When Sophomore Lawrence Falter gave up a line drive base hit to the first batter he faced Saturday morning at Methuen, little could the Methuen lineup have suspected, as their lead off-man rounded first to the claps and cheers of his teammates, that this would be their only base hit for the next seven innings against Falter.
But that’s precisely the scenario that took place on a chilly mid-April morning, as Methuen managed to get only four more men on base, two on walks and two on errors, the rest of the way. More importantly, none of them would cross the plate against the Everett righthander, who tamed his opponents on just 79 pitches.
“Lawrence was immense,” said EHS head coach Joe Lento “He had his control and went right at the Methuen hitters all game.”
Everett gave Falter all the run support he would need in the opening frame when Shawn Doyle and Jamel Vilmont drew walks and Mac Singleton brought in Doyle with a base hit for a quick 1-0 Everett lead in the top of the first.
The Crimson Tide then provided Falter with plenty of insurance with a three run outburst in the fifth. Once again the trio of Doyle (base hit), Vilmont (RBI triple), and Singleton (RBI base hit) keyed the Everett rally, with Matt Pothier contributing an RBI base hit that delivered Singleton.
But the game belonged to Falter, whose impressive initial outing of the 2013 campaign has shown that he is ready to build upon his strong 2012 freshman season.
On the holiday the Tide took on a powerful St. John’s Prep team and fell by a 10-1 margin. Pothier got the start on the mound, but early control problems gave the Prep, which is one of the top ranked teams in the state, some scoring chances of which they took advantage.
Still, Lento saw some positives in his team’s performance despite the final outcome. “We did some good things that will bode well for the future,” said Lento, noting that his team committed only one error in a fine defensive effort that was highlighted by a fence-leaping catch by Pothier (when he switched from the pitcher’s mound to the outfield) to rob St. John’s of a home run. “It was one of the greatest catches by an outfielder that I’ve ever seen,” lauded Lento of Pothier’s backward-leaping, over-the-fence grab.
Everett scored its lone tally on a nicely-executed suicide squeeze by Tommy Woodward that brought across Mike Vitukevich.
Everett is set to open defense of its Greater Boston League title (and seek its fourth straight crown) today (Wednesday) at 10:00 against Malden at Pine Banks. The Tide will travel to Methuen again Saturday at 10:00 for another non-league tilt. Lento and his crew then are off until next Thursday when they will face GBL foe Medford at Playstead Park.
EHS softball team opens with 17-3 win
The Everett High softball team opened its season with a 17-3 win at Melrose in a contest called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
Lady Crimson Tide pitcher Franki Perreault went all five frames, yielding just four hits and one earned run while fanning three and walking five.
Everett opened its season on a smashing note with seven runs in the top of the first. After Alea Martinelli led off by drawing a base on balls and Samantha Batres bunted safely, Janyne Sierra singled into the outfield to bring in Martinelli with the Lady Crimson Tide’s first run of the 2013 campaign.
With runners on first and second, Batres reached third on a delayed steal on a throw back to the pitcher and Sierra stole second on the throw to third. Talia Mirra then delivered a base hit knocking in Batres. After Jess Wade was hit by pitch to load the bases, Kylie Jepson drew a walk to force in Sierra. Mariana Miranda bunted up the line, reaching first safely to allow Mirra to score.
With the top of the order back up, Martinelli doubled into the outfield, rescuing Wade and Jepson. Batres concluded the outburst with a base hit to bring in Miranda
Melrose got one back in the second thanks to an error and passed ball, but Everett struck back with a pair in the third. Martinelli got things going once again by drawing a base on balls. Consecutive base hits by Batres and Sierra scored Alea and Batres came home on a fielder’s on a ball hit by Talia Mirra.
Melrose scored twice in its half of the third to make it 10-3, but Everett put the game away with seven runs in the fourth. Perreault started the inning with a triple and Sophia Marchant came in as her courtesy runner. Marchant scored on a single hit by Wade and Wade came home on a triple by Jepson.
Vickie Burge, hitting for Gerace, then walked. With runners at first and third, Burge stole second, allowing Jepson to steal home on the throw to second base. After Martinelli walked for the third time on the day, Sierra came through with a base hit into the outfield, knocking in Burge and Martinelli.
A walk to Mirra walked and a base hit by Perreault filled the sacks for Wade, who came through with a double to score Sierra and Mirra.
“We hit the ball well against Melrose,” said EHS head coach Stacy Poste. “We also got timely hitting when we needed it. Franki pitched well. She forced many Melrose batters to hit on the ground and our infield made the proper plays. With only one day of practice outside before this game, the coaches were every happy with the team’s level of play.”
The Lady Crimson Tide did not have as much luck a few days later in a 3-1 loss at Lexington. Perreault once again turned in a superlative effort on the rubber (there is no pitcher’s mound in softball), allowing just four hits and two earned runs over the six inning route.
Lexington pecked away for solo runs in the first, third, and sixth innings before Everett made a comeback bid in the top of the seventh. Batres started the rally with a lead off base hit up the middle and moved to second when the Lexington third baseman knocked down a line drive by Sierra. Perreault helped her own cause with a base hit to bring in Batres, but that would prove to be the most that the Lady Crimson Tide could muster against the Lexington hurler.
“We just could not get our bats on the ball,” said Poste. “There were too many strikeouts and not enough hits. We almost made a comeback in the last inning, but fell short with two runners on base.
“We also got hurt when we walked batters and allowed them to score,” continued the coach. “They had four hits, but none of the runs were because of them. We need to make the correct plays to stop the opposing team from scoring. There are a lot of things we need to work on that we saw in both games and hopefully can improve upon before we play the games that come after vacation.”
EHS girls track team competes against Somerville
The Everett High girls outdoor track team took on Somerville last week and turned in a number of fine performances.
Elsbeth Colson scored 11 points for the Lady Crimson Tide, taking first place in the 100 meter high hurdles in 19.3 seconds; second in the 400 intermediate hurdles in 1:23.7; and second in the triple jump with a hop, skip, and jump of 26-3.
“Elsbeth did a great job for us once again at this meet,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “She consistently scores points for us in both hurdle events if she’s in them. She was a little hesitant to pick up a jumping event this year, but I really thought she had potential in either the triple or the long. She did well for her first time competing in the triple jump at this meet and I think she could even break the school record in that event this season, so we will definitely utilize her in the triple jump.”
Fellow hurdler Lena Nguyen also enjoyed a stellar afternoon, racing to second in the 100 hurdles in 20.6 and grabbing third in the 400 hurdles in 1:25.4.
“Lena is another individual who is doing great for us this season,” added Irish. “She always is willing to step up where we need her most.”
Megan Eugene placed third for Everett in the 100 meter dash in 13.5, which was a personal record (PR) and drew Irish’s plaudits. “Megan had a PR today in that event and she is close to qualifying for states,” noted Irish.
Kathy Pham also scored in two events for Everett, placing second in the long jump at 13-0 and third in the high jump with a leap of 4-2.
“Kathy did well in the long jump for us,” noted Irish. “I think she has a shot at jumping a lot further this season. She needs to fine tune her take off and landing to get her to where she’s capable of jumping.”
Other point scorers for Everett were Emila Ponikiewski, who placed third in the 800 meter run in 2:51.2.; Laurynns Joseph with a second in the 400 meter dash in 1:14; Victoria Thistle in the 400 in 1:20; Rishika Joshi, who came home in second in the mile in 7:50.3 (a PR for Rishika); and Djenny Lorjuste, who placed third in the 200 meter dash in 30.6.
The most exciting race of the day was the 4 x 100 meter relay, with the quartet of Pham, Yasmin Tejada, Sheryl Steeves, and Lorjuste running for Everett.
“Somerville just beat us with a time of 57.4 and we ran 57.5,” said Irish. “Djenny made a up a lot of distance in the last leg, but we just missed getting first. The handoffs were much better this time around and they will continue to get better in the girls’ effort to qualify for states.”
Gabriel sets new EHS mark in javelin
Justin Gabriel broke his own school record in the javelin with a throw of 134 feet, nine inches, in last week’s meet with Somerville. Justin’s toss was one of many highlights for the EHS boys’ outdoor track team against their Greater Boston League rival.
Justin contributed six points to the Everett cause, taking second in the javelin and second in the discus with a toss of 93-1.
Lorentz Etienne enjoyed a banner day for the Crimson Tide, taking first place in the long jump with a leap of 18-9 and third place in the 200 meter dash second in 25.2 seconds. Etienne also led off the winning 4 x 100 relay quartet, bringing home first place with teammates Tony Tran, Kenny Phan and Grandhi Deris in a time of 47.9, to give him 7.25 points on the day.
“Lorentz had a big personal record in the long jump and Justin did a great job in the javelin, setting a new school record this early in the season,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish.
Hieu Vo-Tran earned six points with a pair of second place finishes in the 400 meter dash in 1:12.3 and in the high jump with a leap of 5-8. “Hieu got second in the high jump and is four inches away from qualifying for states,” noted Irish. “The standard is a bit tougher in the outdoor season at 6-0 as opposed to 5-10 during the indoor season. His goal is to make the state meet again this season like he did during the indoor season.”
Teammate Stephen Carlin took third in two events, the 400 meter dash in 1:13.8 and the 100 meter high hurdles in 20.1. “Stephen Carlin continues to get better in both hurdle events and consistently scores for the team,” added Irish.
Other point scorers for Everett were Tuan Vo with a second place in the 800 meter run in 2:16; Jason Hansen with a third in the triple jump in 36-7; and Jefrey Perez with a third place effort in the two mile run in 11:43.8.
The GBL freshman/sophomore meet is set for today (Wednesday). at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.
The entire team will compete against Malden next Thursday.