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Groton-Dunstable

Local roundup: Patriots come up just short in tourney

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The North Middlesex Regional boys lacrosse team battled for four quarters, but came up on the losing end of a 11-9 contest against Groton-Dunstable in the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association Class A quarterfinals.

Mason Schultz netted four goals and added an assist to pace the Patriots. Shaun Highley (assist), Joe Williams (assist) and Finn McNabb each scored twice in the loss, while Jimmy O’Keefe and Jake Dwight had single goals.

North Middlesex goalkeeper Luke MacLean made a half dozen saves.

Girls lacrosse

Nipmuc 18, Oakmont 7: Meghan Heffernan scored three times and Dani Burke added a pair of goals as the Spartans fell in the CMADA Class B quarterfinals. Maryl Hooper and Addi Roy each scored once and netminder Annika Sallila made nine saves in defeat.

Leominster 20, Westboro 4: The Blue Devils stormed to victory in the CMADA Class A quarterfinals at Doyle Field.

Baseball

Algonquin 8, North Middlesex 2: Ashton Donia (1-for-3) and Kyle Lewis (1-for-1) each drove in a run for the Patriots.

Volleyball

Leominster 3, Keefe Tech 1: The Blue Devils advanced to the final of the CMADA tournament with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17 victory over the Broncos.

Daniel Caetano had 23 kills, 16 digs, 15 service points — including four aces — and four blocks in the win, while Isaias Anziani had 26 digs, six service points and two digs. Andy Truong dished out 52 assists to go 10 digs and 10 service points for the Blue Devils.

Girls tennis

Northbridge 4, North Middlesex 1: Lizzy Holsinger and Liv Freeman won in first doubles action for the Patriots.

Wolves, Blue Knights claim titles

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Outdoor track and field league meets are in full swing, with several local programs and athletes shining at the Mid-Wach B and C championships on Wednesday.

Lunenburg’s girls claimed the Mid-Wach C title on their home track, while Nashoba Regional’s boys and girls easily captured Mid-Wach B crowns in Bolton.

The Blue Knights piled up 192 points to outdistance Groton-Dunstable (113), Hudson (95), Quabbin Regional (49) and Oakmont Regional (45).

Carli Stanford won the 100 (12.89), 200 (27.04) and long jump (16-0) for the Blue Knights, while  Karynna Long placed in four events, winning the 100m hurdles, taking second in the discus, third in the 400m hurdles, and fourth in the long jump.

Abby Rodriguenz won the 800 and took second in the 400, Alexa Jenkins won the shot put and was fifth in both the discus and 100 and Lauren Long was the runner-up in both the 2 mile and mile. The 4×800 relay of Angie Brackett, Kendra Eberhard, Lauren King and Breanna Bajko was also victorious.

Oakmont’s Madi O’Brien was the lone first-place finisher for the Spartans, winning the pole vault at 8-6.

Groton-Dunstable’s boys took the Mid-Wach C title with 141 points, followed by Quabbin (118), Lunenburg (115), Oakmont (107) and Hudson (74).

Lunenburg’s efforts were led by its relays and field athletes, with the 4×100 and 4×400 groupings taking first.
Ray Beardmore won the discus for the Blue Knights with a throw of 140-0, while Ben Bartow won the javelin at 149-0.

Oakmont saw Russell Hertel take first in the 400 with a time of 52.37 seconds.

Nashoba’s boys took care of business at home with a whopping 201 points, followed by Leominster in second with 99. Marlboro (88), North Middlesex (82) and Fitchburg (82) took third through fifth, respectively.

Gabriel Merrow paced Nashoba, winning the 100 (11.31), 400 (52.55) and pole vault (10-0), while Connor Acierno claimed first in the 800 (2:05.9). Sawyer O’Riorden was first in the high jump (6-2) and both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays won.

Stefano Penniman claimed wins in the 200 (24.3) and javelin for Leominster (148-5), while teammate Darius Davison won the 400m hurdles (1:00.38).

North Middlesex saw wins from Alexander Murray in the mile (4:54.61), Samuel Donovan in the 2 mile (10:59.26) and its 4×400 relay team, while Fitchburg’s Stephen Bate won the long jump (21-2) and teammate Ryan Tamfu claimed the triple jump (40-6).

In the Mid-Wach B girls meet, Nashoba compiled 212, followed by North Middlesex (110), Marlboro (109), Leominster (66) and Fitchburg (55).

Lailee Joyce, Nashoba won the 800 (2:38.92) for the Wolves, while teammate Ella Rogers won the mile (5:40.46) and Caroline Collins took the 2 mile (12:12.88). Bella Cotter added a win in the discus (89-1), Lilia Rosadini took the javelin (106-1) and Hannah Benoit captured the high jump (4-9).

Nashoba also won the 4×400 relay.

Caitlin Kimball won the 400m hurdles (1:17.26) for North Middlesex and Sam DiFonte was victorious in the long jump (16-0.5) for the Patriots.

Athena Williams picked up the win in the 100m hurdles (17.52) for Fitchburg, which also claimed the 4×100 relay.

Leominster’s Tishany De La Rosa took first in the 200 (27.28) and the Blue Devils were first in the 4×800.

Local roundup: Eramo recognized for big week

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Fitchburg State senior Vincent Eramo was named MASCAC Baseball Player of the Week on Monday.

The Shirley native batted .500 (10-for-20) with three home runs , five runs scored, 10 RBI and three walks in a 3-2 week for the Green and Gold. Eramo hit a combined 4-for-6 with a home run, run scored, three walks and two RBI in a double header split with Worcester State on Tuesday before adding one hit, including a home run, one run scored and two RBI in a 14-9 triumph over MCLA on Thursday.

Eramo concluded the week, going 5-for-6 with three runs scored, one home run and six RBI in a 15-4, game two victory over MCLA on Friday, setting the Falcons all-time program record for RBI’s in a career with 119 in the process.

Fitchburg State (17-16, 8-10 MASCAC) returns to action on Friday as it travels to Framingham State for conference matchup at 3 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse

Fitchburg State freshman Jessica St. George was selected MASCAC Women’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Week on Monday.

The first-year Falcon picks up her second weekly accolade on the year after totaling eight points on five goals and three assists as well as four draw controls and three ground balls over two games for the Falcons.

St. George notched six points on three goals and three assists in addition to three ground balls and two draw controls in a 17-16 setback to Salem State on Tuesday before adding two goals and two draw controls in a loss to Worcester State Saturday.

Fitchburg State (5-9, 2-5 MASCAC) returns to action Tuesday as it travels to third-seeded Framingham State in opening round action of the MASCAC tournament at 7 p.m.

High school baseball

Ayer-Shirley 6, Littleton 1: Cam Marshall homered and drove in three to lead the Panthers (7-3).

Doherty 7, Fitchburg 5: Nyle Sim had three hits and drove in a pair for the Red Raiders (4-6), while Albert Ascenio and James Geehan each drove in one.

Oakmont 2, Groton-Dunstable 0: Ty Curtis had two hits, a walk and scored a run and Colby Gouldrup had an RBI double as the Spartans improved to 9-1. Jayden Downing scattered a pair of hits over six innings to earn the victory.

High school softball

Oakmont 2, Groton-Dunstable 0: Ava Cote and Alison Hazel each drove in a run for the Spartans (3-7) and Olivia Souers scattered three hits in seven innings, striking out five, to earn the win.

Lunenburg 24, North Brookfield 0: Sarah Viveiros drove in four and scored four runs, while Maegan Martell scattered a pair of hits for Lunenburg (4-4) in the five inning victory.

Littleton 7, Ayer-Shirley 3: The loss drops the Panthers to 5-7.

Maynard 6, Fitchburg 3: The Red Raiders fall to 7-4.

Girls lacrosse

Oakmont 13, Fitchburg 0: Ella Dellasanta scored four times, Meghan Heffernan had a hat trick and Kenzie Correa potted a pair of goals as the Spartans rolled. Annika Sallila turned aside five shots to earn the shutout and Sophie Wolanske, Ashlyn Breton, Gabby Romano and Dani Burke scored single goals in the victory.

Boys tennis

Bromfield 5, Leominster 0: The loss drops the Blue Devils to 0-8.

Nashoba 4, Groton-Dunstable 1: Jesse Gjeltema, Philip Baykov and Tyler Brown swept the singles matches as the Wolves improved to 8-1.

The second doubles pair of David Curran and Elias Skala-Rosenbaum was also victorious for Nashoba.

Girls tennis

Nashoba 3, Groton-Dunstable 2: The Wolves (6-4) swept the doubles matches, with Bella Cosentino and Grace Hanley winning in first doubles and the tandem of Nina Salvatelli and Audrey Russell victorious in second doubles. J.J. Bravo captured the third singles match in the win.

Local roundup: Wolves race past Shepherd Hill

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The Nashoba Regional boys’ lacrosse team cruised to a 15-7 victory over Shepherd Hill Regional on Thursday afternoon.

Nashoba’s Jack Schartner paced the winners with a six-point performance as he scored four goals and added two assists. Teammate Liam Duhame potted four goals, including his 100th career point, and Dillon Kelleher added three goals for the Wolves (5-1).

Liam Kelley earned the win in net for the Wolves, who travel to Doyle Field Tuesday afternoon to face Leominster High.

Littleton 11, Lunenburg 2: The loss drops the Blue Knights to 3-3.

Girls lacrosse

North Middlesex 16, Marlboro 2: Bella Young netted five goals, while Kara Keins potted four and Ashlee Smith and Faith Mazza each a pair for the Patriots (2-4).

Lunenburg 9, Littleton 7: Caitlin Ware scored twice to lead a balanced Blue Knights (5-2) attack that saw seven players score once each.

Leominster 20, Groton-Dunstable 10: The Blue Devils doubled up the Crusaders to improve to 7-2.

Baseball

Fitchburg 12, Lunenburg 2: Shawn Escano (2-for-4) drove in four and Tyler Brassard (1-for-2) added three RBI for the Red Raiders (4-2). Declan Bourgeault and Nyle Sim each scored three runs, while Henry Bruun picked up the win, scattering four hits over six innings and striking out seven.

Shea Gendron and Tristan Dance each drove in a run for the Blue Knights (1-4).

Softball

Nashoba 3, Dracut 1: The Wolves picked up the win in the Cheryl Jones Tournament consolation game to improve to 6-1.

Volleyball

Leominster 3, Marlboro 1:The Blue Devils (7-1) won by set scores of 25-23, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-17.

Christian Ocasio notches 17 service points, while Daniel Caetano had 32 kills and 13 service points. Tony Truong chipped in with 19 service points, including four aces, as well as five digs and five kills and chneiden Clermont had 40 assists and 15 service points. Isaias Anziani contributed 18 digs and eight service points in the victory.

College softball

Fitchburg State earned a sweep of Anna Maria, winning 5-3 in the opener before claiming an 8-0 victory in Thursday’s second contest at the Donna Lee Withington Softball Field

Trailing 1-0 in the opener’s fourth inning, Fitchburg State got on the board as senior Molly Grass singled, advanced to second on a Kiara Bigeau base knock before senor Sarah Cahill laced a two-run double to left. Sophomore Mackenzie Leveille followed with an RBI single through the left side for the 3-1 edge.

The Falcons upped the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of fifth with senior Madison Mantegani drawing a leadoff walk, moving to second and third on a fielding miscue and base hit off the bat of Grass before sophomore Julia Gavin drove in Mantegani with a sacrifice fly.

Ahead 4-2, the Green and Gold tacked on an insurance run in their half of the sixth as Leveille doubled to left and crossed the plate on a groundout and a throwing miscue for the 5-2 advantage.

Cahill paced the Falcons, going 1-for-3 with a double, one run scored and two RBI and earned the win in the circle, allowing three unearned runs on nine hits to go with five strikeouts.

Leveille finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for Fitchburg State.

In the nightcap, Fitchburg State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Mantegani singled on a bunt, moved to third on a fielding miscue and scored a ground out from Grass before junior Dana Cisowski crossed the plate on a double steal attempt for the 2-0 lead.

The Falcons pushed the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third as Mantegani and Cisowski singled before Manttegani crossed the plate on a fielding miscue, while Grass followed with an RBI double to right field.

The Green and Gold pushed the advantage to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth with junior Lauren Kirkconnell  drawing a leadoff walk, moving to second on a bunt and scoring on an RBI groundout by classmate Allison Pogorek.

Fitchburg State upped the margin in the following stanza when Cisowski singled up the middle, advanced to second on a Grass walk and came home on an RBI single from sophomore Isabella Sousa, while Grass crossed the plate on a single by Kirkconnell to make the score 7-0.

The hosts capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth as Pogorek reached on field error, moved to second on a single through the left side by sophomore Alyssa Beaulieu and scored as Cisowksi connected on an RBI double to left.

Cisowski led the way for the Falcons, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored, while Mantegani finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Junior Mary Kate Moreau earned the win for Fitchburg State (11-18, 4-4 MASCAC), pitching a complete game four-hitter with three strikeouts.

Pairings released for hoops, hockey tourneys

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Let the postseason begin.

The MIAA released its initial pairings for the statewide hockey and basketball tournaments based on its power rankings on Saturday, with 24 hours allowed for corrections to be made. Multiple local programs will have the chance to compete for championships across several divisions on the hardwood and ice.

Times and dates for most contests were not immediately released.

Sixth-seeded Nashoba Regional (18-2) will await the winner of a prelim between No. 27 Plymouth South (11-9) and No. 38 Revere (10-10) in the Division 2 boys basketball pairings. Also in D2, No. 25 Leominster (10-10) will square off with No. 40 Chicopee Comp. (10-10) in a preliminary round game, while 26th-seeded Fitchburg (13-6) will play No. 39 Nauset Regional (12-8) in the opening round.

In the Division 3 boys basketball pairings, No. 8 Oakmont Regional (16-5) will await the winner of No. 25 Greater Lowell Tech (14-7) and No. 40 Nipmuc Regional (12-8), while 44th-seeded Monty Tech (13-7) has drawn a prelim against No. 21 Bishop Stang (8-12).

The Division 4 boys hoops pairings feature 19th-seeded Lunenburg (11-9) facing No. 14 South Hadley (13-7) in the round of 32, while St. Bernard’s (11-9) is the 26th seed in Division 5 and will face No. 39 Old Colony (16-4) in a prelim. Ayer-Shirley (12-8) is No. 27 in D5 and will play No. 28 Smith Academy (13-7) in the opening round.

Nashoba Captain Emily Quinn shoots while Westborough's Annabelle Semeter defends Tuesday night in Bolton.
Emily Quinn and Nashoba Regional are the 11th seed in the Division 2 tournament. (Sentinel & Enterprise File Photo)

The Division 2 girls basketball pairings have No. 11 Nashoba Regional (16-3) in the round of 32, awaiting the winner of a preliminary game between No. 22 Westboro (13-8) and 43rd-seeded Agawam (10-10). Leominster High (13-7) is the 19th seed and will play No. 14 Whitman Hanson Regional (13-7) in the round of 32.

In the girls basketball Division 3 pairings, No. 19 Oakmont Regional (12-8) will face No. 14 Watertown (10-9) in the round of 32.

St. Bernard’s (12-7) drew the 16th seed in Division 5 and will play No. 17 Franklin County Tech (18-2) in the round of 32. No. 11 Ayer-Shirley (16-4) is slated to play the winner of a prelim between 22nd-seeded South Shore Vo-Tech (16-4) and No. 43 Boston Collegiate Charter (9-2).

In the boys hockey pairings, both Nashoba Regional and North Middlesex Regional have games in Division 3’s round of 32. The 11th-seeded Wolves (10-5-5) will face No. 22 Groton-Dunstable (6-14-0) Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, while the 14th-seeded Patriots (9-10-1) are set to square off with No. 19 West Springfield (10-7-3) Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Groton School.

St. Bernard's forward Ben Stout controls the puck Thursday versus Lunenburg/Ayer-Shirley.
Ben Stout and the St. Bernard’s ice hockey team will compete in the Division 4 state tournament. (Sentinel & Enterprise File Photo)

In the Division 4 boys brackets, No. 34 St. Bernard’s (12-8-0) will play a preliminary game against No. 31 St. John Paul II (4-17-1), with the winner advancing to face No. 2 Sandwich (15-4-1). In the round of 32, No. 25 Fitchburg/Monty Tech (10-10-0) draws a contest against eighth-seeded Martha’s Vineyard Regional (12-8-0).

Leominster’s girls hockey team earned a berth in the Division 2 tournament. The Blue Devils (15-4-1) are seeded 27th and are matched up with No. 6 Sandwich (13-6-2).

Blue Devils ground Rockets

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FITCHBURG —The Leominster girls hockey team hit the ice Friday evening looking to string together back-to-back wins heading into the Christmas break.

The Blue Devils continued their strong play as they found the back of the net four times en route to a 4-1 victory over visiting Auburn at the Wallace Civic Center.

Leominster improves to 2-1-1 overall on the season and hands Auburn its first loss of the campaign. The Rockets drop to 2-1-1.

“I saw solid play from our girls for the entire game. We came out a little sloppy early on in our last game but tonight, from the opening faceoff, I thought we passed the puck well and we had some greats shots on net,” said Leominster head coach Nancy LeBlanc, now in her sixth season at the helm for the Blue Devils. “This was a true team win, everybody contributed to this one tonight.”

For Leominster, Friday night’s result came on the heels of a 3-0 win at home against Brookline on Wednesday.

As for Friday night’s contest, Leominster dominated the opening period as it peppered Auburn goalie Tori Horne (32 saves) with 12 shots on goal. Despite carrying the play for the majority of the opening stanza, the game remained scoreless until the final minute.

Carissima Heinis fires a shot for Leominster during Friday's win over Auburn. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)
Carissima Heinis fires a shot for Leominster during Friday’s win over Auburn. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)

A pair of Auburn penalties gave the Blue Devils a 5-on-3 advantage with a minute left on the clock and Leominster took advantage as it netted a pair of power-play goals to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room for the first intermission. Carrismas Heinis and Rachel Simkewicz each lit the lamp for the hosts at 14:14 and 14:47 of the first period, respectively.

“That was huge,” said LeBlanc. “We told them in the locker room that we can’t let up because Auburn is a good team and strike quickly.”

That’s just what the Rockets did as they cut the deficit in half 7:06 into the second period when Izzy Spencer beat Blue Devils goalie Carina Eshbaugh (11 saves) to make it a 2-1 game.

Leominster answered in the second period with a goal from Madison Salovardos with 2:16 remaining in the middle frame to put Leominster up 3-1 through two periods.

In the final 15 minutes, Leominster refused to let Auburn chip away as it maintained the upper hand. The Blue Devils outshot Auburn 11-3 in the final period and 36-12 in the game.

Leominster one more insurance goal for good measure with 3:18 remaining when Heinis netted her second of the game to make it 4-1.

Leominster is a co-op team with Lunenburg, Ayer-Shirley Regional, Clinton, Sizer School, West Boylston, North Middlesex Regional and Groton-Dunstable Regional.

“This is a great group. We have a ton of new faces, it’s a bigger team than we’ve had in the past and they’ve just clicked,” said LeBlanc. “They work really hard and they’ve come together as a team both on and off the ice.”

The Blue Devils return to action on Dec. 28 when they travel to the Salem Ice Center in Salem, New Hampshire, to take on Central Catholic High School.