Still looking for their first win, the youthful Marblehead High girls lacrosse team (0-4 in the Northeastern Conference, 0-7 overall) dropped a close 12-11 decision to host Danvers on April 15.
It was no different at halftime, with the Falcons also holding a slim 7-5 advantage. They are getting ever closer to getting into that elusive win column.
Sydney Langton (3 goals, 1 assist, 2 interceptions, 3 groundballs), Lucy Wales (2 goals, 1 assist), Isabelle Ferrante (3 goals, 1 assist, 1 groundball), Ramona Gillett (2 goals, 2 caused turnovers, 3 draw controls), Maddie Forbes (2 assists, 4 draw controls, 1 groundball), Kate Burns (2 groundballs, 1 caused turnover) and Gretchen Smith (1 goal, 1 assist) were the team’s leading contributors against the Falcons.
Goalie Addie Lydon came up with nine saves to keep the game close on the scoreboard.
Two days later, at the start of spring vacation week, the Marblehead girls took on Division 1 Peabody, only to lose, 14-8, despite outscoring the Tanners in the second half, 8-6.
Langton (2 goals, 1 groundball, 1 interception, 4 draw controls), Wales (3 goals, 1 assist), Ferrante (1 assist), Gillett (1 goal, 1 caused turnover, 5 draw controls), Maddie Forbes (2 goals, 1 caused turnover, 1interception, 3 draw controls) and Burns (1 groundball, 1 caused turnover, 1 interception) helped pick up the pace to narrow the deficit after halftime. Lydon made seven stops in net.
Baseball succumbs to midseason blahs
School vacation week was not too kind to the Marblehead High baseball team (2-4 in the Northeastern Conference, 3-4 overall). They lost three straight games, starting with a 9-5 decision to host Masco on April 14, despite outhitting the Chieftains, 10-9.
Shane Keough and Riley Schmitt powered the attack with home runs on solo shots. But some timely hitting by the Chieftains kept them in it.
The Marblehead boys had a 2-0 lead before the home team tied it up in the home half of the first inning. The visitors regained the two-run advantage in the third, only to see Masco score four times when they came to the plate to retake the lead, 6-4. They then scored two more in the fourth and one in the fifth after the Magicians notched their final tally in the top half of that frame.
Schmitt also singled twice in this game to lead the offensive attack. Bodie Bartram and Charlie Sachs each collected a single and a double to account for four more hits for the local nine.
The Magicians then lost to host Beverly, 8-2, on April 19. Once again, they scored two in the first, but the Panthers got one back in the third. The home team broke it open with seven runs in the fifth to seal the deal.
Marblehead made Beverly starter Noah Guanci throw 70 pitches over three innings, forcing him out of the game. But his replacements, Conor Connolly and Micah McManus, shut the Magicians down, pitching two shutout innings apiece.
The Magicians only had three hits in the game, all in the first three frames. Drew Whitman, Chris Dewitt and Sachs each singled once to account for the offense.
Two days later, visiting Salem scored twice in the first, once in the second, three times in the fourth and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 7-1 lead at Seaside Park. The Magicians tried to stage a comeback with three runs in the home half of the fifth, only to come up short, 7-4.
Salem pitcher Ryan Fenerty shut them down after giving up those three runs in the fifth to finish off the complete-game effort.
“(Salem) got some extended innings, and they took full advantage of them by taking an 7-1 lead midway through the fifth,” said coach Mike Giardi. “We made a late surge and had the bases loaded in the seventh, but Ryan Fenerty completed what he started by getting a big groundout to end the game.”
Marblehead was credited with five hits against the Witches. Keough belted a two-run homer and also had a single in this game. Bartram collected two singles, and Wyman doubled once. Brooks Keefe and Sachs each knocked in a run.
Girls tennis keeps on winning
The Marblehead High girls tennis team remained undefeated after four matches following its shutout win over Gloucester, 5-0, during school vacation week on April 21.
“I had to shuffle the lineup around because two of our starters were missing,” said coach Tracy Ackerman. “But the girls all responded great, winning their matches, while being flexible in their positions. It was nice to see Lani (Gilmore), Reese (Friedman) and Samara (Dosch) play and win their first varsity matches.”
First singles Andrea Potvin defeated Gloucester’s Sophia Picario, 6-4, 6-0. Courtney Yoder beat Grace Tierney in second singles, 6-3, 6-4. Aviva Bornstein experienced similar results in third singles against Marissa Vincent, 6-0, 6-2.
The aforementioned Lani Gilmore and Reese Friedman teamed up to beat Maggie Sperry and Thea Cunningham in first doubles, 6-1, 6-1. Aoife Bresnahan and freshman Samara Dosch shutdown their Gloucester counterparts in second doubles, 6-0, 6-0.
Boys tennis stays perfect in NEC
The Marblehead High boys tennis team (3-0 in the Northeastern Conference, 3-2 overall) lost a non-league match to Division 1 St. John’s Prep, 5-0, on April 20.
With Marblehead’s first singles player (junior Mika Garber) sidelined with an injury, the rest of the singles players all moved up, with sophomore Anthony Vizy making his varsity debut in third singles.
Garber’s classmate Jost Eggebrecht lost to senior Paul Neal, 6-2, 6-0.
“Jost played an excellent, thoughtful match, and this experience will be good for him throughout the rest of the season,” said coach Elisabeth Foukal.
Sophomore Matthew Sherf lost to a much-improved Jack Prokopis, 6-1, 6-1, in second singles. Vizy lost to promising freshman John De Angelis, 6-0, 6-0.
“Despite the score, Anthony played some excellent points with good depth and pace,” said Foukal.
Sophomores Etan Farfel and Jayden Janock lost to senior Ben Lipton and sophomore Luke Prokopis in first doubles, 6-2, 6-0. Senior co-captain Jimmy King and sophomore Luke Miller fell to Alex Melville and Boris Kouzininov in second doubles, 6-1, 6-0.
Sophomores Austin Bacon and Vizy lost 6-1 to Luke Free and Mark McDuffee in a JV match, 6-1.
The Magicians bounced back the next day to beat host Gloucester, 5-0.
“Although all the matches were won in two sets, there was excellent tennis played on all five courts, and the doubles in particular were close,” Foukal said. “Congratulations to Austin Bacon on his first varsity win in second doubles, when he teamed up with fellow sophomore, Luke Miller.
Foukal added, “Coming off an injury, Mika Garber had a good win in first singles against a strong player, and first doubles played a fine match, with both Etan (Farfel) and Jayden (Janock) continuing to show signs of improvement.”
Garber beat Gloucester junior Andre Peano Sosa in first singles, 6-3, 6-1. Eggebrecht took care of junior Anders Pittman in second singles, 6-2, 6-1. Sophomore Matthew Sherf did the same to junior Luke McElhenny in third singles, 6-1, 6-1.
Sophomores Etan Farfel and Jayden Janock teamed up to beat senior Drew White and junior Dominic Paine in first doubles, 6-4, 6-4. Sophomores Miller and Bacon completed the Gloucester sweep in second doubles against juniors Cam Widtfeldt and Cole Colin, 6-4, 6-1.
