Eight high school takeaways from Friday as the MIAA playoffs ramp up
Next stop, Friday night's roundups, featuring recaps of more than 70 games:
1. Milestones
Scituate senior
Kate Stone
notched her 150th career goal and 200th career point while recording a hat trick in a 10-8 Division 2 girls' lacrosse first-round win over Algonquin.
Methuen junior goalie
Meghan Terry
made 16 saves in a 17-9 Division 2 prelim win over Hopkinton, including the 300th of her career.
Greater Lowell senior
Emma Finch
finished her senior season with 54 goals, and she will graduate as the program's all-time leader in goals with 153.
2. Upset central
The highest-ranked teams to be eliminated Friday were Oxford softball — ranked No. 12 in Division 4, the Pirates fell, 5-4 to No. 21 Lynnfield — and Wesborough girls' lacrosse, also ranked 12th in Division 2, which lost, 8-7, to No. 21 Northampton.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Related
:
Advertisement
Other seeds in the teens that were toppled: No. 13 Norton boys' volleyball, which fell, 3-2, to No. 20 Lynn Classical in the Division 2 first round; No. 13 Notre Dame (Worcester), which suffered an 8-6 loss to No. 20 Monty Tech in the Division 3 first round; No. 14 Sturgis East girl's tennis, which lost, 3-2, to No. 19 Palmer, and No. 15 Arlington boys' tennis, which fell, 3-2, to No. 18 Andover.
The largest upset of the day, by difference in seedings, was No. 39 Greater Lawrence softball taking down No. 26 North Reading, 7-3, in the Division 3 preliminary round.
Advertisement
3. Walkoff wins
Boy, were there some dramatic ones.
It doesn't get much more intense than a 0-0 game in the bottom of the seventh, but that's what No. 23 Triton faced against No. 42 Ursuline in the Division 3 softball preliminary round.
Ava Johnson
was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, and with two outs raced home on
Izze Turner's
single up the middle for a 1-0 walkoff win.
Giving that finish a run for its money, No. 31 Sturgis East softball trailed, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded when
Sam Orcutt
, who had homered earlier for the team's first run, launched a grand slam for a 5-2 walkoff win over No. 34 Mystic Valley in the preliminary round of the Division 5 tournament.
No. 25 Tantasqua baseball survived an upset bid from No. 40 Lowell Catholic when
Brandon Phillips
managed an RBI infield single in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 Division 3 preliminary-round win.
In the Division 3 softball tournament, No. 31 Blackstone Valley's
Julia Trujillo
tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the ninth, then came around to score the winning run on
Payton Smith's
walkoff single, completing a 3-2 preliminary-round victory.
This one wasn't technically a walk off, and maybe we need a new category for these types of games, but No. 33 Martha's Vineyard baseball won an epic 12-inning Division 3 preliminary-round matchup, 4-3, over No. 32 Ashland on
Eli Bryant's
sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th.
4. Three stars
Mackenzy Ponte
, Westport — The senior, in her sixth year on varsity and fifth as the Wildcats' starter, struck out 10 in a five-inning no-hitter to beat English High, 23-0, in the Division 5 preliminary round.
Advertisement
Dakota Vaudreuil
, Bartlett — The senior struck out 17 in a five inning no-hitter to defeat Kennedy Academy, 24-0 in the preliminary round of the Division 5 softball tournament.
Bella Mara
, St. Paul — The senior did it all, striking out eight without allowing a run and going 3 for 3 with a double and two home runs in a 10-3 first-round win for the No. 7 Knights.
5. Going, going gone
We mentioned Mara's two home runs for St. Paul, and Orcutt's walkoff grand slam for Sturgis East, but there was plenty of notable power displays across the Bay State.
Wakefield's
Jackie Sullivan
blasted a grand slam, Hudson got back-to-back blasts from
Lauren O'Malley
and
Taylor Attaway
, Lynnfield got homers from
Olivia Kelter
and
Morgan Hubbard
, and Westport's
Lauryn Souza
and Upper Cape's
Jaelynn Harraden
both raced to inside-the-park round-trippers.
Also homering were Wakefield's
Chloe Seto
, Chelmsford's
Jenna Nigro
, and Sutton's
Kaila Wheeler
.
6. Daily lacrosse leaderboard
Goals
Bella Young
, North Middlesex, 8
Mac Cole
, Pentucket, 7
Sal Brogna
, St. Mary's, 6
Kiera Fitzpatrick
, Methuen, 6
Mason Gadbois
, Essex Tech, 6
Lillian Gikas
, Tyngsborough, 6
Addie Hajj
, North Reading, 6
John Powers
, Lynnfield, 6
Finn Racki
, St. Mary's, 6
Kelan Cardinal
, Lynnfield, 5
Casey Collins
, Essex Tech, 5
Alexis Deschenes
, Tyngsborough, 5
Kate Fitzpatrick
, Methuen, 5
Cassie Gallagher
, Billerica, 5
Daniel Hanafin
, Foxborough, 5
Nate Stys
, Pentucket, 5
Points
Young, North Middlesex, 9
Gadbois, Essex Tech, 8
Gikas, Tyngsborough, 8
Timothy Tavares
, Essex Tech, 8
Cole, Pentucket, 7
Alexis Deschenes
, Tyngsborough, 7
Ki. Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 7
Gallagher, Billerica, 7
Advertisement
Nolan Jennings
, Burlington, 7
Stys, Pentucket, 7
Cardinal, Lynnfield, 6
Nevin Maher
, Essex Tech, 6
Powers, Lynnfield, 6
Michael Torrisi
, Pentucket, 6
7. Daily strikeout leaderboard
Dakota Vaudreuil
, Bartlett, 17
Emma Penniman
, Triton, 16
Tessa Francis
, Marblehead, 11
Mackenzy Ponte
, Westport, 10
Sophie Baker
, Medfield, 9
Molly Abdella
, Tahanto, 8
Bella Mara
, St. Paul, 8
8. Coaching carousel
Mike Scammon
has doubled his duties at North Andover, where he will take over as the girls' volleyball coach in the fall. Scammon has served as the Scarlet Knights' boys' volleyball coach for the past five seasons, winning a Merrimack Valley Conference title in 2021, when he was named MVC Coach of the Year. The Methuen native and teacher at Methuen High also serves as the program director for the New England Storm volleyball club.
NEW GIRLS VOLLEYBALL COACH
Excited to announce Mike Scammon as our new Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach!
— Scarlet Knights (@NA_Athletics)
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Anderson's 3-hitter against Coastal Carolina in CWS finals opener puts LSU 1 win away from title
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kade Anderson pitched a three-hitter in his second straight dominant start, and LSU moved within a win of its second national championship in three years with a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Saturday night. The Chanticleers (56-12) lost for the first time in 27 games and must win Sunday to force a third and deciding game Monday night. LSU (52-15) made Steve Milam's RBI single in the first inning stand up with Anderson getting stronger as the game progressed against a Coastal Carolina team that had won its first three CWS games by a combined 24-9. The lefty, a projected top-three pick in next month's MLB amateur draft, was just as good as he was in LSU's CWS opener against Arkansas last weekend. He has allowed one run and six hits and struck out 17 in 16 innings in Omaha. Against the Chanticleers he struck out 10, but he had to deal with traffic on the basepaths after issuing three of his five walks in the first two innings and hitting two batters. He was up to the challenge. The Chanticleers were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Anderson (12-1) walked pinch-hitter Domenico Tozzi with two outs in the ninth, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Nate Yeskie. Anderson then got Wells Sykes to fly out to end the game. Anderson and catcher Luis Hernandez embraced, and then their teammates mobbed them behind the mound. Anderson worked around two walks in the first inning, got out of the third when Sebastian Alexander was caught stealing third base, and he struck out three in a row after Blagen Pado's double leading off the fourth. After he gave up LSU's early run, Coastal Carolina's Cameron Flukey (8-2) matched zeroes with Anderson from the second to sixth inning. Flukey limited the Tigers to four hits, walked two and struck out nine before turning the ball over to Dominick Carbone to start the seventh. The Tigers are 16-0 when they have a lead at any point when Anderson is pitching. It was Anderson's second shutout of the season. They'll try to lock up their eighth national title Sunday. Coastal Carolina won the national title in its first trip to Omaha in 2016 and is seeking to become the fifth school to win the title in each of its first two trips to the CWS, but the first since Michigan in 1962.
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Anderson's 3-hitter against Coastal Carolina in CWS finals opener puts LSU 1 win away from title
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kade Anderson pitched a three-hitter in his second straight dominant start, and LSU moved within a win of its second national championship in three years with a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Saturday night. The Chanticleers (56-12) lost for the first time in 27 games and must win Sunday to force a third and deciding game Monday night. LSU (52-15) made Steve Milam's RBI single in the first inning stand up with Anderson getting stronger as the game progressed against a Coastal Carolina team that had won its first three CWS games by a combined 24-9. The lefty, a projected top-three pick in next month's MLB amateur draft, was just as good as he was in LSU's CWS opener against Arkansas last weekend. He has allowed one run and six hits and struck out 17 in 16 innings in Omaha. Against the Chanticleers he struck out 10, but he had to deal with traffic on the basepaths after issuing three of his five walks in the first two innings and hitting two batters. He was up to the challenge. The Chanticleers were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Anderson (12-1) walked pinch-hitter Domenico Tozzi with two outs in the ninth, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Nate Yeskie. Anderson then got Wells Sykes to fly out to end the game. Anderson and catcher Luis Hernandez embraced, and then their teammates mobbed them behind the mound. Anderson worked around two walks in the first inning, got out of the third when Sebastian Alexander was caught stealing third base, and he struck out three in a row after Blagen Pado's double leading off the fourth. After he gave up LSU's early run, Coastal Carolina's Cameron Flukey (8-2) matched zeroes with Anderson from the second to sixth inning. Flukey limited the Tigers to four hits, walked two and struck out nine before turning the ball over to Dominick Carbone to start the seventh. The Tigers are 16-0 when they have a lead at any point when Anderson is pitching. It was Anderson's second shutout of the season. They'll try to lock up their eighth national title Sunday. Coastal Carolina won the national title in its first trip to Omaha in 2016 and is seeking to become the fifth school to win the title in each of its first two trips to the CWS, but the first since Michigan in 1962. ___ AP college sports:
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Kade Anderson's 3-hit shutout of Coastal Carolina in CWS finals opener puts LSU 1 win from national title
OMAHA, Neb. — Kade Anderson pitched a three-hitter in his second straight dominant start, and LSU moved within a win of its second national championship in three years with a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Saturday night. The Chanticleers (56-12) lost for the first time in 27 games and must win Sunday to force a third and deciding game Monday night. LSU (52-15) made Steve Milam's RBI single in the first inning stand up with Anderson getting stronger as the game progressed against a Coastal Carolina team that had won its first three CWS games by a combined 24-9. The lefty, a projected top-three pick in next month's MLB draft, was just as good as he was in LSU's CWS opener against Arkansas last weekend. He has allowed one run and six hits and struck out 17 in 16 innings in Omaha. Against the Chanticleers he struck out 10, but he had to deal with traffic on the basepaths after issuing three of his five walks in the first two innings and hitting two batters. He was up to the challenge. The Chanticleers were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Anderson (12-1) walked pinch hitter Domenico Tozzi with two outs in the ninth, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Nate Yeskie. Anderson then got Wells Sykes to fly out to end the game. Anderson and catcher Luis Hernandez embraced, and their teammates mobbed them behind the mound. Anderson worked around two walks in the first inning, got out of the third when Sebastian Alexander was caught stealing third base, and he struck out three in a row after Blagen Pado's double leading off the fourth. After he gave up LSU's early run, Coastal Carolina's Cameron Flukey (8-2) matched zeros with Anderson from the second to sixth inning. Flukey limited the Tigers to four hits, walked two and struck out nine before turning the ball over to Dominick Carbone to start the seventh. The Tigers are 16-0 when they have a lead at any point when Anderson is pitching. It was Anderson's second shutout of the season. They'll try to lock up their eighth national title Sunday. Coastal Carolina won the national title in its first trip to Omaha in 2016 and is seeking to become the fifth school to win the title in each of its first two trips to the CWS but the first since Michigan in 1962.
