06/09/2016

Attleboro Shutout in Semifinal By Top Seeded Lakers

Attleboro's Nate Tellier struck out nine and allowed just two hits in the Bombardiers' loss. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com) — Attleboro’s Nate Tellier struck out nine and allowed just two hits in the Bombardiers’ loss. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

BRAINTREE, Mass. – Heading into the D1 South Semifinal, the Attleboro Blue Bombardiers knew that would have to play nearly flawless if they wanted to upset top-seeded Silver Lake and Gatorade Player of the Year, pitching Anthony Videtto.

Unfortunately, Attleboro had things go wrong at inopportune times and the Bombardiers suffered a 3-0 loss to Videtto and the Lakers in the D1 South Semifinal.

Silver Lake scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings while Attleboro was unable to get a base runner past second base.

“We couldn’t generate a couple hits in a row and then we had some base running mistakes that we don’t normally make and couple errors,” Attleboro head coach Matt Bosh said. “You can’t do that against that against good teams. Unfortunately, the three kids that scored for them, all got on by walks. So with the errors, the base running mistakes, against a good team like that, that’s going to burn you.”

Nate Tellier was strong on the mound in a six-inning complete game effort, tossing a two-hitter with nine strikeouts. But Silver Lake was patient, drawing six walks – three of which led to runs.

Attleboro’s Tyler Stowe roped a one-out single in the top of the first inning but Videtto came back, getting a strike out looking and Lakers’ catcher Greg Wozniak fired to second for the double play.

A lead off walk from Will Gallagher to open the bottom of the first quickly turned into a scoring opportunity for Silver Lake when he stole second. Dan Collins ripped an 0-2 pitch into right field, bringing Gallagher in for a 1-0 lead.

The Bombardiers were unable to capitalize on a lead off walk in the top of the second, grounding in a 5-4-3 double play. And then Videtto worked around a two-out single in the third.

Videtto drew a lead off walk in the bottom of the third and quickly got into scoring position by stealing second. The senior then took off for third and the throw from home skipped into third. Videtto sprinted in for the Lakers’ second run as the throw from left sailed high.

Attleboro had a base runner in every single inning, including Will Carter reaching second on a one out error in the fourth. But Videtto locked in with a strikeout and a routine grounder to short to get out of the inning. Stowe collected his second hit of the game to lead off the sixth but a line out to center turned into a double play with the throw to first for the out.

Silver Lake added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Back to back walks to Gallagher and Videtto preceded an infield hit from Collins to load the bases with no outs. After Tellier induced a pop up in foul play to first, Lakers head coach Kenny Tocci elected for a squeeze play. Jack Ruprecht placed a perfectly hit bunt for a ground out RBI, right between Tellier and third baseman Robbie Araujo, allowing Gallagher to scamper in.

“I don’t know if he felt 100%,” Bosh said of Tellier. Tellier had pitched back to back extra inning games, the most recent a week ago. Videtto had yet to pitch in the postseason. “He didn’t have his normal velocity and control. I think he was really trying to get a lot of turn in his body to make up for the velocity. He changed his mechanics a little but that kid battles. He wasn’t 100% but he went out and threw a two-hitter against the top seed, so hats off, hats off to all the kids.”

“You’ve gotta get the runs when you can, [Tellier’s] an excellent pitcher,” Tocci said. “We knew that coming in. He had something like 65 strikeouts in 35 innings [in the regular season]. We knew we would have to do some unconventional things to get runs across, we stole third when he wasn’t looking and the squeeze. You have to push runners across when you can.”

Tellier struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth, all looking, and gave the Bombardiers the momentum heading into the top of the seventh, and they nearly capitalized.

Araujo’s grounder got through at second base for a one out hit. Pinch hitter Nolan Kane took four straight balls to put two on and bring the tying run to the plate. Videtto got a strikeout for the second out, bringing Attleboro second baseman Cam Hochwarter to the plate. Hochwarter connected on a 1-2 pitch, launching the hardest hit ball of the day to left center field but Silver Lake’s Aidan O’Neil made the running catch just mere feet from the fence for the final out.

“We battled all year,” beamed Bosh. “We were 7-9 and we finished off 13-10, so there’s absolutely nothing to hang your head about.”

Attleboro finishes the season 13-10 overall, winning seven of their last nine games.

Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.

06/06/2016

Kane, Attleboro Walk-off Into D1 South Semifinal

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Despite struggling to generate offense for the majority of the game, Attleboro delivered in two key moments to capture a 2-1 win in walk-off fashion over Brookline in the D1 South quarterfinal on Monday.

After surrendering the game’s first run to the Warriors in the top of the fourth, the Bombardiers answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, senior Nolan Kane was called upon as a pinch hitter and drove a ball to deep center field that sailed over the defense and allowed the winning run to score from third.

“We’ve been an opportunistic offense all year,” Attleboro coach Matt Bosh said. “The kids keep battling. We have 11 seniors who are playing their hearts out and don’t want to play their last game. We just keep fighting and we keep playing.”

Attleboro sophomore designated hitter Dakota Kirby led off the seventh inning with a double to right center field. Third baseman Robbie Araujo then grounded back to the pitcher, moving Kirby to third on the fielder’s choice. Kane then pinch hit, and after fouling off a number of pitches, delivered the game-winning hit.

“He tears the cover off the ball in practice, so I gave him a shot,” Bosh said. “Nobody else was having any success today. Top of the lineup, bottom of the lineup, nobody else was doing anything. He has hit the ball well in practice all year, give him a shot, he’s a senior. There’s nothing to lose, like I said, nobody else is doing anything.”

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Jon Dunn reached on an error for Attleboro’s first base runner of the game off of Brookline freshman pitcher Josh Richardson. With Tyler Stowe at the plate, Dunn faked as if he was going to steal, forcing the second baseman to cover the bag and allowing Stowe’s grounder to the right side to sneak through for a single. Nate Tellier then lined a single up the middle, scoring Dunn from second and tying the game.

Attleboro junior pitcher Tyler McGovern went the distance for the win, allowing just one run on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Three singles in the fourth inning accounted for the only Brookline run, with Mitchell Schroeder driving in Reo Shimbori. A second runner attempted to score on the play, but Attleboro catcher Will Carter applied a tag at the plate to keep it a one run deficit.

“They’re a tough team,” Bosh said. “They played well defensively and they had scrappy little hitters up there. They had a ton of chances and Tyler buckled down when he had to and got the outs.”

Richardson retired the first nine batters he faced in the game and missed the zone with only three pitches in doing so. After Attleboro’s run in the fourth, he again set down nine of the next ten Bombardiers before the walk-off hit in the seventh inning. While only striking out two, Richardson allowed just five hits and one earned run, and his command of the strike zone early in the game led to his success.

“He’s good,” Bosh said. “That sidearm delivery, he was pounding that outside corner first pitch all day and we just couldn’t solve him.”

After two one-run wins to begin the D1 South Sectional tournament, Attleboro baseball will now face #1 Silver Lake in the semifinal round on a date and time to be announced as of publishing. Attleboro’s schedule will be updated as soon as a date, time and location are announced.

06/06/2016

Monday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 06/06/16

Today’s playoff games are listed below.

Baseball
D1 South
#12 Attleboro, 2 vs. #13 Brookline, 1 – Final – Attleboro senior Nolan Kane had a pinch hit walk off single to give the Bombardiers the win.

D2 South
#14 Canton, 0 @ #11 Sandwich, 3 – Final

Softball
D1 South
#7 King Philip, 3 @ #2 Taunton, 0 – Final

#8 Milford, 0 @ #1 Silver Lake, 5 – Final

Boys Tennis
D1 South
#4 Franklin, 0 vs. #5 Wellesley, 5 – Final
#6 North Attleboro, 0 @ #3 Brookline, 5 – Final

D2 South
#1 Sharon, 5 vs. #9 Medfield, 0 – Final – Sharon won four of its five matches in straight sets to advance to the D2 South Semifinal. Junior Griffin Fein won 6-2, 6-4 at first singles, sophomore Fred Bondar won 6-2, 6-0 at second singles and senior Han Cui won 7-5, 6-0 at third singles. Senior Adam Dobbin and junior Alex Romantz scored a strong 6-2, 6-0 win at first doubles while Tilak Mehta and Danujan Thirumavalavan battled back to win 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 at second doubles.

#13 Canton, 1 @ #12 Westwood, 4 = Final

Girls Tennis
D1 South
#2 Sharon, 4 vs. #7 Framingham, 1 – Final – Sharon girls won a pair of singles matches and both doubles to advance to the D1 South Semifinal, awaiting the winner of #3 North Attleboro and #11 King Philip. Freshman Nupur Shulka won 6-0, 6-3 at second singles and sophomore Emily Wen won 6-1, 6-1 at third singles. Pooja Puttigampala and Michal Kondratiev won 6-2, 6-2 at first doubles and Katie Merport and Rithica Neti sealed the win with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at second doubles.

#11 King Philip, 4 @ #6 Plymouth South, 1 – Final

D2 South
#4 Foxboro, 4 vs. #5 Hingham, 1 – Final

05/24/2016

Attleboro Beats North Thanks to Tellier No Hitter

Attleboro baseball — Attleboro senior Nate Tellier tossed an eight-inning no hitter against North Attleboro, striking out 16 hitters in the process. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Going into its final three games of the season, Attleboro needed two wins to clinch a spot in the state tournament. On Monday night, under the lights at Community Field, the Bombardiers threw their ace, senior Nate Tellier, against North Attleboro in the annual Blue and Red Cup game.

Attleboro needed a solid start from its top pitcher. Tellier went way beyond solid; he gave the Bombardiers historic.

The UMass Dartmouth-commit tossed a no hitter against the Rocketeers, striking out 16 over eight innings, including a stretch beginning in the second inning in which he fanned 11 of 12 batters that he faced. With a dominating fastball and a curve that he could throw for strikes, Tellier limited North to four base runners: lead-off walks in the first and second, a fielder’s choice in the first, and an error on a bunt in the sixth.

North Attleboro coach Paul Tobin summed it up succinctly, “That’s the best pitching performance I’ve seen in seven years of coaching in the Hockomock League…Tellier was untouchable.”

Tellier’s effort was matched almost pitch by pitch by North starter Andy Katch, who threw seven shutout innings of his own before allowing an eighth inning rally that would produce the winning runs for the Bombardiers, as Attleboro claimed the cup with a 2-0 extra innings victory.

“It was a shame someone had to lose that game,” said Attleboro coach Matt Bosh, praising Katch for the way he kept the Bombardiers off-balance. “It was just a great pitcher’s duel.”

North had its best chance in the bottom of the sixth. Tobin called for a bunt from nine-hitter Zach Rofno and he placed it down the third base line. If Tellier’s throw had been on line it would have been an out, so it went down as an error on the pitcher.

Rofno stole second and moved to third with two outs on a grounder, but he was stranded when Tellier got Zach DeMattio to bounce back to the mound.

Tobin said, “If we could have gotten that one hit I felt really good that he was going to shut them out in the seventh. We just couldn’t get that two-out hit, which has been a pattern for us.”

Will Carter lined a two-out double to left center, bouncing it into the stands that line the warning track, but Katch got Robbie Araujo to ground out to end the inning. In the bottom half, Tellier made quick work of the Rocketeers with two strikeouts and a grounder to first.

The game was scoreless into the eighth, but finally Attleboro got something going. Pinch hitter Nolan Kane worked a lead-off walk and after Katch struck out Brent Cook, No. 9 hitter Cam Hochwarter smashed a ground-rule double to left to put two in scoring position.

Bosh joked, “[Cam’s] been using a 33-inch bat for two years. Yesterday at practice, out of nowhere, he used a 32 and he’s hitting lasers…and I was like why didn’t you think of that sooner?”

Jon Dunn followed with a clutch single to left that scored both runners. An error and hit by Tellier would load the bases but John O’Donnell came in to relieve Katch and got a line drive and a fly ball to center that Kyle McCarthy made an excellent play on despite barely being able to see it in the limited Community Field lighting.

Tellier did not need any more than two runs. He got a comebacker for the first out and then, facing a pair of pinch hitters, he overwhelmed the final two batters with his fastball that during the game the North coaches labeled the fastest they have seen this year.

“To me he’s the best player in the league all-around,” said Bosh about Tellier. “He’s had his fastball working all year; he had his deuce working and he kept his pitch count down…He was just lights out tonight. He was awesome.”

In his last outing he threw 136 pitches and Tellier admitted that his arm was still sore from that last start. He took some Advil on Monday morning and that seemed to help a little. Then he went and threw the best game of his career.

“It helped that I was getting ahead of batters and not getting deep into counts,” said Tellier. “That really drove my pitch count down.”

When asked if there was any consideration of him being done after the seventh, Tellier insisted, “No question, I was going. There was no way I was not finishing this game.”

In the midst of the pitcher’s duel and the drama of the scoreless game, many people were unaware that Tellier was working on a no hitter as the final inning began (this reporter included). In fact it was not until he was about to take the mound for the eighth inning that Tellier even became aware of what he was working on.

“I was just focused on getting outs up until the eighth inning and then when it came around I was like wait,” he said with smile, still soaked from the water his teammates dumped on him in the postgame celebration.

Tobin was proud of the way his team competed on Monday with nothing more to play for than the trophy and a chance to beat its rival. He praised Katch for giving his all and felt bad that the senior could not have been rewarded for his great start.

“I thought Andy Katch pitched a tremendous game,” he said. “Seven shutout innings, what more can you ask of a kid? Any other game and that’s a win and it’s heartbreaking for Andy to not get the win with that kind of effort.”

Attleboro rode a historic start to a win on Monday and will go into its final two games needing one more win to clinch a postseason berth.

Bosh said, “These are games all year that we’ve lost where it’s close late and there’s a bad break or an error or a base hit…That’s the kind of win we haven’t gotten all year.

“Things seem to be coming together and hopefully we can get tomorrow out of the way, so we don’t have all that pressure for Wednesday.”

Attleboro (9-9, 8-7) will travel to Frothingham Park on Tuesday to face Oliver Ames. North Attleboro (6-12, 5-10) will face Foxboro.

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

05/10/2016

Tuesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 05/10/16

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Attleboro, 7 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Attleboro pitcher Nolan Kane was stellar on the mound, scattering four hits throughout while striking out eight in a complete game effort. Nate Tellier paced the offense with three hits – two for doubles – along with two RBI, two runs and a pair of stolen bases. James Weir continued his strong week with a 3-4 performance and a double, an RBI and a run scored for the Bombardiers.

Softball
Canton, 9 @ Attleboro, 10 – Final

Milford, 0 @ King Philip, 12 – Final (6 inn.)

Sharon, 3 @ Taunton, 7 – Final – Courtney Fisher earned her fifth win of the season for Taunton, striking out seven while allowing four hits and just one earned run.

Girls Lacrosse
North Attleboro vs. Bishop Feehan, 3:30

Boys Tennis
Attleboro, 0 @ Canton, 5 – Final
King Philip, 5 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final
Mansfield @ Oliver Ames, 3:30
Milford, 0 @ Medway, 5 – Final
Sharon, 5 @ Bishop Feehan, 0 – Final
Taunton, 3 @ Coyle & Cassidy, 2 – Final

Girls Tennis
Canton, 5 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final – It was a clean sweep for the Bulldogs against the Bombardiers. Carly Scanlon won 7-5, 6-0 at first singles, Skyler Jabbour swept 6-0, 6-0 at second singles and Jude Aboukhater won 6-4, 6-3 at third singles. Tiffany Ha and Sarah MacQuarrie got their second win in as many days at first doubles, winning 6-1, 6-0 and Talya Mayman and Julia Burkowsky won 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 at second doubles for Canton.

Stoughton @ King Philip, 3:30

Oliver Ames, 1 @ Mansfield, 4 – Final – The Hornets bounced back from a close loss to KP on Monday to pick up a win at home. Mansfield swept singles play with Paulina Martin winning 6-0, 6-1 at first singles, Kathleen Giffels winning 6-0, 6-1 at second singles and Sarah Doyle winning 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. Mansfield’s first doubles team of Cathryn Heavey and Chloe Peters won 6-2, 6-2. Oliver Ames’ second doubles team of Claudia Ferrara and Rachel Stryke on 6-2, 6-3.

Milford, 4 vs. Medway, 1 – Final

Sharon, 5 @ Taunton, 0 – Final

Boys Outdoor Track
Attleboro @ Taunton 3:45
Foxboro @ Canton 3:45
Franklin @ North Attleboro 3:45
Mansfield @ King Philip 5:00
Milford, 72 @ Sharon, 64 – Final

Oliver Ames, 70 @ Stoughton, 60 – Final – Oliver Ames’ Troy Kent had a pair of first place finishes to help guide the Tigers to their third win in. Kent finished first in the 1 Mile and teamed with Christos Pedone, Jack Galas and Nick Barber to win the 4x400M relay. Other first places for OA included Nick Zeoli (400M hurdles), Belmundo Rodrigues (400M), Jarod Boone (2 Mile) and Connor Naughton (javelin).

Girls Outdoor Track
Attleboro, 31 @ Taunton, 104 – Final
Foxboro @ Canton 3:45
Franklin @ North Attleboro 3:45
Mansfield, 78 @ King Philip, 58 – Final
Milford, 67 @ Sharon, 69 – Final
Oliver Ames, 88 @ Stoughton, 48 – Final

04/27/2016

Wednesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 04/27/16

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
Mansfield, 1 @ Attleboro, 5 – Final – Attleboro starting pitching Nolan Kane was superb in six innings of work, allowing just one unearned run. Kane struck out four and allowed just three hits to get the win. At the plate, Dakota Kirby was 3-3 with a big two RBI double in the sixth inning and Nate Tellier had a pair of hits, scored one run and had a stolen base. Attleboro head coach Matt Bosh noted that Brandon Galvao played excellent defense at first base. Matt Callahan came in and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for the Bombardiers.

Canton, 2 @ Stoughton, 13 – Final – Ryan Sullivan did it all for the Black Knights, picking up the win on the mound and helping his cause at the plate. Sullivan tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a pair of walks while striking out four. At the plate, he scored three runs and knocked in a pair of runs. Luke Johnson led Stoughton’s offense, hitting a triple with the bases loaded and finished with another triple a run scored and five RBI. Jake Gibb went 2-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, Doug Seaman scored two runs, Justin Hutchinson drove in a pair of runs and Nick Quattrucci also had a triple.

Sharon, 4 @ Foxboro, 8 – Final – Darren Kelly and Jesse Galanti each reached base three times and came around to score three runs each to pace Foxboro’s offense. Nick Wright and Steve Couroupacis combined on the mound for seven strikeouts.

Franklin, 6 @ North Attleboro, 2 – Final – Franklin used a four run seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and secure the win. With the bases loaded and two outs, Franklin sophomore Jake Noviello’s fly ball fell in the infield for a pair of runs and Mike Skaza followed with a two run single to create the separation. North Attleboro took a 1-0 lead in the first inning behind an RBI single from Ridge Olsen, scoring Kyle McCarthy (single). The Panthers tied it up in the top of the third when Ryan Hodgkins singled, stole second and was sacrificed to third. He scored on a sacrifice fly from Nick Santucci. Franklin took the lead in the top of the fifth when Tyler Gomes singled in Hodgkins (triple). The Rocketeers quickly tied things up in the bottom of the inning behind a home run from sophomore Zach DeMattio. Hodgkins finished 2-4 with a pair of runs, Jake Lyons was 2/2 with a run and Santucci finished with three walks, a run and an RBI. Jake Noviello went six innings, striking out a pair while allowing two runs on four hits. Jason Ulrickson closed the game out for Franklin. North Attleboro’s Andy Katch was stellar in 6.2 innings of work, striking out three.

Taunton, 3 @ King Philip, 4 – Final

Milford, 10 @ Oliver Ames, 11 – Final (12 inn.) – In a back and forth affair, Oliver Ames was able to prevail in the 12th inning. Sophomore Mitch Goulet led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second and the Tigers walked off on an RBI single from sophomore Matt Muir. Muir and senior Chris Romero each had three hits for the Tigers.

Softball
Attleboro, 4 @ Mansfield, 6 – Final – Mansfield’s Rachel Carafa went 2-3 with an RBI, Maddie Letendre had two hits, Megan Letendre had an RBI and Kara Bendanillo and Jocelyn Reardon each had a hit for the Hornets. Maddie Letendre allowed just three hits while striking out nine for the win.

Stoughton, 3 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Gina Carafa pitched well for the Black Knights, giving up one run on five hits and striking out eight for the win. Offensively, Stoughton was led by Jordan Lyons, Jenni D’Andrea and Nicole Bodette, who got a pair of hits each. Bri Ferrandiz (RBI), Gina Carafa and Sam Tullis also got hits in the win for the Black Knights.

Foxboro, 5 @ Sharon, 8 – Final – Sharon junior Clara Cook threw a complete game, collecting 11 strikeouts and allowing eight hits. Offensively, Cook was 2-4 with a first inning RBI triple and a sixth inning RBI single. Senior catcher Rachel Usen and freshman Rebecca Clayman were also also 2-4, each recording a pair of singles. Sharon head coach Deb Parker said freshman Jody Goldenberg played an outstanding game in right field.

Franklin, 9 @ North Attleboro, 1 – Final – Maddie Connelly and Alexx Niss each knocked in three runs as Franklin picked up a big win over division rival North Attleboro. Connelly went 4-5 with three RBI while Niss had a three-run home run along with three walks. Olivia DiGiacomo added a two RBI double, Clara DeCarvalho had three hits and Olivia Haba had three hits and an RBI. Caroline D’Aprile picked up the win, going five innings with five strikeouts. Emily Sawyer pitched the final two innings for the Panthers.

King Philip, 0 @ Taunton, 2 – Final

Oliver Ames, 4 @ Milford, 10 – Final – It was another perfect day at the plate for sophomore Emily Piergustavo, going 3-3 with a double and an RBI. Shannon Cormier went 2-2 with a pair of RBI and Maggie Farrell knocked in a pair and had a triple. Maddy Bonvino was 2/3 with a double and Jess Tomaso was 1/2 with a sacrifice fly. Ali Atherton tossed a complete game, striking out eight. Oliver Ames’ Rachel Han was 3-4 with a pair of singles, a double and two RBI. Victoria Ziner was 2-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored and Lexie Campbell (1-3, two runs scored) and Jamie Gottwald also scored for the Tigers on Han’s double.

Boys Lacrosse
Attleboro, 2 @ King Philip, 14 – Final – Ten different players found the back of the net for King Philip, who built a big lead and never let it go. Freshman Collin DeVellis led the Warriors with a hat trick and one assist while juniors John DeLuca and Ben Palmer each netted a pair of goals and had one assist. Freshman Robbie Tartaglia scored his first career goal in the win.

Canton, 8 @ North Attleboro, 7 – Final (2OT) – Ben O’Neill scored a team-high five goals, including the game-winner in the second overtime to give the Bulldogs a big league win. The Bulldogs trailed 6-4 at halftime but were able to limit Big Red to just one goal in the second half and overtime periods. Canton goalie Chris Albert was a big reason for that with 19 saves. Joe Mulkay, Dan Dillon and Mike Shaw each scored once and Shaun Kirby finished with three assists for Canton.

Milford, 1 @ Foxboro, 25 – Final – Louis Piccolo was in the giving mood on Wednesday, recording a career-high 10 assists in the Warriors’ big win. Piccolo also scored twice while Andrew Whalen scored four goals and had one assist, Trey Guerrini scored four goals and had two assists, Colby Nickerson notched a hat trick and Brian Buckner had one goal and one assist.

Mansfield, 7 @ Franklin, 15 – Final – The Panthers built a six goal lead by halftime and stretched the margin to double figures (16-5) by the start of the fourth quarter. Austin Kent led Franklin with eight points, scoring five goals and adding three assists while sophomore Eric Civetti scored six goals and had one assist. Sam Arsenault added a hat trick in the for Franklin. Freshman Jacob Alexander continued his dominance at the X, winning 23/28 faceoffs. Franklin head coach Lou Verrochi touted the play of his defense in front of sophomore goalie Connor O’Rourke (six saves).

Sharon, 13 @ Oliver Ames, 6 – Final

Girls Lacrosse
Attleboro, 3 @ King Philip, 13 – Final

North Attleboro, 16 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Mackenzie Rosenberg led North Attleboro’s offense with five goals while senior goalie Brooke Ebert played strong with 20 saves in net.

Foxboro, 19 @ Milford, 2 – Final

Franklin, 18 @ Mansfield, 8 – Final – Julia Jette paced Franklin’s offense with four goals and one assist while Caroline Lounsbury and Annie Walsh each found the back of the net three times in the Panthers’ win.

Oliver Ames, 11 @ Sharon, 8 – Final

Boys Tennis
Mansfield, 4 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final – The Hornets swept singles play and won at first doubles to get the divisional win. Benny Lin picked up a 6-0, 6-3 win at first singles, freshman Luke Nickerson won 6-1, 7-5 at second singles and Gus Daganhardt won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. Mansfield’s final point came from Danny Radev and Sam Cavicchi with a 6-1, 7-5 win at first doubles. Attleboro’s Khaled Hantash and Ahijah Joseph won 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 at second doubles.

Canton, 5 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final

Sharon, 5 @ Foxboro, 0 – Final – The Eagles won each match in straight sets in a big divisional test against the Warriors. Junior Griffin Fein won at first singles, sophomore Fred Bondar won 6-0, 6-2 at second singles and senior Han Cui took a 6-1, 6-0 win at third singles. Junior Alex Romantz and senior Adam Dobbin teamed for a 6-2, 6-0 win at first doubles and Tilak Mehta and Dahujan Thiru won 6-0, 6-0 at second doubles for Sharon.

North Attleboro, 0 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Franklin won three matches in straight sets and had to battle through to others to get the sweep. Junior Eli Brooks won 6-4, 6-2 at second singles and freshman Dan Barrow picked up a 7-5, 6-3 decision at third singles. James Johnston and Tom Mancini won 6-2, 6-1 at first doubles for Franklin. Junior Rahul Herur had to battle back after dropping the first set to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at first singles. The team of Cam Piana and Jeremy Gan had to the same to get a 6-7, 6-0, 1-0 (10-8) win at second doubles for the Panthers.

Taunton, 0 @ King Philip, 5 – Final – King Philip handled business against the visiting Tigers, taking all five matches in straight sets. Cole Ginter won 6-0, 6-2 at first singles, Garrett Schneider won 6-3, 6-0 at second doubles and Blake Ginter won 6-1, 6-1 at third singles. KP’s Sam Colella and Ryan Gemelli won 6-2, 6-2 at first doubles and Justin Rohan and Jake Webster paired for a 6-0, 6-1 victory at second doubles.

Milford, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 3 – Final

Girls Tennis
Attleboro, 0 @ Mansfield, 5 – Final – The Hornets picked up the win in dominating fashion on Wednesday. Paulina Martin won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles and Kathleen Giffels won by the same score at second singles. Sophomore Sarah Doyle won 6-2, 6-0 at third singles. Mansfield senior Cathryn Heavey and junior Chloe Peters won 6-0, 6-0 and freshmen Tessa Garufi and Elizabeth Elsner won 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) at second doubles.

Stoughton, 1 @ Canton, 4 – Final – Canton swept through singles play and added a fourth win via first doubles against rival Stoughton. Carly Scanlon won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles, Skyler Jabbour won by the same score at second singles and Jude Aboukhater won 6-1, 6-0 at third singles. The Bulldogs wrapped up the win behind a 6-2, 6-1 victory from Tiffany Ha and Sarah MacQuarrie at first doubles. Stoughton’s Becca Lawson and Alyssa McGillicuddy battled back for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at second doubles.

Foxboro, 2 @ Sharon, 3 – Final – Sharon freshman Nupur Shulka won a three set thriller to clinch the match for the Eagles. Shulka dropped the first set but battled back for a 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 win to hand Sharon the win. The Eagles swept doubles play to help clinch the win. Pooja Puttigampala and Katie Merport won 6-0, 6-0 at first doubles and Michelle Cao and Rithica Neti won 6-1, 6-1 at second doubles. Foxboro’s Diana Prinos won 6-1, 6-1 at first singles and Sophia Prinos won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles.

Franklin, 0 @ North Attleboro, 5 – Final – The Rocketeers continued their undefeated start to the season with a sweep of visiting Franklin. Julia Mark picked up a 6-2, 6-3 win at first singles, Jordan Willis won 6-1, 6-1 at second singles and Allie Grinavic won 6-0, 6-2 at third singles. The Rocketeers continued to win in doubles play with Jhanavi Kapadia and Emily Chiasson winning 6-0, 6-1 at first doubles and Gabby Duva and Azka Siddiq winning 6-2, 6-2 at second doubles.

King Philip, 3 @ Taunton, 2 – Final

Oliver Ames, 4 @ Milford, 1 – Final – Oliver Ames swept singles play and notched a win at second doubles to secure the win on the road. Riley Spillane used strong net play to pick up a 6-3, 6-1 win at first singles, Jackie Sulkala’s strong serves aided a 6-1, 6-1 at second singles and freshman Sarah Leger was resilient in a 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-4 win at third singles. OA’s Rachel Stryke and Olivia Groebe won 6-2, 6-4 at second doubles. Milford’s Julie Rabinowitcz and Megan Cafarella won 6-4, 6-3 at first doubles for the Scarlet Hawks.

Boys Outdoor Track
King Philip, 62 @ Attleboro, 74 – Final

Girls Outdoor Track
King Philip, 99 @ Attleboro, 36 – Final

Boys Volleyball
Milford, 3 @ Marlboro, 1 – Final

04/09/2016

Attleboro Bats Off to Cold Start at Feehan

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Attleboro baseball team traveled a couple of minutes across town to Beach Field to face rival Bishop Feehan on Saturday afternoon. Weather had forced a delay to the start of the season for the Bombardiers and had severely limited their ability to get outside and practice.

On Saturday, Attleboro looked like a team that was seeing its first action of the spring, especially at the plate where the Bombardiers were limited to only four hits by a pair of Shamrocks pitchers, and fell 5-1.

Junior Matt Callahan made the first start of his varsity career, giving up three runs on five hits over four innings of work. Although Callahan took the loss, Attleboro coach Matt Bosh pointed to the lack of offensive punch as the main reason for falling to 0-1 on the season.

“He did alright,” said Bosh of Callahan. “We just didn’t hit the ball…and we threw the ball around a little bit, more than we should have.”

He added, “Give them credit. Their pitchers pitched well, hit spots and we just didn’t put the ball in play enough.”

Attleboro had a chance in its opening at bat to get on the board. Cam Hochwarter led off with a single to left but with one out was forced out on a grounder by Nate Tellier, who took second on a balk. Patrick Collins followed with a walk but Nolan Kane grounded out to short to end the threat.

Jon Dunn reached on an error in the top of the second but was caught stealing third on a missed bunt attempt and would be the last baserunner for the Bombardiers until the fifth inning. Feehan starter Zack Newman settled down and struck out four over 4-1/3 innings.

“We just didn’t put the ball in play enough,” said Bosh. “We didn’t force mistakes by them, not enough contact.”

Meanwhile, Callahan got off to a great start. He needed only 11 pitches to get through a perfect first and 11 more in the second in which he allowed just a two out single.

In the third, Feehan took the lead. After Callahan got the first two hitters to ground out, he hit lead-off batter Matt Everton in the foot. Jake Bamford followed with a single to right moving Everton over to third and then Jason Medeiros drilled a pitch into the gap in left center plating both runners.

The Shamrocks added another run in the fourth when Reid Spears, who had singled with one out, raced home from third on a wild pitch.

Attleboro finally got something going in the top of the fifth. Dunn singled to center, his second time reaching base in as many plate appearances. John Burns followed with a single and Dunn took third. Brandon Galvao would plate the Bombardiers lone run with a fielder’s choice to short and advanced to second when the ball was thrown away.

Newman walked pinch hitter Dylan Maskell to put two on with one out. Pat Cashin came in from shortstop to take over on the mound and he promptly induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play from Hochwarter to get out of the jam.

Feehan plated another run off of Maskell in the bottom of the inning, but Attleboro came right back and had the first two on to start the sixth on a double by Will Carter and a walk to Nate Tellier. Again, Cashin made his pitches and Nolan Kane bounced into a double play to end the inning.

The Shamrocks wrapped up the scoring in the bottom half. Bamford drove in Jake Bernhardt with a single off Dylan Prout. The ball died in the lengthy grass, allowing Bernhardt to score from second without a throw.

“I’m sure they didn’t have a chance to cut all week because of the snow and the rain,” said Bosh about the grass at Beach Field. “Usually, it’s sort of a fast track but today everybody was coming in full sprint on ground balls.”

Burns got his second hit of the game with one out in the seventh, but Cashin got a grounder and then caught Prout looking on a breaking ball to end the game.

“We had three scrimmages last week but we haven’t seen live pitching since Thursday of last week, so we’re going on 10 days,” Bosh explained. “Hopefully that’s going to come. We’ve got three games next week…we’ll be alright. I’m not worried.”

Attleboro will not have much time to dwell on it, as the Bombardier will be back on the diamond on Monday against Milford. Bosh is confident that his team will get the bats going.

“The Hock is loaded this year…every game is going to be a battle,” he said. “We’ve got Milford on Monday and they’re going to be good, so we’ll be right back at it.”

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