Baseball Magicians beat Peabody behind Fuentes’ shutout
The Marblehead High baseball team (8-7) is still on the plus side in terms of wins and losses, despite losing two out of three last week. These Magicians lost twice to Gloucester (10-3, May 4; 7-3, May 8), but between those two games they were able to shutout host Peabody, 6-0 on May 6.
In the first game of the home-and-home series against the Fishermen, both teams battled for four innings, with host Gloucester holding a slim 3-2 lead. But then, they were able to take advantage of some key Marblehead mistakes in the fifth to score four times to secure the victory, before adding three more runs in the sixth for good measure.
Junior Greyson Leventhal had half of his team’s six hits to pace the attack. The starting shortstop collected a single, double and triple to account for two RBI. Sophomore designated hitter Will Dephillips supplied added power with his first varsity homerun. Ethan Harwood and Sawyer Adams each singled once.
Back at Seaside last Friday, the Fishermen completed the sweep after Marblehead failed to convert in the clutch.
“We missed too many big opportunities to score early,” said coach Mike Giardi. “We only got two runs, despite loading the bases twice.”
The home team was credited with nine hits. Senior catcher E.J. Wyman was its offensive leader with three singles. Tim Wales came through with two singles and one RBI. Leventhal also had two base hits, while walking once. James Machado and Owen Coyne chipped in with one single apiece.
Sophomore Collin Allen (5.2-innings, 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 runs, 3 earned, 5 strikeouts) started the game on the mound. Coyne (1.1-innings, 2 hits, 1 strikeout) finished up.
But it was a different story against the Tanners. Sophomore Yanzel Fuentes (7 innings, 4 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts) pitched a complete game shutout to lead his teammates to victory.
The Magicians broke the game open late with three runs in the seventh. “It was a cold, wet day, but we still had some timely hitting and also took the extra base, when necessary (to extend rallies),” said Giardi.
The Marblehead boys accounted for eight hits. Coyne led the way with a single and a triple. He knocked in one run, and scored twice. Leventhal and Wales collected two singles and one RBI apiece. Harwood and Adams each singled once.
Softball team explodes past Peabody
Coach Johnny Gold’s girls softball team (9-6) is moving right along to its intended destination – a berth in the Division 2 state tournament – after blowing out visiting Peabody, 13-1 on May 6. But two days later, they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to host Gloucester.
Senior captain Tessa Andriano led the way at the plate against the Tanners. going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Her twin sister Kate drove in two more, along with catcher Nora Mahan, who singled once. Hailey Schmitt and Grace Dow also had big hits that knocked in runs.
Pitcher Tessa Francis, returning from an ankle injury, didn’t miss a beat in the circle, scattering four hits in this mercy rule shortened sixth inning game. She fanned six.
Francis remained sharp against the Fishermen, but unfortunately the offense struggled to sustain any attack. Gloucester did not get any hits off her. The lone run of the game was scored on a fielder’s choice.
Ashley Mortensen and Schmitt were credited with the only hits in the game, albeit in a losing effort.
Girls lacrosse smokes conference foes
The girls lacrosse team (5-5 in the NEC, 6-8 overall) climbed closer to the .500 mark after beating Northeastern Conference foes Danvers and Gloucester by identical 16-4 scores last week. But they closed out the week losing to non-league host Bishop Fenwick on Saturday, May 9, 11-7.
Against the host Falcons on May 5, these Magicians led from beginning to end, including at halftime, 14-1.
Addie Co-Peeps (2 goals), Emma Ryan (2 goals), Zoe Dwyer (5 goals, 2 assists), Maggie Svencer (1 goal, 2 assists), Sammy Walker (2 goals, 1 assist), Anna Rausch (3 goals) and Sydney Moniz (1 goal, 1 assist) contributed to the offense. Molly Bullard came up with 10 saves to seal the deal in net.
“This was a great win,” coach Annie Madden simply said after the game.
The Marblehead girls remained on the road two days later to slam the Fishermen to secure their sixth win of the season. They led at halftime, 13-2.
Co-Peeps (3 goals), Ryan (2 assists), Dwyer (5 goals, 3 assists), Svencer (2 goals, 1 assist), Walker (2 goals), Gwen Potter (1 goal), Avery Barbeau (1 goal), Claire Burke (1 goal) and Sydney Palmers (1 goal) played pivotal roles in this win. Bullard did her part to frustrate Gloucester with 13 saves.
The game against Fenwick was close throughout. At halftime, Madden’s crew was trailing by just two, 6-4.
Dwyer paced the offensive attack with three goals. Svencer and Walker chipped in with two apiece. Bullard made seven saves to keep things close on the scoreboard.
“This was a tough game,” said Madden. “We are getting better, but we just need to put the ball in the back of the net (more often). It is now time to dig deep in the final (four regular season) games (to make that run to the state tournament).”
Boys tennis keeps on rolling to record 10th win
The boys tennis team (10-2) extended its winning streak to five after sweeping three more opponents last week. They defeated Malden Catholic twice in a home-and-home series by identical 5-0 scores. They also dominated visiting Salem, 4-1 on May 7.
The Magicians were at home in their first match against the Lancers on May 5. Ty Cooper got things going right away by beating Jack Burgess in first singles, 6-0, 6-2. T.J. Kelly then topped Veer Garard in second singles, 6-1, 6-1. Caleb Sidman was credited with a forfeited win in third singles.
The first doubles team of Adam Loughlin and Alex Boehning defeated Matteo Peledge and Paul Harrington, 6-2, 7-5. Cordt Menzler and Filip Wabno took care of Jordan Chan and Weiqi Wang in second doubles, 6-1, 3-6, 10-5.
Coach Karl Tenenholtz’s team followed up that win by beating the Witches, also at home. Cooper once again set the tone with a shutout triumph over Rylan Workman, 6-0, 6-0. Kelly maintained the trend in second singles by beating Eden McClain, 6-0, 6-1. But Sidman lost a competitive third singles marathon to Finn Hangar, 6-3, 3-6, 6-10.
Loughlin and Boehning teamed up to shut down Kelvin Smith and Adrian Marin in first doubles, 6-0, 6-0. Menzler and Wabno were victorious over Wyn Sterick and Immanuel Kimeru in second doubles, 6-1, 6-1.
The Magicians then boarded the bus for Malden to face the Lancers in the rematch on May 8 that ended up with similar results.
Cooper took care of Burgess again in first singles, 7-5, 6-1. Kelly blew away Wang in second singles, 6-0, 6-0. Sidman was able to survive this third singles marathon session, beating Drew Rynak, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
For the second time in three days, Loughlin and Boehning defeated Peledge and Harrington in first doubles, 6-1, 6-3. Menzler and Wabno wasted little time to dispatch Julian Cuper and Harry Brown in second doubles, 6-1, 6-3.
Winning streak ends at seven vs. Newburyport
The girls tennis team (7-4) had its winning streak snapped at seven, when host Newburyport shut them out, 5-0 on May 9. The loss followed the shutout win over visiting Salem the day before, 5-0.
“That was a solid win against Salem,” said coach Tracy Ackerman. “They are an improved team with a new coach. But going forward, we are now gearing up for some tough matches against the likes of Swampscott, Lynnfield and Winchester. They will all be good tests for us, as the regular season winds down.”
First singles player Samara Dosch defeated her Salem counterpart in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Callie Gilmore kept the good news coming with a 6-1, 6-1 second singles triumph. Not to be denied, Sophie Li came out on top in third singles, 6-0, 6-1. The first doubles team of Emily Levine and Annie Tucker was also victorious, 6-2, 6-3.
