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college softball

Local roundup: Falcons drop pair to open season

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The Fitchburg State softball team opened the 2023 campaign by dropping a pair of contests in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Tuesday, falling 5-3 to Penn College in eight innings in the opener before dropping a 10-2 decision to Montclair State in five innings to close the day.

The Falcons opened the scoring against Penn as Dana Cisowski came across in the first after an error on a ball put into play by Isabella Sousa. The lead doubled in the third as Julia Gauvin cross the plate on a triple by Molly Grass.

The Wildcats (2-1) scored five unanswered runs to take the lead, with Margaret Mangene belting a two-run triple in the fifth and Ivvy Morder notching a two-run double in the eighth.

Fitchburg State managed to get one back in the bottom of the eighth as a Sousa groundout plated Gauvin, but the Falcons couldn’t pull even.

Sarah Cahill went the distance for the Falcons, allowing two earned runs on five hits, while striking out nine and walking four.

Gauvin finished the opener 1-for-3 with two runs scored and Cisowski was 2-for-4 with a run.

In the second game, Montclair State went up 6-0 in the opening two frames before Fitchburg State posted a pair of runs in the third. Cisowski doubled to left center to plate Allison Pogorek before later coming in to score herself on a Grass double to left center.

However, the Falcon bats were shut down the rest of the way as Montclair rolled to the win.

Mackenzie Leveille took the loss, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing six earned runs on five hits. Mary Kate Moreau pitched 2.1 innings of relief, surrendering two earned runs on five hits.

Grass went 2-for-3 in defeat, while Madison Mantegani was 2-for-2 at the dish for Fitchburg State.

The Falcons return to action Wednesday, facing Fairmount State at 11 a.m. and Gettysburg at 7 p.m.

Local skiers shine on slopes

The Nashoba Regional tandem of Ella Varnerin and Jillian Bradford led a strong showing from area skiers in the MIAA Ski Championships at Berkshire East Mountain Resort on March 1, taking third and fourth overall, respectively.

Varnerin took third overall in the giant slalom in 50.08 seconds, while Bradford was fifth in the event in 50.69. Varnerin then claimed fifth in the slalom (49.82) with Bradford right behind her in sixth (49.84).

Neve Martin of Lunenburg finished 29th overall (1:50.79), while teammate Abby Reid was 32nd (1:51.10).  Martin was 53rd in the giant slalom (56.82) and 27th in the slalom (53.97), while Reid took 42nd in the giant slalom (55.92) and 32nd in the slalom (55.18).

On the boys’ side, Nashoba’s Declan Varnerin earned a top-10 finish, taking ninth overall in 1:41.19. He took 11th in the giant slalom (50.23) and 10th in the slalom (50.96).  Teammate Brian Quill-Schuffels was 88th (1:59.46), 87th in the giant slalom (57.32) and 103rd in the slalom (1:02.14).

Local roundup: Mountaineers top Red Raiders for Mid-Wach A crown

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The Wachusett Regional boys basketball team nipped Fitchburg High, 47-41, Friday night at the Doug Grutchfield Field House to capture the Mid-Wach A championship.

Winners of 10 straight entering the contest, the Red Raiders fall to 12-5 (5-3) while the Mountaineers improved to 7-10 (6-2).

Victor Kukta scored 17 points to lead the Red Raiders in the loss.

Oakmont 59, Watertown 45: The win lifts the Spartans to 13-5.

Girls indoor track and field

Lunenburg High finished third overall out of 56 schools at the Division 5 state meet on Thursday with 37 points.

Abby Rodriquenz placed second in the 1,000m run with a time of 3:05.30 and was part of the 4×800 relay team that took second as well along with Lauren Long, Breanna Bajko and Olivia Coronella. Rodriquenz competed in the 4×400 and finished eight with Rylan Arnold, Emma King and Karynna Long.

Carli Stanford was third in the long jump (16-7) and Alexa Jenkins placed third in the shot put with a PR of 33-8. Sarah Viveiros took fourth in the shot put with a toss of 33-7 and Arnold claimed sixth in the 600 in 1:43.9.

College softball

Fitchburg State was picked fifth overall in the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Preseason Coaches Poll, amassing 23 points.

Bridgewater State, Worcester State and Framingham State finishing in a three-way tie for first, with Bridgewater and Worcester each notching three first-place ballots, while the Rams tallied the remaining two first-place votes.

Westfield State followed in fourth with 33 points, while the Falcons were slotted fifth.

Salem State was sixth with 21 points, while MCLA landed in seventh with 12. Rounding out the poll was Mass. Maritime with nine points.

Local roundup: Hinckley nabs another honor

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Franklin Pierce University graduate student Gina Hinckley has been named to the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District Softball Team, gaining eligibility for the Academic All American Team ballot, in which the selectees will be announced this June.

The award recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performance on both the playing field as well as within the classroom. The Lancaster native qualified for the academic all-district honor by maintaining a cumulative 3.30 GPA or higher and must have attained sophomore athletic and academic standing from their respective institutions.

As a starter in 41 games this season for the Ravens, the former Nashoba Regional star set two program single-season records as the team leader in both home runs (11) and RBI (43). Her RBI totals from this season were also good for the NE10 conference lead amongst individual players. Hinckley additionally led the team in slug percentage (.733) and on-base percentage (.467).

Hinckley also made her way into the all-time record books in both categories, becoming the program leader with 27 career home runs and 94 career RBI in 145 games.

Boys lacrosse

Nashoba 16, Shepherd Hill 5 With seven goals and an assist in the win, Brayden MacLean became the all-time leading scorer for the Wolves (14-0, 10-0 Mid-Wach B). Dillon Kelleher added four goals and five helpers, while Liam Duhame had two goals and an assist.

Oakmont 10, St. Bernard’s 5  Austin Grimley led the way for Oakmont with three goals and two assists. Colton Larose (two assists) and Evan Thibault each scored twice.

St Bernard’s was led by Hunter Lammi with two goals and an assist.

Groton-Dunstable 9, Leominster 4 Brandon Lyons scored twice, while Michael Halstead (assist) and Tucker Mitton each potted a goal. Trevor Gorman made 17 saves in defeat.

Girls lacrosse

Tahanto 18, Oakmont 8  Haley Bosselait, Marley Waalkes and Dani Burke each scored twice for Oakmont, while Annika Sallila made 18 saves.

Littleton 14, Lunenburg 10 Emma Infantino had three goals and two assists and Autumn Tibbetts added two goals and three assists in the loss. Savannah Diallo potted three goals and Caitlin Ware (assist) and Ava Wilson each scored once.

Baseball

Lunenburg 5, North Middlesex 4 The Blue Knights scored three runs in the seventh to walk off with the win at Marshall Park. Chase Petricca and Daniel Wright each drove in a pair in the win.

Michael Archambault had three hits and drove in a run for the Patriots.

Girls tennis

Leominster 4, North Middlesex 1 Arielle Kouadio, Claire Desmarais and Linda Yeboah swept the singles matches for Leominster (11-3), while Maggie Moran and Alaina Garcia won in first doubles.

Taylor Quirk and Lauren Allen were victorious in second doubles for the Patriots (1-15).

 

Local roundup: Eramo reaches milestone as Fitchburg State salvages split

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The Fitchburg State baseball team split a pair of games with Worcester State Wednesday, losing 5-3 in the opener before rebounding for a 7-4 victory in the nightcap.

The first contest saw Vincent Eramo earn Fitchburg State’s only RBI, with the Falcons scoring a pair of runs in the seventh courtesy of an error. Connor Morehouse went 2-for-4 in the loss, scoring twice.

In the second-game victory, Zachary Morris drove in a pair of runs, while Eramo (2-for-3), Brendan Ferrell (2-for-4, double) and Liam Goldstein each had an RBI.

Jovanni Merced picked up the win with 4.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and seven walks. Robert Clarke worked around a pair of hits in the seventh to earn the save for the Falcons (7-27).

With three hits on the day, Eramo surpassed the 100-hit mark for his collegiate career.

College softball

Fitchburg State was swept in a doubleheader by Worcester State, falling 3-0 and 9-1.

In the opening game, the Falcons (15-17) managed just one hit, with Audrey Johnson notching a single.

In the second contest, Johnson went 1-for-3, driving in Molly Grass (1-for-3) for the Falcons’ lone run.

High school baseball

St. Bernard’s 19, Worcester North 9 The Bernardians improved to 3-5 behind four hits from catcher Dom Pistone.

Groton-Dunstable 1, Fitchburg 0 Alex Oquendo, Albert Ascenio and Misael Santos notched hits for the Red Raiders.

Softball

Nashoba 14, North Middlesex 2 Olivia Bartlett had quite a day for the Wolves (5-4), belting a grand slam while striking out nine in3.2 innings of work.

Boys tennis

Nashoba 5, Shepherd Hill 0 Victor Xu, Jesse Gjeltema and Philip Baykov rolled to singles wins as the Wolves improved to 7-0. Tyler Brown and Tyler Mignault won in first doubles and Alex Jangro and Leo Lima picked up the victory in second doubles.

Girls tennis

Groton-Dunstable 3, Leominster 2 The tandem of Isabella Nevard and Victoria Miele won in first doubles, while Gina Iacoboni and Kaitlynn Perrault were victorious in second doubles for Leominster (4-2, 2-1 Mid-Wach B).

Nashoba 4, Shepherd Hill 1 Emma Hakala, Eugenia Kovtun and Davita Honig won in singles action for the Wolves (6-1), while Nina Salvatelli and Maryam Mulyono claimed the second doubles match.

Boys track 

Monty Tech 83, Bay Path 49 Kyle Gendron placed first in the javelin, while Dante Tessier won the shot put for the Bulldogs. Christian Almonte was first in the 2 mile, Tucker Smith won the high hurdles, Damon Kane claimed victory in the mile and Ethan Stebbins was first in the 800.

The Bulldogs also fell to AMSA, 100-36.

Lunenburg 82, Groton-Dunstable 62 Michael Alleva won the 2 mile and 800,Tim Smith claimed first in the long jump and 100 and Zachary MacLure took both the 200 and 400 for the Blue Knights (2-1).

Nashoba 107, North Middlesex 38 Gabe Merrow was a triple winner for Nashoba (3-0), taking the long jump, 100 and 400.

Leominster 76, Fitchburg 68 Ricky Encarnacion won the 100 and triple jump for Leominster, with teammate Connor Fournier taking the discus and shot put.

Stephen Bate won the high jump, long jump, 200 and 400 for Fitchburg.

Girls track

Bay Path 73, Monty Tech 59 The Bulldogs saw first-place finishes from Ryleigh Dufour (triple jump), Alexis Angelini (shot put), Lily Chen (2 mile), Joy Ellsworth (100), Keira Hickey (400) Trysta Amoakohene (200) and the 4×100 relay team.

The Bulldogs also fell to AMSA, 104-27.

Lunenburg 77, Groton-Dunstable 68 Mariah Scharn won 100m hurdles and high jump and Sienna Salyer took first in the 100 and 200 as Lunenburg improved to 3-0.

Leominster 68, Fitchburg 54 Leominster’s Diamani Canuto won the high jump, 400 and 200, while Thrishary DeLarus won the long jump and 100.

Fitchburg was led by Aria DiCato, who claimed first in the triple jump, 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles.

Nashoba 88, North Middlesex 57 Bella Cotterwon the shot put and discus and Allie Jones won the mile 800 to lead Nashoba (3-0).

Samantha Devonte won the long jump and the 100m dash for the Patriots (1-1), while Madi Lacreta  won the triple jump and the 100m hurdles

Local roundup: Falcons split pair with Bears

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The Fitchburg State baseball team split a doubleheader with Bridgewater State on Saturday at Riccards Field, winning 3-1 in the opener before falling 5-3 in the second game.

After Bridgewater State took a 1-0 lead in the the fourth inning of Game One, Fitchburg State answered in their half of the frame as Benjamin Zoebisch (2-for-2) and Jaime Velez notched RBIs for a 2-1 edge.

The Falcons added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth Zoebisch laced a single up the middle to drive in Cameron Donahue.

Aidan Ward collected the win for Fitchburg State, allowing one run on three hits with a season-best seven Ks over five innings.

In the second game, the Falcons grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first when Matthew Pingitore and Johan Asencio each drove in a run for a 2-1 margin.

Fitchburg State upped its lead in the fifth on an RBI single from Brendan Ferrell to make the score 3-1, but the visiting Bears rallied for the win.

High school baseball

North Middlesex 16, Nashoba Tech 1: Casey McCarthy and Aiden Gallagher each drove in a pair of runs for the Patriots in the win. Justin Marr struck out seven batters in his three innings of work.

Boys lacrosse

Groton-Dunstable 7, North Middlesex 6: Mason Shultz and Shaun Highley each scored twice in the loss, while Dallas Briggs-Adams and Will McCarthy each had single goals. Luke McLean made11 saves for North Middlesex.

Boys track and field

Groton-Dunstable 92, Fitchburg 44: Chauncey Michael led the way for Fitchburg, winning the triple jump (32′ 4″) and placing second in the 110m hurdles (20.3) and 400m hurdles (1:16.2). Stephen Bate won the long jump (17′), placed second in the high jump (5’4″) and third in the 200 (25.2). Richard Santana won the 100 (11.7)

Girls track and field

Groton-Dunstable, 95 Fitchburg 41: Olamide Bamgbose won both the long jump (15-9.5) and shot put (26-2) for FItchburg. Rachel Romero was first in the javelin and second in the discus, while Aria DiCato won the triple jump, took second in the 100m hurdles and 400 and was third in the discus.

College softball

The Fitchburg State softball team dropped a pair of games at Bridgewater State, losing 15-2 in the opener before closing the doubleheader with a 26-0 defeat.

Lundyn Forcier went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI in the first game for the Falcons (10-14).