EHS baseball team defeats Beverly behind Mallard 2-hitter
The Everett high baseball team turned in one of its best all-around performances of the season to earn a 3-1 victory over Beverly Monday afternoon at Glendale Park.
Senior left-hander Evan Mallard went all seven innings against a potent Beverly squad, limiting the Panthers to just two hits, while striking out 12 and walking three.
“This was Evan’s best game of the season,” said EHS head coach Joe Lento. “He had great stuff and whenever Beverly threatened, he pitched his way out of trouble.”
The Crimson Tide defense played superbly in the victory, backing up Mallard with an error-free effort.
Everett gave Mallard all of the support he would need with a three-run uprising in the third inning. Senior Michael Sullivan singled and moved to third on a base hit by Brandon Gibbs. Although Sullivan was cut down at the plate on a ground-out by D.J. Warren, senior captain Jonathan Fitzgerald kept the rally alive with a base hit that delivered Gibbs across the plate.
Senior Greg Reed then delivered the key blow of the inning, a two-run double, that scored both Warren and Fitzgerald.
The rest was left up to Mallard and the Everett defense, who came through in winning fashion.
“This is the type of performance that we know we’re capable of,” said Lento. “Our hitting and defense have been fine, but with a busy stretch of our schedule coming up, we’ll be depending on our pitchers to be consistent and to keep us in every game.”
Lento and his crew, who now stand at 3-5 on the season, are slated to make the short trek down the Parkway to Revere today (Wednesday). They will host Lynn Classical tomorrow (Thursday) and entertain Somerville on Monday. They then will hit the road for three away games, traveling to Peabody on Tuesday for a make-up game, to Lynn English next Thursday, and to Salem next Friday.
EHS girls track defeats Salem
The Everett High girls outdoor track & field team earned its first victory of the season with a 62.5-50.5 triumph over Salem last week.
Kira Gray was the top scorer for the Lady Crimson Tide, netting eight points. Kira took first place in the discus with a throw of 76’-1” and second in the shot put with a toss of 28’-3.” Victoria Chaparro added six points to the Everett side of the scoresheet wth a pair of second-place finishes in the long jump (13’-5”) and the 200 dash (28.9 seconds).
Everett almost swept the javelin, led by Carolanne Cardinale with a throw of 91’-3.” Teammate Cyara Lambert took second (82’-9”) and Jessica Garcia Aquirre tied for third with her toss of 57’-1.”
Other first-place finishers for Everett in their events were: Dajana Tadic with a triple jump of 29’-4.5”; Lakisha Kimon in the 110 hurdles in 21.3; Lyanne Murphy in the 400 hurdles with a clocking of 1:37; and Sthefany Luna in the two-mile with a run of 13:51.8.
Contributing three points to the EHS winning effort with second-place finishes were: Piper Baker in the 100 dash (13.9), Leslye Rojas-Rugel in the mile (7:35.2), Eduarda Bernardo in the 800 (3:40.2), and Tanashia Johnson in the 400 dash (1:15.4).
Third-place finishers who added single points for Everett were: Rejeana Guillaume in the long jump (12’-11”), Lambert in the 200 dash (30.6), and Jane Odiari in the 400 dash (1:21.4.)
“The girls were excited for this meet, knowing that they could win it,” said EHS head coach Jehu Cimea. “They came out aggressively and ready to compete. Again, we got key contribution from our captains (Cyara Lambert, Sthefany Luna, Carolann Cardinale, and Victoria Chaparro) and other members on the team who stepped up during events that we needed in order to win this meet. Freshman Rejeana Guillaume has been amazing in her first year of competing and is the future of the girls’ sprint team.”
Cimea and his squad are scheduled to take on Malden tomorrow (Thursday).
EHS softball team drops two close contests
It was an up-and-down week for the Everett High softball team.
Last Monday, the Lady Crimson Tide easily handled long-time archival, Malden, 15-2, in a contest that was called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
Ariana Garay tossed all five innings for Everett, allowing just four hits while walking three and striking out three opponents.
After spotting Lady Golden Tornados as 1-0 lead in the opening inning, the Lady Crimson Tide struck for 13 runs (on just four hits) in the third frame, thanks mainly to wildness by the Malden pitcher.
The Lady Crimson Tide had an opportunity to shine on defense in the fourth inning. After the lead-off Malden hitter walked and moved to second on a single, she was cut down at third by shortstop Maddy Duraes, who made a nice play to third baseman Maddy Smith. Then, with Malden already having scored one run and the bases loaded, Veronica Bento threw out a runner at home for the second out and Smith made another play to home to catcher Kaylee Nearen for the third out to end the threat.
Everett put some more runs up on the board in its half of the fourth. Haley Oteri singled and Bento singled with one out, setting the table for Duraes, who delivered both teammates across the plate with a double for the 15-2 finale.
“The defense did a great job backing Ariana,” said EHS head coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo. “When runners got on, we made the plays to make sure to get the lead runners and stop runs from coming in.”
Two days later, the Lady Crimson Tide made the quick trek to Medford and came up just short by a score of 2-1.
Celeste Fuccillo pitched all seven innings, allowing nine hits, striking out two, and issuing just one walk.
Everett had a chance to take an early lead in the top of the first when Oteri drew a walk to lead off the game, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bento, and then advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Duraes. However, the Lady Crimson Tide were unable to bring Haley home.
Everett had another scoring opportunity in the second when Garay led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by Maddy Smith. Smith stole second to place runners at second and third, but once again the Lady Crimson Tide squandered their chance to get on the board.
The third proved more of the same for Everett. Sidney Hennessey led off with a single and was sacrifice bunted to second by Oteri. But that was as far as Sidney would get when the inning ended.
Everett had more baserunners in the next innings, but did not break through until the sixth. After Bento reached first on an error, Duraes singled, moving Veronica to second. With one out, Garay singled into the outfield, bringing Bento around for a 1-0 Everett lead.
However, the Lady Crimson Tide’s advantage proved short-lived when Medford’s clean-up hitter belted a solo home run over the fence in the next inning. The Lady Mustangs threatened to pull ahead after the homer, placing runners at second and third with two outs, but the Everett defense held firm.
In the top of the seventh, Oteri drew a two-out walk, but advanced no further. Medford then pushed across the game-winner in the bottom of the inning.
“This was such a great game by both teams, said Poste-Schiavo. “It was a battle back and forth. Celeste and Kaylee did an amazing job as the battery. Our defense backed her up every inning. We had an error-less game. Medford did get hits, but we made the plays to keep them from scoring, except in the last inning. We told the girls we were proud of how they played and that they never gave up. Unfortunately, we hit right to the defense and Medford made some great catches to stop us from getting on or scoring.”
This past Friday the Lady Crimson Tide hosted Peabody and came up on the short end of a 7-5 decision that went into extra innings.
Fuccillo, who went all eight innings in the pitcher’s circle, yielding eight hits and fanning 10 Lady Tanners, began the game on fire, striking out the Peabody side in the top of the first.
The Everett defense came to the forefront in the second frame when a Peabody runner was caught in a rundown between second and third for the second out and Nearen sprang from behind the plate to grab a ball that died in front of the plate to throw out the batter at first.
The Lady Crimson Tide had a chance to do some damage in the third when they loaded the bases on a walk to Gray, a bunt single by Smith, and another base-on-balls to Ashley Fitzgerald. However, Everett could not capitalize on the opportunity, with a strikeout ending the inning for the final out.
“We had the opportunity here to score early, but we just couldn’t get the bat on the ball this inning,” noted Poste-Schiavo.
Although both pitchers were cruising with shutouts through the first five frames, the final three innings saw the bats on both teams turn the tables.
Peabody struck for five runs in the top of the sixth, powered by a two-run homer, a double, two singles, and a walk. Everett got three of those back in the bottom of the inning when Duraes led off with a single, Garay walked, and Smith doubled to bring in Maddy D. With two outs, both Garay and Smith scored on an error by Peabody to leave matters at 5-3.
The Lady Crimson Tide brought the contest back to level with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Oteri started the rally by reaching first when she was hit by a pitch. With one out, Duraes singled and Nearen followed with a double, scoring Oteri. Duraes then came home with the equalizer on a sacrifice fly by Garay to send the game into extra innings.
However, Peabody struck in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer for the 7-5 finale.
“This was such an impressive game,” said Poste-Schiavo. “Peabody has a great pitcher and they hit very well. I am so proud of the girls for digging deep and coming back to tie it up. They never gave up and that is all we can ask as coaches. We have been practicing indoors a lot and to see how well Everett played defensively has been amazing since we have not been able to practice infield and outfield.
“However, we still can improve on our hitting,” the coach continued. “We are still very inconsistent. We see how well these girls hit in the cage off the machine and get frustrated when we see live pitching that fast and don’t hit. Celeste pitched back-to-back games and never stopped pushing. The defense backed her up the entire game. The infield was very strong, stopping balls from reaching the outfield. In the sixth inning, Peabody just caught up to her pitching and there was nothing we could do about where the ball dropped. The runs were not caused by errors, just hard-hit balls.”
Poste-Schiavo and her crew have a busy week ahead with six games in a 10-day stretch: They were scheduled to trek to Beverly this past Monday and will host new arch-rival Revere today (Wednesday). They will play at Lynn Classical Saturday afternoon, travel to Swampscott next Monday, entertain Waltham next Tuesday, and play at Lynn English next Wednesday.
Jules wins two sprint events for EHS boys track
Although the Everett High boys outdoor track and field team came up short in its meet with Salem last week by a score of 71-59, there were a number of fine performances turned in by members of the Crimson Tide squad.
Clarence Jules won both sprint events to score 10 points. Clarence sped to victory in the 100 dash in 11.6 seconds and then did his Usain Bolt impression with a victory in the 200 dash in 23.7.
Jason Louis was the top scorer for Everett on the day, notching 12 points in four events. Jason won the 400 dash in 56.0, took second in both the triple jump with a landing of 31’ and the long jump with a leap of 16’-7.5”, and grabbed third in the 200 dash in 25.3.
Djynno Jean scored six points with a pair of second-place performances in the 400 hurdles (1:06.3) and the 800 (2:27). Mario Sheard also accounted for six points with a first-place throw of 109’-5” in the discus and a third-place toss of 106’-5” in the javelin.
Eduardo Chaparro tallied five points in three events: second in the javelin (109’-5”) and thirds in the long jump (16’-2.5”) and the 400 dash (59.5).
Chonlee Cine won the 110 hurdles in 18.2.
Second-place finishers for the Crimson Tide were: Javier Chavez in the shot put (35’-4.75”); Samy LaMothe in the 100 dash (12.2); and Arthur Rosa in the two-mile (11:41.8).
Adding third-place points were Mauricio Reyes-Villanueva in the 100 dash (12.8) and Bandon Previlon in the 400 hurdles (1:07.2).
The Crimson Tide’s hopes for a victory sank when their top performer this season, Ryan Vu, had to leave the meet with an injury after taking first place in the triple jump with a leap of 37’-9.75.”
“The injury to Ryan left us short in some events,” said EHS head coach Jehu Cimea. “He will be healing up for four crucial meets coming up, with Malden on Thursday (tomorrow), States Invitational Meet on Saturday the 11th, Medford on Monday, and the League Championship on Saturday the 18th.”
EHS track competes at NEC Fr/So Meet
The freshman and sophomore members of the Everett High girls and boys outdoor track and field teams competed in Saturday’s Northeastern Conference Freshman/Sophomore Meet that was held at Danvers High.
The top Crimson Tide performer of the day was Brandon Previlon, who finished in second place in the 400 meter hurdles. Brandon’s time was 63.1 seconds.
Samy LaMothe also placed well, sprinting to a third-place finish in the 100 dash in a clocking of 11.9.
On the girls’ side, Rejeana Guillaume won an individual ribbon for her fifth place finish in the 100 dash with a clocking of 13.8. Rejeana Guillaume also ran a leg of the 4 x 100 relay quartet that finished in fifth place with teammates Gitalia Boyce, Tanashia Johnson, and Dajana Tadic.
Alyssa Hurley brought home an eighth place ribbon for her javelin toss of 47’-6”.
“The future of the Everett boys and girls track team was in full force on Saturday,” said EHS head coach Jehu Cimea. “Freshman Rejeana Guillaume had herself a day, placing fifth in the 100 and running a personal best of 13.8. She also ran the first leg of the 5th place 4×100 team.
“Sophomore Brandon Previlon placed second in the 400 hurdles, running it in a personal best of 63.1,” Cimea added. “The future of the team is bright and it starts with these amazing student-athletes.”