The Everett High baseball team pulled out a victory in the late innings, but then fell victim to another last-inning rally by an opponent in a split of its two games this past week.
In an 8-5 triumph over Greater Boston League rival Malden last Monday, the Crimson Tide rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to erase a 5-4 deficit. A pair of clutch two-RBI base hits by sophomore John Uga and senior captain Michael Rossi proved to be the key blows in the EHS comeback effort.
The Crimson Tide had grabbed an early lead in the contest with a solo run in the opening inning and three more in the second frame. The three-run rally began with a walk to freshman Brian Bessler and base hits by freshman R.J. Fialli and sophomore Ken DeLorey to load the bases. After Tom Woodward was hit by a pitch to force in Bessler, Justin Johnson came through with a base hit that delivered Fialli and DeLorey.
Everett ace Lawrence Falter went all seven innings on the mound to pick up his fourth victory of the season. Falter allowed seven hits and four earned runs, while fanning nine and walking one.
Two days later the Crimson Tide trekked to fabled Fraser Field in Lynn to take on Lynn English of the Northeastern Conference. The fates were not kind to Everett and starting pitcher Rossi, who fell victim to a last-inning, game-winning run by English in a 4-3 loss. Rossi turned in yet another strong performance on the mound for Coach Joe Lento’s squad, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits. Michael recorded seven strikeouts and walked only two. But as has been the case all year for the tough-luck pitcher, a combination of a lack of run support and occasional poor fielding by his teammates proved to be the decisive factor.
Lento and his crew, who now stand at 4-5 on the season, face a key stretch of games in the coming week (six contests in 10 days) that could prove crucial in their drive both for a GBL title and qualifying for the state tourney. The Crimson Tide were set to meet GBL foes Medford this past Monday and then host Somerville today (Wednesday). They will travel to Saugus of the Cape Ann League Friday; host non-league foe Methuen Saturday morning at 11:00; and entertain GBL rival Cambridge Monday. They will play at Malden next Wednesday.
EHS track teams compete in meet
Members of the Everett High girls and boys outdoor track teams competed in the Sunset Invitational Meet that was held Saturday at New Bedford Vocational School.
The top finisher for the girls was sophomore Djenny Lorjuste, who finished in ninth place in the large field in the 200 meter dash with a time of 29.14 seconds. Djenny also finished ninth in the long jump with her leap of 14’-3”.
Freshman Sabrina Moreta also competed in two events, taking 12th place in the 400 dash in 1:08.76 and 14th in the high jump with a height of 4’-4”.
Freshman Jalissa Harding was the top finisher for Everett in the 100 dash with a 22nd place ranking in a time of 14.52. Senior Sheryl Steeves was the next Lady Crimson Tide competitor in the 100 in 15.00, followed by sophomore Jasmine Harding in 15.02, sophomore Vanessa Cazeau in 15.28, and freshman Brianna Gutierrez in 15.82.
In the 200 dash, Lady Crimson Tide sprinters who followed Lorjuste were junior Laurynns Joseph in 30.60, junior Sharyn Gladstone in 31.42, and junior Patsy Araujo-Arrechea in 34.92.
In the mile run, sophomore Prima Prajapati was the first Everett girl across the line in a clocking of 7:36. Teammates sophomore Nedgy Pierre (8:27) and freshman Manal Riadi (8:46) followed.
In the 400 hurdles, EHS senior Elspeth Colson finished in 14th place in 1:25.5. Sophomore Annie Pierreville competed in the shot put and discus with tosses of 25’-0” and 83’-4” respectively, good for 13th and 10th places respectively. Sophomore teammate Mainsa Millren likewise competed in both events with throws of 18’-9” and 53’-3”.
The girls 4 x 100 relay team of Djenny Lorjuste, Laurynns Joseph, Sheryl Steeves, and Sabrina Moreta qualified for the Division I State Meet with a sprint of 55.43. The girls 4 x 400 relay quartet of Brianna Guiterrez, Vanessa Cazeau, Jalissa Harding, and Sharyn Gladstone came across the line in 5:12.41.
On the boys’ side, the 4 x 100 crew of Fritzbert Jonathas, Lucas Tejada, Edwin Gonzalez, and Lorentz Etienne also turned in a fine performance with a time of 48.53, good for ninth place among the field. “The boys 4 x 100 ran a great race as well,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “They improved on their time and the handoffs between each of them were very good.”
The coach also praised the 4 x 400 quartet of Jason Hansen, Mikal Smith, Carlos Acevedo, and Raphen Vidal, who came across in 12th place in a time of 3:39.26.
Individual performances were led by senior Lucas Tejada in the 200 dash in 18th place in 25.28. He was followed by Crimson Tide junior Fritzbert Jonathas in 25.33, senior Lorentz Etienne in 25.56, senior Jason Hansen in 25.98, junior Carlos Acevedo in 26.03, junior Edwin Gonzales in 26.32, sophomore Jaaies Jean-Louis in 29.13 and senior Alex Andre in 30.68.
Senior Raphen Vidal ran the 800 in 2:13.45. Senior Alex Burgos finished the mile in 5:35 and sophomore Denny Le came across the line in 5:40. In the 110 high hurdles, senior Stephen Carlin finished 13th in 19.18 and in the 400 hurdles, senior Marlon Flores-Paniaqua finished in 18th in 1:17.83.
Junior Irvin Dorsainvil’s shotput toss of 39’-2” was good for 16th place and junior Javan Mortel had a heave of 29’-3.5”. Etienne had a long jump of 16’-2”. Hansen triple jumped 33’-9” and Le had a triple jump of 28’-9”.
“Our distance runners had a fantastic day,” said Irish. “All of them set personal records (PR) in their events. Lucas (Tejada) had a terrific 200 meter race, which was a PR for him.”
Irish and her squads were set to be back in action today (Wednesday) against Medford.
EHS softball team drops pair
The Everett High softball team dropped a pair of contests this past week, falling to Malden, 3-0, and to Lowell, 10-3.
In the Malden contest, EHS pitcher Sydnee Bessler turned in a stellar performance, allowing just two hits and walking only one. All three of Malden’s runs were unearned thanks to three Everett errors.
However, the Lady Crimson Tide bats were silent. Sam Uga was the big hitter for Everett, going 2-for-3 with a double and single, while Bessler had one hit.
“Our not hitting and not producing runs is hurting us,” said EHS head coach Stacy Poste. “Errors also have hurt because we have lost close games that have been decided by errors.
“This loss was frustrating,” added the coach. “We should have had a 0-0 score going into extra innings if no errors were made. These are little things we practice daily, but did not execute during the game.”
Everett’s two subsequent games last week with Winthrop and Latin Academy were rained out, bringing the Lady Crimson Tide to Saturday evening’s encounter at Lowell.
Everett took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Uga drew a walk, stole second, moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and then scored on a base hit by Nicole Sylvester. However, Lowell responded with a five-run uprising in its half of the inning on just three hits, as walks and errors played a big role in the Lowell rally.
Everett added a marker in the sixth when Sylvester singled and courtesy runner Diana Concannon stole second. A base hit by Bessler moved Concannon to third. Everett filled the bases when Mariana McCarthy reached first on a dead ball and then Erica Ginepra drew a walk to bring in Concannon to make it 5-2.
However, that would prove to be as close as Everett would get and Lowell tacked on five more runs in its half of the sixth to seal the contest. Everett added a solo tally in the seventh on base hits by Uga and Talia Mirra, a hit-batsman (Bessler), and a fielder’s choice to bring in Uga.
Bessler went all six frames, yielding six earned runs on 11 hits and fanning seven.
Poste and her crew, who now are 4-5 on the season, have a busy week. They were set to host Medford this past Monday and will trek to Somerville today (Wednesday). They’ll travel to Winthrop Friday and to Cambridge Monday before returning home next Wednesday for a rematch with Malden.