RallyNorth.net: High School Sports - North Shore and Cape Ann

The Ipswich High softball team still has to prove itself in the state tournament. But for the regular season, coach Doug Woodworth’s Tigers forced a changing of the guard in the Cape Ann League.
Cape Ann League teams North Andover and North Reading were state powerhouses last year, and Amesbury wasn’t far behind. North Reading beat Turners Falls, 7-0, to win the Division 3 state title and North Andover made it to the state final in Division 2 before losing to Hudson. Meanwhile, Amesbury went 17-3 and reached the Division 2 North quarterfinals.
The CAL power structure wasn’t supposed to change this season, but Ipswich went on a rampage and is 14-1 heading into Saturday night’s home game against Beverly.
The Tigers knocked off North Reading for the first time in 13 years and beat Amesbury for just the second time in 20 years. Ipswich’s lone loss came against North Andover, and the Scarlet Knights (10-4 overall) haven’t been able to keep pace with Ipswich’s consistency.
Ipswich is already guaranteed to have the best record in the league. The Tigers have been getting tremendous pitching from junior Kerry Desmond (13-1, 1.03 ERA) and junior second baseman Krista MacKenzie (.642 average with 13 stolen bases) has been a spectacular leader on offense.
Of course, Woodworth won’t get too excited about this. He wants his team to meet the challenge in the postseason. But there’s no denying that Ipswich has been a great story all season.

Share This

Outstanding relief pitching by Justin Williams gave Salem a 7-6 win over Peabody yesterday afternoon at the beautiful Salem State baseball field.

Salem is now tied with Peabody atop the Northeastern Conference Large standings with identical 9-4 records.

Normally in the Witches’ starting rotation, Williams helps out in relief when his team needs him. That was the case yesterday against the Tanners as starter Colby Boulay tired after 4 2/3 innins.

“Colby only pitched five innings all year before today because of a sore back,” said coach Mike Ward. “We had been counting on him to play a big role on the mound, so it’s a great boost to have him back. We need some quality performances from him with the tournament coming up. But Justin did a great job in relief (no runs, one hit, no walks, three strikeouts).”

Peabody loves to play small ball to get runs across, but Williams kept the Tanners off the basepaths and set the side down in order in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts.

“I just threw smoke – fastballs mostly and an occasional changeup,” said the hard-throwing senior.

“Peabody is a good team with a lot of big hitters. I just tried to keep them off balance. I really like to start instead of coming on in relief, but if that’s what the team needs I’m glad to help out.”

Junior T. J. Larivee, Salem’s power hitting catcher, hit a ball 390 feet that Tanner centerfielder Pat Yeo tracked down and caught right at the fence to end the sixth. Earlier Larivee had a long single to right, one of eight hits for the winners.

Share This

Peabody High boys basketball coach Chris Mastrangelo stepped down yesterday citing family reasons. He also recently took on a more time-consuming job at the high school last year.

Potential replacements are already surfacing. Some logical applicants would be former Tanner and Bucknell University great Kevin Bettencourt, who spent a year as Mastrangelo’s assistant before becoming an assistant at Salem State last year.

Last year’s JV coach Thad Broughton, a Peabody native who scored 2,000 points at St. Mary’s of Lynn and is reportedly an applicant for the vacant Danvers High job, is itching to become a head coach. He has earned high praise in a short time as a sub-varsity coach.

Other names to consider are former Bishop Fenwick and St. Mary’s coach Mike O’Brien , current Lynn English assistant Jim Silvio, and Fenwick JV coach John Dullea, a former Peabody High standout.

Share This

There are six players on the St. John’s Prep baseball who hopefully learned a lesson when they violated a still unknown school rule and were suspended for five games each.

Oddly enough, the skinny on the Prep is that the Johnnies annually play their best baseball in the postseason.

They’re currenly 9-6 and on the threshold of qualifying for the tournament.

The six who were suspended as a result of a party not far from the Prep campus are breathing easier as a result of the apparent opportunity to play in the tournament. Ten wins are the necessary standard .

It wasn’t that long ago the Prep was at six. They then beat Xaverian, St. Peter-Marian on a steal of home and crushed Malden Catholic, 16-0, to approach the magic number.

What would have been asked if the Prep didn’t make the tourney grade for the first time since 1995?
That’s 13 years!

“What happened to the Prep? Ask the six individuals who showed no respect for their school, coach and teammates,” the reply will be with school violations

What’s more, five of the six individuals were seniors. All experienced players.

When the Eagles still needed three to qualify Coach Pat Yanchus was rationalizing about it.

“If we can’t win three (after a four-game skid) what are we doing to do in the tournament?”, he asked.

The truth of the matter is this: winning one agains B.C. High, undefeated Hopkinton, Arlington, Danvers (which may not count in the MIAA standings) or Central Catholic is not an automatic.

Not even amnesia will erase the horrid memory of six Preppies costing the team a state tournament trip.

Share This

We’re now two weeks away from the end of the regular season, and the races for the Northeastern Conference Large and Small baseball crowns are coming into focus.

At this point, there are two clear favorites: Peabody in the Large and (surprise) Danvers in the Small.

Peabody’s 12-2 win over host Beverly Monday gives the Tanners (10-4 overall) an 8-3 mark in league play. That’s two games better than Beverly and Lynn English, who have 6-5 conference marks, and one game ahead of Salem, which boasts a 7-4 NEC record.

It’s a similiar situation in the NEC Small, where Danvers (12-2 overall, 11-1 NEC) appears poised to grab its eighth NEC title in the last nine seasons within a matter of games.

Interestingly, it was the Falcons’ archrivals from Gloucester who helped them out Monday, knocking off second-place Winthrop, 8-3, on the road. Winthrop now sits three games back (7-4) of Danvers in the conference standings.

Share This

St. John’s Prep tennis coach Mark Metropolis never has to say much to his players about winning the Catholic Conference championship. The Eagles always have it as a goal, and they deliver with more regularity than the mailman.
Extending a trend that started in the 1980s, St. John’s captured the Catholic Conference title for the 18th time in 19 years earlier this week when it trounced Xaverian, 5-0.
When you pause to think about it, the Prep’s consistency really is an astounding feat. The Catholic Conference has some pretty good teams every year and St. John’s Prep must be a gigantic target, yet the Eagles have the wherewithal to get it done every year.
It undoubtedly helps that Metropolis doesn’t schedule cupcakes during the course of the season. The Prep coach is willing to play the best teams in the state in the non-league portion of the schedule, which keeps St. John’s alert and on top of its game whenever it plays teams in the Catholic Conference.
The players who made it happen against Xaverian this week were James Houlden, Spencer Canny and John Corvi in singles, and Jake Doue-Giovanni Maffeo and Chris Trosin-Chris Sullivan in doubles.
Hats off to the Eagles. They deserve it.

Share This

About a month ago the question surrounding the Swampscott baseball team was not could the Big Blue win 10 games, but how many games it would take before they qualified for the Division 3 state tournament.

My how things have changed.

The early season favorite to capture the Northeastern Conference South division, Swampscott has since fallen on hard times. Twelve games into the season and the Big Blue are sitting at 4-8 wondering if a postseason berth can become a reality.

Swampscott still has the pitching, led by strong-armed junior Hunter Gordon and senior captain Peter Kinchley. The offense has been spotty, however, and the team can’t seem to get on the type of run everyone expects they are capable of.

The Big Blue have two chances to make the tourney | by winning 10 games or by defeating fellow Div. 3 teams Winthrop and Cardinal Spellman. Either way, it will not be easy. Winthrop is powerful and Spellman plays in a strong league. Swampscott can’t lose more than two games with a remaining schedule that includes Salem, Danvers, Winthrop, Saugus, Lynn English, Gloucester, Marblehead, and Cardinal Spellman in that order, weather permitting.

It says here Swampscott will find a way to get in, one way or another. The team is too talented to head to an early summer vacation.

What do you think? Will Swampscott find a way?

Share This

Some news and notes from the Beverly High girls lacrosse team’s 11-8 win at Peabody this afternoon:

* Senior Day at Donahue Field was festive, with signs and blue and white balloons behind the Peabody bench.

Before the game began all the players from both teams lined the sideline by the bleachers, and every senior was given flowers.

* The only time Peabody led in the contest was early on when Katie Henrick scored on a free position shot.

* One of the best players for the Tanners was freshman Brittany Lefave, who had four points. She has good size, which makes it hard to ride her off the ball, and is able to maintain possession.

“She has been coming on really strong for the last three or four games,” said coach Dennis Desroches. “She has great field vision and is a very unselfish player. Her skills are so good for a freshman.”

Share This

Danvers basketball star Danielle Sherry, a 1,000-point scorer, has chosen to attend Suffolk University instead of Salem State College, which pursued her with strong interest.

Since the winter season, both teams showed keen interest in the sharpshooting 2 (shooting) guard and attended most of her games with a representative.

Most local observers figured she’d have a bright future as a starting guard for Tim Shea’s Vikings as a freshman.

“She loved Tim Shea and was a little upset, but this wasn’t a decision about a coach or a program. This was all about the schools,” Danielle’s mother Darlene said.

Suffolk apparently gave her the ultimate package: all but housing. Mrs. Sherry said an added benefit was that Danielle will be able to reside with a family friend in Boston, saving her a great cost.

“I wanted to go way (to college). I’m excited about living in Boston and I like law,” Sherry said, referring to Suffolk’s Law School. “Suffolk showed great interest in me, too. Coach Shea is a nice guy and quite a coach.”

Sherry, the niece of UMass Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner, an all-time Danvers High great and Merrimack College All-America, was constantly being asked if she were headed for Salem State.

“Why won’t people let me make my own choice?” she would askl friends.

After word got out that she made he decision, people were wondering if she made a mistake.

“If I did make a mistake I’ll the first one to admit and I’ll learn from the mistake,” she said.

Share This

The Salem News learned last night that Scott Wlasuk, a Peabody native, has been named the Peabody High football coach. His appointment will be made official today.

Wlasuk, the offensive and defensive backfield coach in Ed Nizwantowski’s reign, was chosen over Mark Bettencourt and Rueben Reynoso. Like Wlasuk, Bettencourt was on Dick Woodbury’s staff last season. Both Wlasuk and Bettencourt are Peabody police officers.

Reynoso has been the offensive and defensive coordinator at Wakefield High. He’s also an assistant in the Peabody track program.