04/29/2016

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 04/29/16

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Sharon, 4 @ Canton, 7 – Final

Oliver Ames, 10 @ Foxboro, 9 – Final – Oliver Ames’ Matt Muir’s strong week continued as the sophomore pitched a scoreless bottom half of the seventh inning to seal the deal after the Tigers incredible comeback. Oliver Ames trailed 9-4 heading into the seventh inning but rattled off six runs to take the lead. Kyle Gagliardi had three hits for OA, Ryan Adams knocked in four runs on two hits and Mitch Goulet and Muir each added two hits for the Tigers.

Taunton, 5 @ Mansfield, 3 – Final – Sophomore Christian Simoes blasted his first career home run off the foul pole in left field to break a 3-3 tie game in the top of the fourth to lift the Tigers. Taunton added a bases loaded walk in the same inning to create the separation. Mansfield struck in the first inning before Taunton took a 2-1 lead in the second and 3-1 lead in the top of the third. Mansfield tied the game in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs. Taunton senior Luke Figueira earned his fourth win of the season, scattering five hits in five innings of work, striking out two. Max Bowden earned the save, striking out two while not allowing a hit in two innings of work. Matt Machado had two hits, an RBI and a run scored, Charles Hearrold III had two hits, two RBI and a run scored and William Emerson added two hits for Taunton. Mansfield junior Zack Peterson had a pair of doubles and runs scored, Aidan Cahill had two hits, an RBI and a run scored and Mike Arnold had an RBI for the Hornets.

Milford, 3 @ Stoughton, 4 – Final – Click here for a recap from the game.

Softball
Canton, 2 @ Sharon, 4 – Final – Sharon junior Clara Cook recorded 11 strikeouts and only allowed five hits to pace the Eagles to their second straight win. Senior Rachel Usen was 2-3 with two runs scored, freshman Rebecca Clayman had a pair of singles, an RBI and a run scored and senior Jenny Friedman was 2-3 with a pair of singles.

King Philip, 13 vs. St. Peter Marian, 0 – Final (6 inn.) – King Philip wasted no time jumping all over the defending D1 State Champions, plating 10 runs in the first inning. Christa Wagner went 3-3 and Hailey McCasland, Meghan Gorman and Jenn Hutnyan all added two hits for the Warriors. Hutnyan closed out the game with a two-run home run for KP. Kali Magane pitched three innings for the Warriors, striking out eight of the nine batters she faced.

Mansfield, 0 @ Taunton, 10 – Final – The Tigers used a six hit, six run sixth inning to break open the game and score a big win over Mansfield. Taunton loaded the bases in the first but a throw home from Marissa Staffier and a pair of strikeouts helped the Hornets get out unscathed. Taunton scored one run in the second, one in the third and two in fourth to build a lead. Aimee Kistner continued her shutout streak to start the season, pitching six inning, striking out 13 with just one walk. Courtney Fisher retired the side in order in the seventh for Taunton. Meghan Navarro went 3-3 with a double, Liana Duarte was 3-4 with a triple and an RBI, Jordan Wade was 2-4 with a triple and an RBI and Jaime Brown went 2-3 and knocked in a pair of runs. Mansfield freshmen Megan Letendre, Mady Bendanillo and Caty DeMassi each had a hit for the Hornets.

Milford, 8 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Milford’s Kelley Reichert only allowed two hits in five innings of work, striking out four to earn the win for the Scarlet Hawks. Kate Irwin had a pair of hits and stolen bases, Jess Tomaso was 2-4 with a triple and an RBI, Jill Powers knocked in a pair of runs and both Maddy Bonvino and Shannon Cormier hit a homerun. Stoughton freshmen Freshman Jordan Lyons and Jeni D’Andrea each had a hit as well as sophomore Val Whalen and senior Nicole Bodette for the Black Knights.

Boys Lacrosse
Canton, 4 @ Foxboro, 5 – Final – Click here for a recap from the game.

Mansfield, 16 @ Sharon, 11 – Final

Milford, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 16 – Final – Oliver Ames senior Max Bamford and sophomore Owen Gallagher paced Oliver Ames’ offense, finding the back of the net four times apiece. Sophomore Eric LeBlanc added a pair of goals and assists for the Tigers.

Girls Lacrosse
Foxboro, 16 @ Canton, 3 – Final

Sharon, 10 @ Mansfield, 18 – Final – Caroline Maher led the way for the Hornets with five goals and Marie Foley added four. Katy Garvin also had a hat trick for Mansfield, which also got two goals apiece from Julia Todesco, Emily Aarons and Maggie Dunn According to head coach Alexis Kobey, Cat Daly and Kaleigh Jodice played well on defense and Victoria Lawlor had a great game in goal.

Oliver Ames, 17 @ Milford, 4 – Final – Oliver Ames’ Abby Duval paced an explosive Tiger offense in a big win on the road. Duval finished with a team-high five goals, adding two assists as well. Sam Lang and Erin Fitzgerald each netted a hat trick with an assist, Sofia Masciarelli and Hannah Friend each scored twice and had an assists, Devin Gardner had an assist and a goal and Emalyn Duvall scored once for OA. Ariana Waldorf made 10 saves in net for the Tigers.

Boys Tennis
Sharon, 5 @ Canton, 0 – Final – It was a clean sweep for the Eagles, who didn’t drop a game in four of the five matches. Griffin Fein (first singles), Han Cui (third singles), Adam Dobbin and Alex Romantz (first doubles) and Tilak Mehta and Danujan Thiru (second doubles) all won 6-0, 6-0. Sharon sophomore Fred Bondar completed the sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 win at second singles.

Oliver Ames, 0 @ Foxboro, 5 – Final

Taunton, 1 @ Mansfield, 4 – Final

Girls Tennis
Canton, 0 @ Sharon, 5 – Final – Sharon didn’t lose a game at two of the three singles matches and won all five in straight sets. Lulu Yuan won 6-2, 6-1 at first singles while Nupur Shulka and Emily Wen each won 6-0, 6-0 at second and third singles, respectively. Pooja Puttigampala and Michel Kondratiev won 6-3, 6-2 at first doubles and Sydney Gordon and Akhila Songadi won 6-1, 6-0 at second doubles for the Eagles.

Foxboro, 3 @ Oliver Ames, 2 – Final – Foxboro won all three singles in straight sets without dropping a game to edge the Tigers. Diana Prinos (first singles), Sophia Prinos (second singles) and Lexi Nelson (third singles) all won 6-0, 6-0. Oliver Ames’ Valeria Tueme and Claudia Ferrara battled for a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) win while Rachel Stryke and Olivia Groebe won 6-3, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) at second doubles for the Tigers.

Mansfield, 2 @ Taunton, 3 – Final – Taunton swept both doubles matches and sealed the win with a victory at second singles. Junior Olivia Sweeney won 6-2, 6-4 at second singles while juniors Ashleigh Eason and Emily Moor won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) at first doubles and junior Caroline Hebert and freshman Jillian Pagliuca won 6-2, 6-2 at second doubles. Mansfield’s Paulina Martin won 6-2, 6-1 at first singles and sophomore Sarah Doyle on 6-3, 6-0 at third singles.

Boys Volleyball
Taunton, 0 @ Quincy, 3 – Final

04/28/2016

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 04/28/16

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
North Attleboro, 6 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – Through four innings, it was a pitcher’s duel between rivals Big Red and Big Blue. North took a 1-0 lead in the fifth with a squeeze from Bryan Harris to score Nick Pedro. Attleboro struck back in the bottom half with three runs but the Rocketeers plated five runs in the seventh inning to get the win. Ridge Olsen had a two out RBI single and Brian Poillucci had a two RBI triple.

Franklin, 3 @ King Philip, 6 – Final – King Philip scored four runs in the third and added two more in the fifth to pick up a win over the Panthers. Jon Rolfe scattered seven hits but didn’t issue a single walk and struck out win in a complete game effort to get the win. Ryan Guenette had two successful suicide squeezes and Jack DiCenso added a pair of hits for the Warriors, who didn’t make any errors on defense.

Softball
North Attleboro, 14 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final (5 inn.) – North Attleboro head coach Bill Wallace earned his 200th career victory with the win. Mycala Moody, Jordan Sharpe and Gina Miceli each had three hits and Sam Courtemanche had a pair of hits. Amelia Murphy struck out seven, allowing three hits in five innings for the win.

Foxboro, 4 @ Oliver Ames, 5 – Final – Click here for a recap from this game.

Franklin, 4 @ King Philip, 12 – Final – Franklin held a 2-0 lead but King Philip rallied for five runs in the fourth inning and never looked back. Hailey McCasland led KP with four hits, Kali Magane had three hits and Christa Wagner had a pair of hits. Brooke Taute added a home run for the Warriors.

Boys Lacrosse
North Attleboro, 7 @ Attleboro, 5 – Final

Taunton, 5 vs. Coyle & Cassidy, 7 – Final – Griffin Speicher scored twice and had one assist and Ethan Paterson scored twice for Taunton. Mike Perrotta scored once and Josh Grasso, John Almeida and Andrew Wellington each had an assist.

Girls Lacrosse
Attleboro, 3 @ North Attleboro, 19 – Final – Senior Hana Caster and sophomore Mackenzie Rosenberg each scored seven goals apiece to pace the Rocketeers.

Franklin, 15 @ King Philip, 8 – Final – Franklin’s Julia Jette and Kenzie Pleshaw each scored three goals and had an assist to lead the Panthers. Head coach Kristin Igoe praised the defensive play of Sam Jones, who had three draws and four ground balls.

Boys Tennis
North Attleboro, 5 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final – The Rocketeers won all five matches in straight sets, bouncing back from their first loss of the season on Wednesday. Mitchell Dyer won 6-1, 6-1 at first singles, Zack Pfeffer won 6-0, 6-0 at second singles and Barsomo Nuay won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. Jeff Yao and Nick Lockavitch paired for a 6-3, 6-0 win at first singles and Jake Fontes and Daniel Zhang won 6-0, 6-2 at second doubles.

Franklin, 4 @ King Philip, 1 – Final – All three singles matches went to three sets and oen doubles needed a tiebreaker in what was a terrific match between Franklin and King Philip. Junior Rahul Herur was able to pull out a marathon win at first singles, prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) while classmate Eli Brooks won 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at second singles. Tom Mancini and James Johnston were solid for Franklin at first doubles with a 6-1, 6-1 win while Cam Piana and Jeremy Gan won 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) at second doubles. King Philip freshman Blake Ginter emerged with a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win at third singles for the Warriors.

Sharon, 1 vs. Wellesley, 4 – Final

Stoughton, 1 @ Milford, 4 – Final

Taunton vs. New Bedford, 4:00

Girls Tennis
Attleboro, 0 @ North Attleboro, 5 – Final – North Attleboro improved to 9-0 with a sweep over rival Attleboro. Julia Mark won 6-0, 6-1 at first singles, Allie Grinavic won 6-0, 6-1 at second singles and Emily Chiasson won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. Jhanavi Kapadia and Gabby Duva picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win at first doubles and Katie Demontigny and Hana Hershey won 6-1, 6-0 at second doubles for the Rocketeers.

Canton, 1 @ Mansfield, 4 – Final – Mansfield swept singles play and won once at doubles to get the win at home. Paulina Martin won 6-1, 6-4 at first singles, Kathleen Giffels battled for a 6-3, 7-5 win at second singles and Sarah Doyle picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory at third singles. Cathryn Heavey and Chloe Peters teamed for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win at first doubles for the Hornets. Canton’s Talya Mayman and Julia Buskowsky won 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 at second doubles.

King Philip, 2 @ Franklin, 3 – Final

Stoughton, 0 @ Milford, 5 – Final – Milford picked up a win in a competitive contest with the Black Knights. Allie Collins 6-0, 6-0 at first singles, Ally Buckenmsier won 6-4, 6-4 at second singles and Jess McIntire won at third singles. Milford’s Julie Rabinowitz and Megan Cafarella won 6-1, 6-4 at first doubles and Victoria Beydr and Kate Rosenblatt won 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (11-9) at second doubles.

Taunton, 5 @ New Bedford, 0 – Final – Taunton took care of business on the road, winning each match in straight sets. Jordan Pagliuca won 6-0, 6-1 at first singles, Olivia Sweeney won 6-0, 6-0 at second singles and Kelsey Hebert won 6-2, 6-2 at third singles. Ashleigh Eason and Emily Moor won 6-4, 6-2 at first doubles and Caroline Hebert and Jillian Pagliuca won 6-1, 6-1 at second doubles for the Tigers.

Boys Volleyball
Milford, 3 vs. Randolph, 1 – Final

Boys Outdoor Track
Sharon @ Canton 3:45
Mansfield @ North Attleboro 3:30
Stoughton, 49 @ Milford, 88 – Final

Girls Outdoor Track
Sharon @ Canton 3:45
Mansfield @ North Attleboro 3:30
Stoughton, 40 @ Milford, 96 – Final

04/27/2016

Early Runs Give Taunton Early Edge on KP

Taunton softball — Meghan Navarro (11) and the Taunton bench are fired up after scoring the second run against King Philip. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

TAUNTON, Mass. – Taunton entered Wednesday’s showdown with nine-time defending league champion King Philip (including five straight since the divisional split) with a hard to believe plus-108 run differential and a perfect 8-0 record.

But, the Tigers were still looking for the marquee win to show that this year’s squad has what it takes to get back to the top of the league (Taunton shared the title with KP in 2014) and potentially make a run in Div. 1 South.

Starting pitcher Aimee Kistner, who had yet to be scored on this season, admitted that the team was extra fired up for the visit of the Warriors to Jack Tripp Field. She said, “We were all psyched to play today; it’s all we thought about all day. We were ready to go.”

The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the first inning and Kistner shut down the Warriors, striking out nine and allowing only one base runner to reach second base, to ensure that the lead held up for a 2-0 victory that puts the Tigers (9-0) in front in the league title race.

Taunton coach Dave Lewry said, “We don’t get style points, we don’t get extra points for 20 hits, we win games and that’s what counts.”

When asked about getting the jump on KP in the league, Lewry said with a chuckle, “We kind of put ourselves in this spot last year too and let it slip away. So we ain’t got nothing yet, but it’s always good to get the first one and have them chasing us rather than the other way around.”

Kistner allowed a one-out base hit to Hailey McLasland (3-3) in the first inning, but then struck out Meghan Gorman and Taunton’s Sarah Bagge fired to second to catch McLasland stealing.

In the bottom of the frame, Liana Duarte battled with KP ace Kali Magane to earn a lead-off walk. After Jordan Wade flew out to left, Kistner had a swinging bunt back to Magane that allowed Duarte to move into scoring position.

Cleanup hitter Meghan Navarro followed with a line drive single to left that was momentarily bobbled, although Duarte was already around third at the time. When the throw went to the plate, Navarro took off for second. Magane cut off the throw from Sydney Phillips but her attempt to get Navarro skipped into center and the Taunton second baseman raced home with a second run.

“Heads up base running on her part,” said Lewry. “It would’ve been a close play at second but with two outs you force the issue, they make the mistake and we stole a run, which is huge in a game like this.”

Kistner went back out to the circle with a lead and she admitted that it allowed her to relax just a little. She explained, “It was awesome. I knew that I had my defense behind me and that we had runs behind us. I knew I had backup when I needed it.”

The Warriors finally got something going in the third inning. With two outs, Christa Wagner singled to center and McLasland followed with a single to center. But Kistner bore down and got Gorman to bounce back to the circle, where the pitcher caused a second of panic when she went to third rather than first, but she got the force to escape the jam.

It was the only time in the game that KP managed to get a runner into scoring position.

“Today may have been her best day,” said Lewry of Kistner. “She was hitting her locations, she had all her pitches working. She’d been struggling with the drop but today it was working real good.”

Magane, the reigning HockomockSports.com Player of the Year, was just as good on Wednesday. She struck out six batters, allowed only two hits and one earned run over six innings. Between a lead-off walk in the second and a double by Wade in the sixth, Magane retired 11 straight Tigers.

KP coach Norm Beauchemin said, “Kali pitched a great game. When you have a two-hitter and the second hit is in the sixth inning…what can you say? You can’t say anything bad about her.”

He added, “If you don’t score then you don’t win, plain and simple. Their pitcher kept us off-balance. We haven’t struck out hardly at all this year and…she had a good game, very good game…We outhit them but they got the hit when it counted.”

The Warriors also flashed the leather to keep Taunton off the board after the first. Magane made a sliding grab on a Bailey Clapp bloop down the third base line and two batters later Wade hit a sinking liner that Ashley Hession was able to snag on the edge of the outfield grass.

In the top of the seventh, Kistner got Elise Pereira to ground to Wade at short and Hession to fly to Kya Enos in center. With two down, she fired a rise ball that got Magane to swing to end the game and send the bench charging out to greet the pitcher as she left the field.

“You saw the rise ball today; she got four or five strikeouts on the rise and that’s something she really put a lot of work on over the winter,” said Lewry of Kistner’s improvement from last year to this season. “That kid works hard all the time and she’s going to give you everything she’s got.”

The Tigers had been looking to prove themselves against another top team and they were able to succeed against their biggest league rival. Kistner is already looking forward to the next meeting on May 18.

She said, “I know that KP is always a big game so to jump ahead of them…just adds fuel to the fire for next time.”

Taunton has now outscored teams 111-1 through nine games, but Kistner is not going overboard with so many challenges still facing the Tigers.

“We’re definitely very confident,” she explained, “but we’re not overconfident because then we don’t play up to the competition.”

The Tigers will face another division challenge on Friday against Mansfield. KP is in a stretch of three games in three days and will face Franklin on Thursday before hosting defending state champion St. Peter Marian on Friday.

Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.