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Local roundup

Local roundup: North Middlesex cruises to victory

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The North Middlesex Regional boys soccer team stormed to a 6-1 victory over Shepherd Hill Thursday afternoon in Townsend.

Tyler Jastrab had two goals and two assists for the Patriots, while Adeel Khan added a single goal and two helpers in the win. Colten Werlinger and Marlon Artuso also scored for North Middlesex, which took advantage of an own goal for the final tally.

Collin Harrington chipped in with an assist and Adam Ippolito earned the win in net.

Fitchburg 0, Lunenburg 0: Neither the Blue Knights (3-2-2) or the Red Raiders (2-4-2).

Bromfield 3, Oakmont 2: Gael Vera and Nate Hylan scored for Oakmont (7-1).

Leominster 4, Wachusett 0: Ajani Guzman netted a pair of goals for the Blue Devils, while Luis Angeles and Facundo Amaro had single markers.

Golf

North Middlesex 53.5, Fitchburg 0.5: Shawn Amari carded an even par 35 at Northern Spy Golf Club to lead the Patriots (4-3).

Westboro 202, Leominster 203: Luke Grebinar claimed medalist honors for Leominster (3-6, 0-6 Mid-Wach A) with a 1-over-par 36 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.

Nashoba 201, Shrewsbury 221: The Wolves improve to 8-2 on the season.

Ayer-Shirley 42, Hudson 12: Tyler Crawford notched a hole in one on the seventh hole at Northern Spy Golf Club as the Panthers improved to 8-0. Tommy Bergin led the way with an even-par 35 in the win.

Shepherd Hill 28.5, Oakmont 25.5: The Spartans (3-6) were paced by a 3-over 39 from Max Doane.

Local roundup: Blue Knights race to first wins

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The Lunenburg High boys and girls cross country teams picked up their first wins of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Pierce’s Tree Farm.

The Blue Knights took care of visiting Quabbin Regional, with the boys earning an 18-38 victory while the Luneburg girls captured a 17-45 victory.

Both Lunenburg teams are now 1-2 on the season while both Quabbin teams fall to 0-3.

Lunenburg’s Tyler Fortier finished first in the boys race with a time of 18:14, followed by teammate Lucas Pentedemos at 19:07. Lunenburg’s Matt Pilon placed fourth with a time of 19:13.

In the girls’ race, Lunenburg’s Lauren Long took home first place with a time of 21:12. Her teammate Iliana Thomas finished second at 21:58.

Boys soccer

Nashoba 8, Hudson 0: Brayden Batista and Zach Brown each scored twice for the Wolves, while Bryce Gaudet, Brady Mignault, Lucas Messier and Angel Bustillo added single tallies.

Field hockey

Notre Dame Academy 8, St. Bernard’s 0: The Bernardians fall to 0-4.

Shrewsbury 2, Leominster 1: Alana Marchetti scored in the first quarter for the Blue Devils.

Oakmont Regional 2, Westboro 0: The win lifts the Spartans to 2-3.

Golf

Ayer-Shirley 41, Hudson 13:  Reid Ohanesian carded a 1-over 37 at Stow Acres to lead the Panthers (8-0).

Monty Tech 156, Assabet 169: Michael Cannon was the medalist with a 1-over par 36 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course as the Bulldogs improved to 7-1.

Volleyball

North Middlesex 3, Ayer-Shirley 0: The Patriots won by set scores of 25-15, 25-13 and 25-20.

Norah Tesini had eight kills and two blocks, while Emily Archambault added four aces and three kills and Ava Lamonica had three kills.

Monty Tech 3, Notre Dame Academy 1: The Bulldogs (7-3) won by set scores of 25-20, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-22.

Bailey Tetreault had 15 assists, four kills, two digs and an ace, while Deanna Smith added six digs and an ace.

Women’s soccer

Fitchburg State 1, Wentworth 1: Kendra Peretzman scored off an assist from Adrianna Westcott early in the first half for the Falcons (2-5-2), while Skyla Vaudo (10 saves in 66:30) and Cassandra Pendleton (two saves in 23:30) shared time in net.

College sports

This week’s MASCAC weekly honor rolls featured several athletes with local ties getting recognition across multiple sports.

In football Fitchburg State’s Cameron Monette earned a mention after a strong performance in Saturday afternoon’s 21-3 loss at Mass. Maritime. The junior defensive lineman tallied seven tackles on six solo stops and one assisted tackle, as well as two tackles for loss and one blocked kick.

In field hockey former Oakmont Regional standout and current Worcester State netminder Sam Gastonguay landed on the honor roll after a 2-1 win over Wheaton. The senior made four saves in the contest.

Fitchburg State’s Stephanie Sardella earned a spot on the volleyball honor roll after she registered 28 kills, three assists, eight service aces and 33 digs over three matches for the Falcons last week.

Fitchburg State's Stephanie Sardella (4) was named to the MASCAC women's volleyball honor roll this week. (Courtesy Fitchburg State Athletics)
Fitchburg State’s Stephanie Sardella (4) was named to the MASCAC women’s volleyball honor roll this week. (Courtesy Fitchburg State Athletics)

Local roundup: Tibbetts propels Falcons to OT win

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The Fitchburg State field hockey team needed extra time to get there, but when all was said and done Wednesday, the Falcons had captured win No. 1 on the season.

Fitchburg State picked up an overtime victory, winning 2-1 over Anna Maria in Worcester to improve to 1-4.

Sophomore Autumn Tibbetts, of Lunenburg, potted both goals for the Falcons, notching the game-winner in the third minute of OT off a feed from Joyce Arbia. The reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Week also netted a marker in the second quarter, giving Fitchburg State a 1-0 lead off an assist from Sophia Yates.

The AmCats pulled even in the fourth quarter with just 3:22 to play as Carly Drew poked home the equalizer.

Senior backstop Jenna Morse made three saves to earn the victory for Fitchburg State, which returns to action Saturday with a MASCAC matchup against Westfield State at Elliot Field at 11 a.m.

High school field hockey

Monty Tech 0, Blackstone Valley Tech 0: The Bulldogs are 2-1-1.

Marlboro 2, Oakmont 1: Rachel Simkewicz scored for the Spartans (1-3).

Girls soccer

AMSA 3, Monty Tech 1: Reyna Moran scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Golf

Shrewsbury 209, North Middlesex 221: Max Caliri was the medalist, carding a 4-over 40 for North Middlesex (2-2) at The Haven.

Monty Tech 146, Blackstone Valley Tech 166: Michael Cannon was the medalist with a 1-over par 37 at Highfields Country Club for the Bulldogs (4-1).

Local roundup: Nashoba’s Balewicz breaks running record

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Nashoba Regional’s Adam Balewicz made sure Tuesday was a memorable day for the Nashoba Regional boys cross country team, win or lose.

And by the end of a tri-meet, the Wolves had both won and lost, but Balewicz’s performance was what took centerstage. Nashoba (3-1) topped Leominster, 15-49, and fell to Groton-Dunstable, 22-34.

The Nashoba standout broke his own record on the 3.1-mile course in Bolton, finishing in 15:48 to top the previous mark by seven seconds.

Nashoba’s Connor Acerino had the fifth-best time on the day at 16:57.

Groton-Dunstable also topped Leominster (0-2), 15-50.

Boys soccer

Oakmont 6, Littleton 0: Gael Vera’s first half hat trick helped propel the Spartans (5-0) past the Tigers.

North Middlesex 7, Hudson 3: Tyler Jastrab scored three goals and added an assist for the Patriots, while Adeel Khan (two assists), Collin Harrington (assist), Jacob Heard and Noah Lake added single goals. Marlon Artuso dished out a pair of helpers in the victory.

Girls soccer

Nashoba 8, Groton-Dunstable 1: Grayson Edwards potted three goals and Holly Bechara added a pair for the Wolves (4-0).

Field hockey

Leominster 2, Algonquin 1: Taylor Boulay and Alana Marchetti scored in the first half to lift the Blue Devils at Doyle Field.

Volleyball

Groton-Dunstable 3, North Middlesex 2: Set scores were 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 16-25 and 15-9.

Marissa Lacreta had 12 digs, 10 kills and three aces for North Middlesex, while Norah Tesini had nine kills, five blocks and three aces and Annie McNabb had 14 digs and a kill.

Golf

Groton-Dunstable 28.5, North Middlesex 25.5: Max Caliri shot a 5-over 40 at Northern Spy Golf Club for the low round for the Patriots (2-1, 2-1 Mid-Wach B).

Ayer-Shirley 155, St. Bernard’s 176: Reid Ohanesian carded a 1-over 36 at Oak Hill Country Club to lead the Panthers (4-0) to victory.

The Bernardians fall to 2-3.

Shrewsbury 212, Leominster 220: Daniel Simons posted a 4-over 40 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course to lead Leominster (0-4) and tie for medalist honors.

Girls cross country

Nashoba stays perfect: Nashoba Regional topped Groton-Dunstable, 26-29, and Leominster, 17-42, to improve to 4-0. Nashoba’s Caroline Collins had the top time for the day, finishing in 19:43.

Local roundup: Patriots rally to top Blue Knights

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The North Middlesex Regional boys soccer rallied for two goals in the final seven minutes to pull out a 2-1 victory over visiting Lunenburg at John E. Young Memorial Field in the opener for both on Tuesday.

Trailing 1-0 late in the game, North Middlesex senior Marlon Artuso netted the game-tying goal in the 74th minute. Two minutes later, Tyler Fournier gave the hosts the lead when he scored what proved to be the game-winner.

Tyler Jastrab and Cooper Foster picked up assists in the victory.

Lunenburg scored its lone goal early in the second half when Eltaher Kholeif scored on a penalty kick two minutes after the halftime break.

Monty Tech's Lance Lau fires a shot past St. Bernard's goalkeeper Jaiden Butler during Tuesday's game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)
Monty Tech’s Lance Lau fires a shot past St. Bernard’s goalkeeper Jaiden Butler during Tuesday’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Nick Mallard)

Oakmont 6, Quabbin 1: Gael Vera potted a pair of goals to lead the way for the Spartans (1-0).

Ayer-Shirley 1, Clinton 1: Kevin Velasquez scored in the final two minutes to pull the Panthers (0-0-1) even.

Girls soccer

Monty Tech 2, St. Bernard’s 1: Trailing 1-0 late in the first half, Monty Tech’s Elsa Henrickson pulled the Bulldogs even. Lily Mom-Uch netted the winner in the second half for the hosts.

Amanda Key potted the opening goal for the Bernardians in the season opener for the crosstown rivals.

Field hockey

Leominster 3, Blackstone Valley Tech 0:  xxxx

Golf

St. Bernard’s 165, Gardner 199: Colin Majowicz carded a 2-over par 37 at Oak Hill Country Club to earn medalist honors for the Bernardians in the season opener.

Shepherd Hill 46, Fitchburg 8: The Red Raiders dropped their opener at Dudley Hills Golf Club.

Blackstone Valley Tech 146, Monty Tech 161: The Bulldogs lost their opener at Gardner Municipal Golf Course as Blackstone Valley’s Connor Griffin carded a 3-under 32 to take medalist honors.

Algonquin 207, Leominster 221: Luke Grebinar carded a 1-over 37 at Juniper Hill for medalist honors as the Blue Devils fell in their opener.

Volleyball

Monty Tech 3, Main South 0: The Bulldogs won their opener by set scores of 25-7, 25-12 and 25-13.

Jayda DeCarlo had five kills, four aces and two blocks, while Bailey Tetreault added 10 assists, two aces and a dig in the victory. Josany Diaz added three kills, three assists and an ace for the Bulldogs.

Local roundup: Ricky Marrama (15 K’s) puts on a show for Leominster

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LEOMINSTER – Have a night, Ricky Marrama.

The Leominster fireballer pitched what may have been his best performance on the season’s biggest stage as the Leominster Little League All Star team kicked off Massachusetts Section 1 Tournament play with a convincing 7-0 victory over Rutland on Tuesday evening at Ronnie Bachand Memorial Field.

District 3 champion Leominster will host District 2 champion Longmeadow, a 6-3 winner over D1 champion Adams/Cheshire, back at Ronnie Bachand Field on Wednesday night.

Rutland will travel to Adams/Cheshire on Wednesday for an elimination contest.

Marrama was lights out on Tuesday for the hosts as he tossed five and a third innings of scoreless baseball while allowing just one hit. Marrama also recorded 15 strikeouts.

“I was really happy with the way they came out tonight,” said Leominster skipper Jeff Coco. “Ricky was just aces tonight. He’s an 11-year-old kid and sometimes you look at him and forget he’s 11 because he’s such a big kid. He had composure, he had everything tonight. He came out firing in that first inning. He was throwing gas all night long.”

Leominster wasted no time attacking Rutland and starting pitcher Dean Bennett. The hosts erupted for five runs in the first frame, taking advantage of three Rutland errors. Rutland would commit five defensive miscues in the game Tuesday. RBI singles by Matt Coco and Tim LeBlanc highlighted the first-inning offensive explosion. Geo Borges and Marrama also delivered hits in the first inning.

“The whole strategy was just to put the ball in play and good things will happen. It’s Little League baseball, kids make mistakes,” said Coco. “The grass was a little slick tonight, we wanted to just put pressure on them (and see what happens.”

Marrama went back to the hill with a five-run cushion and continued to dominate. The only base hit Rutland could muster came in the third inning. With two outs in the frame, Rutland’s Ben Crowne laid down a bunt that Marrama charged to field. The Leominster pitcher lost his footing and slipped before getting up and making a late throw to first base that Crowne beat. The ball got away from the first baseman and Crowne advanced to second on the play.

The hit proved to be no big deal to Marrama, who struck out the next hitter to end the threat.

“My concentration was really important today. It helped me throw strikes,” said Marrama. “Knee over knee and finishing down. It was really important. Scoring those runs early on really helped take some of the pressure off. We knew Rutland had a couple of pitchers that really throw hard but we were able to hit them today.”

Leominster tacked on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a clutch two-run RBI single by Mike Lemieux that plated Adam Rendon and Brady Cuddahy, who reached base safely earlier in the inning.

Marrama entered the final inning just under the 85-pitch maximum pitch count and took to the mound to start the top of the sixth inning. Marrama threw to just one batter in the sixth, finishing his evening by recording his 15th strikeout. Avery Camerano was brought on in relief and he picked up right where Marrama left off. Camerano struck out the first hitter he faced before ending the ballgame with a ground out to second base.

Leominster rolls

Henry Bruun and Ryan Garner combined to scatter seven hits while throwing seven shutout innings as the Leominster Post 151 American Legion baseball team defeated Shrewsbury, 5-0, Monday afternoon in Zone 4 playoff action at Pin Cannavino Field in Leominster.

Second-seeded Leominster (17-6-1) returned to action on Tuesday against the winner of top-seeded Milford and fourth-seeded Hudson.

Bruun went four-plus innings of scoreless ball before giving way to Garner, who pitched the final three plus innings in relief.

Leominster pounded out eight hits on Monday, including a pair from Jake Richard (2-for-4, RBI). Alex Oquendo scored twice, while Tyler Godin and Tony Salvatelli each delivered RBI hits for the winners.

Coach sought

Monty Tech is in need of a freshman volleyball coach for this coming 2023 season. Interested candidates can contact athletic director David Reid at reid@montytech.net or call 508-331-0371.

Leominster's Geo Borges hits a single in first-inning action during an impressive 7-0 win over Rutland on Tuesday. (Gary Fournier/Sentinel & Enterprise)
Leominster’s Geo Borges hits a single in first-inning action during an impressive 7-0 win over Rutland on Tuesday. (Gary Fournier/Sentinel & Enterprise)