don’t come in with the experience but they grow like crazy.”
Challenge matches like the one that Marshfield’s Amelia Mattern and Kyra Holmquest had last month can sometimes cause so much friction that coaches don’t even have them. So it’s nice to see that these two senior captains appreciate each other.
Holmquest, the No. 1 last year, on Mattern: “She’s very quick and has really good groundstrokes.”
Mattern, who did not have a challenge match last season as the No. 2, on Holmquest: “She has really nice baseline shots that stay nice and deep. She’s really quick at the net.”
Marshfield coach Roberta Daniele is quick to include Leah Kelly, her No. 3, in the singles discussion. “I think they know they’re lucky to have one another to hit with in practice. You don’t always have that. All three singles players hit well; you don’t have someone who dominates.”
Quincy volleyball
Posted on April 18, 2008 by Rick Seto
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The Presidents’ most important match of the season isn’t even on their official schedule. But Wednesday’s scrimmage at Newton North might offer a better measuring stick of where Quincy stands relative to the Eastern Mass. powers, even more than its first-ever victory over New Bedford on April 7.
Newton is the defending state champs, having knocked previously unbeaten New Bedford in the South final. The Tigers, along with Lincoln-Sudbury, are considered the favorites to win states (there is only division of play in spring volleyball). The two have already split their two non-league regular-season matches this year.
“We’re hoping to get on a level where we can compete with them,” said Quincy coach Ed Smith, acknowledging it is unusual to scrimmage a team that it could play in the South Sectionals. It’s an admirable ploy to toughen up its schedule after last year’s championship run through the South Alliance didn’t amount to much when the Presidents were defeated (albeit in five games at home) by an above-average Bay State Conference foe (Norwood).
The Presidents already have two All-State caliber players in middle hitters Andrew Paine and Mike Mottola. Getting consistent contributions from the other players will help catapult Quincy into a true contender. In Friday’s win over Weymouth, senior libero Brendan Paine (Andrew’s young brother by a minute) tallied 11 digs, senior outside hitter J.J. Weng tallied six kills and sophomore Bobby Dion had his moments at middle hitter.
About states, Mottola admitted the team can’t help but think about it. It was a refreshing change from the ‘one game at a time’ approach, which often times isn’t quite truthful. “It’s always in the back of our minds,” he said, “but we know we need to work harder to get there. We’re willing to do whatever it takes.”
In his case, that meant adding setting duties to being a middle hitter. It’s a testament to his skill level that he’s been able to set a high level despite not having done it full-time at any level. With the Beantown Volleyball Club, Mottola has primarily an outside hitter (his preferred position). The 5-10 senior started playing club relatively late (Paine did so as early as 6th grade), having joined Beantown last year.
“As a player I’ve grown and developed and I owe it all to Mr. Smith,” he said. “My first three years in high school I played football and that’s what I focused on. I really started loving the game of volleyball and it sort of took over me.”
Mottola has parlayed volleyball into something will help pay for college; he is a rare high school players who is being pursued by two colleges.
There weren’t too many highlights from the Weymouth side, but there was at least a moment of levity when John Manganello, in an attempt to dig a ball, kicked it over the net. Figures from a Weymouth player … let’s hope Manganello puts his foot to good use in the fall when Bill McEachern goes from the volleyball sideline to the soccer one.
Weymouth lost the first game, 25-16. The ‘Cats were pretty much even with Quincy midway through the second when the Presidents reeled off seven straight points. Weymouth ripped off five straight points (to get within 22-24) and thought it got a sixth, but Weng got a kill off a block that landed just inbounds for the 25th point. The third game was fairly even, but Quincy came up with six straight points to pull away late, 25-21.
BC High alum doing well
Posted on April 16, 2008 by Rick Seto
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On Monday when we checked in on the latest BC High baseball team to try to win a Division 1 state championship, it made me think of that Dorchester school’s 2001 team that last did the feat. This year’s team supposedly has some of the top hitters in Eastern Mass., but it’s unlikely this team — or any other — will compare to that ‘01 club.
Of the high school baseball players I’ve seen in my 8-plus years at the Ledger, the most pro-ready prospect I saw was Jason Delaney. Here was a big, strapping 6-foot-3, 220-pound third baseman who wielded a big bat. At Boston College he moved to the outfield and now he’s at Double-A Altoona (Pa.) in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. I thought of the Hanson native after he recently got kudos from rotoworld.com, a leading fantasy baseball Web site. And this after he was included in the 2008 Baseball Prospectus annual with a full player profile.
Delaney was part of a team that had 8 players — count ‘em, 8! — earn Division 1 college baseball scholarships, with Mike Conroy, who was the highest draftee, bypassing a ride to Miami (Fla.). His career never really got off the ground in the Indians’ system and he’s trying his hand at football with UConn (which redshirted him last fall). Legendary BC High coach Jim Cotter always felt the Scituate resident had the talent to be a D1 football player.
Here’s a look at some of those other standouts:
- Left fielder Drew Locke was dubbed the “The White Manny” for his ability to deliver RBI. The cleanup hitter from Weymouth went to BC and is now a Dodgers’ farmhand in Advanced Class A;
- Ryan Morgan was arguably the MVP of the Eagles’ postseason as the shortstop and leadoff hitter was coach Norm Walsh’s closer. I’ve always felt the submariner’s best path to the pros was as a closer, but he didn’t pitch for BC. The Weymouth native was drafted by the Braves and last year was with the Braintree White Sox of the Cranberry League;
- Ace Mike Crane went to UMass-Amherst and now pitches for his hometown Braintree White Sox, also of the CBL;
- Duxbury native Bill Riggs, the team’s No. 2 starter, played at Davidson;
- First baseman Greg Smith, who was a junior on that team, was the team’s No. 5 hitter and wound up going to Fordham. The Cohasset native was drafted by the Pirates in 2006 and last year played with the Weymouth Phillies of the Cranberry League;
- Catcher Frank Curreri, another junior on that team, went to UMass before enjoying a breakout season in 2004 in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Weymouth native earned a nice signing bonus by the Arizona Diamondbacks, then was sidelined by injury. The sweet-hitting lefty, who always reminded me of Jorge Posada, has made it to the Dback’s Double-A affiliate, where one of his pitchers is Randolph native Mark Rosen.
Walsh is still at the BC High helm and he’s still as hard on his players as ever. It was telling that the Milton resident was never as calm on the bench as he was with that 2001 team. Not that they didn’t need coaching, but it was because that core group of players were so prepared individually that he could concentrate on the nuances of winning a game, like shifting his fielders or really staying in tune with his pitchers.
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