EHS Softball Edges Medford With Dramatic Walk-Off Win, 6–5; Then Topples Lynn Classical
The Everett High softball team knocked off its two chief Greater Boston League (GBL) rivals, Medford and Lynn Classical, this past week to place themselves into prime position for a share of the GBL championship.
The twin wins moved the Lady Crimson Tide into a tie for first place with Classical. Both teams have two losses in the GBL and Everett will conclude its season tomorrow (Thursday) at Somerville, a team that the Lady Crimson Tide handily defeated in their first meeting this season by a score of 22-1.
Last Wednesday, Everett scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn a dramatic 6-5 victory over Medford, which entered the fray just one game behind Everett in the GBL.
The Lady Mustangs held a 5-4 lead entering the top of the seventh and threatened to add to their margin when, with two outs, a two-out single and steal placed a Medford runner into scoring position.
However, an attempted steal of third proved to be a base too far, as EHS catcher Kayley Rossi gunned down the Lady Mustang at third to end the inning and maintain the margin at one run.
Everett wasted no time in achieving the winning tallies. Emma Longmore led off the decisive seventh with a triple and a bunt by Jayla Davila resulted in an overthrow by the Medford catcher to third in an attempt to get Longmore.
Emma scored on the error and the speedy Davila made it all the way to third. After Rossi drew a one-out walk, Emila Maria Babock laid down a bunt along the first base line on which Davila raced home with the winning tally.
“This was such a great game,” said EHS head coach Stacy Schiavo. “The last time we faced them we hit so well off their pitcher and beat them 18-6. But that was not the case in this game.
“This win was about heart,” Schiavo continued. “We told the girls in the last inning we were NOT losing by one run. They needed to show heart and get up to the plate and put all their mechanics they know to use. When Longmore tripled, we knew we had to play small ball. Davila can get the bunt down and with her speed we could get runners on. We had hitters coming up in the line-up, so I knew we would at least tie.
“Normally, we have Emilia hit, but knew with her speed she could beat it out as well,” Schiavo added. “She put an amazing bunt down and with Jayla’s speed, it all just worked out.”
EHS star hurler Celeste Fuccillo turned in a strong effort in the pitcher’s circle, tossing all seven innings in which Celeste struck out nine opponents and yielded only four base hits, though six walks helped Medford score its five runs.
Medford scored all five of its runs in the third thanks to a combination of walks, errors, a single, and a double and moved out to a 5-1 advantage at that point.
Everett cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the fifth. Gianna Masucci singled into the outfield with one out and came home on a triple by Alexa Uga tripled to right. After Bryanna Mason put down a bunt and reached first safely, Davila beat out a bunt, allowing Uga to score.
The Everett defense kept Medford off the board in the sixth. With the bases-loaded and one out, Uga fielded a grounder at third and threw home for the force. Alexa then grabbed another grounder her way and stepped on the bag for the final out of the inning.
The Lady Crimson Tide narrowed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Rossi walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Babcock, and scored on a double by Masucci.
This past Monday, the Lady Crimson Tide knocked off first-place Classical, 8-2, avenging an 8-1 defeat from earlier in the season.
Fuccillo was immense, tossing all seven innings and limiting the hard-hitting Lady Rams to just one earned run, while striking out eight and walking only one.
The contest was a scoreless duel through the first three frames until Everett broke through for two runs in the top of the fourth.
Kristi Skane almost led off with a homer, but the Lady Ram center fielder caught the long drive at the fence.
However, the Lady Crimson Tide were undeterred. Kayley Rossi singled into left and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Emilia Maria-Babcock. A base hit by Gianna Masucci placed runners at the corners, bringing up Fuccillo, who helped her own cause with a double that brought in both teammates for a 2-0 Everett advantage.
Classical brought the contest back to level, reaching Fuccillo for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Lady Crimson Tide regained the lead with a solo marker in the sixth.
After Rossi started the inning with a single into the outfield, Emilia Maria-Babcock bunted, reaching safely thanks to an error at first base allowing Emilia to move to second, with Rossi coming all the way around to score.
However, the Lady Crimson Tide were not satisfied with their one-run advantage and broke open the contest with a huge, two-out rally in the top of the seventh.
Jayla Davila drew a walk and Skane’s grounder to short was muffed, allowing Skane to get on base and the speedy Davila to move all the way to third.
Rossi then singled into the outfield, knocking in Davila. Emilia Maria-Babcock followed with another base hit, bringing in Skane.
Gianna Masucci doubled, delivering Rossi, and after Fuccillo drew a base-on-balls, Alexa Uga doubled in Babcock and Masucci to cap the five-run outburst that left matters at 8-2.
Fuccillo ended the game with a flourish, striking out the final two Lady Ram batters.
The Everett defense shone brightly at many points in the contest.
In the opening inning, Classical’s second batter tried to reach on a bunt, but was thrown out at first by catcher Rossi.
In the third, Rossi gunned down a Lady Ram, who had reached base on a walk, at second on an attempted steal. For the final out, a dropped third strike and overthrow to first was adeptly backed up by right fielder Skane, who threw out the Lady Ram when she tried to advance to second.
In the sixth, after the Classical leadoff batter doubled, Davila made a superb catch deep in centerfield and then doubled-up the Classical runner at second as she tried to get back to the base, making the throw to second baseman Emma Longmore, who in turn made the relay throw to shortstop Masucci at second.
“This was such a huge win,” said Schiavo. “We both have two losses in the league so we need to beat Somerville Thursday to share the league title.
“These girls played with everything they had,” Schiavo continued. “Celeste pitched an amazing game and our defense made the plays when needed. Our bats came out late, but they knew that Classical got their last at-bats, so we needed to get more runs. They dug deep and made contact with two outs in the seventh inning.
“This was such a great game to watch and proved that we can hang with great teams,” Schiavo added.
In between the big wins, Everett had an easier time this past Saturday, celebrating Senior Day in appropriate fashion with a17-0 rout of non-league rival Stoneham.
Fuccillo started and tossed one inning and gave way to Kristi Skane, who went the final four frames (the contest was called after four and half innings because of the mercy rule) in which she fanned 11 opponents.
The Lady Crimson Tide put the contest away from the outset, scoring eight runs in the first, one in the second, and six in the third.
Uga stroked a two-run double and Bryanna Mason belted a two-RBI triple to key the opening-inning outburst.
In the six-run third, the key hits came from a bevy of Lady Crimson Tide, including Jules Curran, Ashley Seward (who had two hits), Kaylin Seward, and Arabella Cvitkusic.
“Stoneham was positive from the beginning of the game and played as well as they could against us,” noted Schiavo. “They are a young team and the coach is rebuilding their program. We made switches in the second inning. Our defense still held them off the bases. Kristi pitched a great game and struck out 11 batters. On offense, the girls had to adjust to the slower pitching that they have not seen as much this season.”
After Schiavo and her crew wrap up their regular season with Somerville tomorrow, they will await word of their seeding and opening-round opponent in the post-season state tournament.
EHS Track Teams Compete in GBL Meet; Pochot, Gaskins Champs
Coach Jehu Cimea and his boys and girls track concluded their season this past Monday in the Greater Boston League (GBL) Meet.
Two Crimson Tide boys brought home GBL titles with outstanding performances that outclassed the rest of the field.
Senior Lilian Pochot won the long jump with a leap of 20’-1.75”, which was almost a foot further than his closest rival.
Senior Donovan Gaskins captured the discus with a spin of 116’-10”, far outdistancing the rest of the field by almost 10 feet. Donovan also placed third in the shot-put with a throw of 43’-1”.
Full results of the meet will appear in next week’s Independent.
Three Big Wins for EHS Baseball; Turilli Blanks Medford
The Everett High baseball team earned three huge victories this past week in a late-season surge to qualify for the post-season state tournament.
Junior Matt Turilli turned in a stellar performance to end what had been a five-game slide for the Crimson Tide, tossing a complete game shutout in a 6-0 victory over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford last Wednesday.
Matt allowed just three hits to the Mustangs.
“We had really been struggling as of late, but Matt went out there and gave us a great outing to help get us back on track,” said EHS head coach Joel Levine. “Between the way that he threw, our defense making the routine plays, and coming up with some timely hitting, it was a great team win.”
Everett jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a number of Medford blunders.
A few innings later, the Tide were able to get some breathing room by putting up four more.
Key hits were delivered by Justin Longmore (2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored), Alex Velasco (2-for-3 with an RBI), and Nordeivy Santana (1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored) to extend the lead.
Frankie Velasquez and Omar Marshall also chipped in with a hit apiece.
Everett then earned a come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over non-league rival Charlestown on Friday.
After giving up three runs to Charlestown that broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning, the Tide were able to claw back and tie it up.
Justin Longmore tripled to get the rally started, and later scored on Matt Turilli’s RBI single. Adam Marshall was able to get a run in by hitting a ground ball to the infield, and Everett tied it up on the very next pitch with a JJ Costa RBI single.
In the sixth, the Tide again had a deficit to overcome after a Charlestown inside-the-park home run.
The score remained at 4-3 until the bottom of the seventh inning. Brian Gibbs led off the inning off with a single, stole second, and eventually moved to third and scored the equalizer on two wild pitches, forcing the game into extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, a bases-loaded walk to Nordeivy Santana sent the seniors on Senior Night home with a walk-off victory.
Adam Marshall led the Tide with two hits, while David Saia, Omar Marshall, and Alex Velasco all had a hit apiece.
Sophomore Alex Lara received the win for Everett, throwing two scoreless innings. JJ Costa pitched six strong innings, giving up four runs and striking out nine.
This past Monday, the Tide once again defeated Charlestown to reach the .500 record (9-9) that they will need to qualify for the state tourney.
Levine and crew face a stern test against non-league rival Saugus in their final two games of the season in another home-and-home series. They were set to host Saugus today (Wednesday) and travel to Saugus on Friday.
Everett will have to earn a split in order to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.
EHS Boys Volleyball Edges Medford, 3–2; Finishes With 8–2 Record
The Everett High boys volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in appropriate fashion with a 3-2 victory over Medford in the final game of the season last week.
The Crimson Tide honored the five members of the Class of 2022 before the game for their contributions in the inaugural season of the boys volleyball program at Everett High.
Seniors Habtemariam Yirdaw and David Gutierrez Ospina joined Maricilio Melo and co-captains Brandon Ho and Caio Santos in the starting lineup, and five players recorded kills in the opening frame, which Everett took 25-16.
Melo, who tweaked an ankle before the game, had three kills. Ho had two kills and a string of services that pushed a 5-4 lead to a 15-5 advantage.
Santos added two aces, and freshman Henrique Franca had three service points and a kill.
“The team was inspired by Marcilio’s gutsy performance and we came out firing,” said EHS head coach Mike Fineran. “We lost the first set the first two times we played Medford, so we knew we had to do something differently.”
In the second set, the Tide hit five serves out and couldn’t muster much of an attack, with only two players recording kills in a 25-20 loss. However, Everett bounced back to take the third set 25-15, with sophomore Hyan Soares DeCasto serving nine points and sophomore Dawens Germain contributing three blocks. Gutierrez scored an ace to close the set.
Everett looked to close out the match in set four, but could not put the Mustangs away, despite five kills from Melo.
“We had a few chances to win,” said Fineran, “including serving up 24-23. Give Medford credit for playing hard and never giving up.”
Fineran’s squad has been no stranger to fifth set tiebreakers, and this would be the seventh of 10 matches that went the extra distance. Remarkably, Everett emerged victorious in all but two of them.
Santos, the team’s savvy setter, noticed that Medford was loading up on the block, so he smartly dropped three balls over himself for easy points. Ho had two aces in a string of serves that turned a 5-3 deficit to a 6-5 lead.
Melo had his game-high 12th kill and a block. Junior Dimitar Dimitrov had two of his six service points in the final frame, and Soares DeCasto served the final point of the match, giving Everett the 15-13 win.
“I’m so impressed with this team,” said Fineran. “They don’t care what the score is. They don’t panic when they get down. They just keep fighting.”
The boys finished their inaugural campaign with an impressive 8-2 record.
Melo and Ho combined for 153 kills on the season, and Santos and Ho tallied 92 aces together, but Fineran believes next year’s team will be competitive.
“We have a strong group coming back. With injuries and illnesses, we had a number of players get valuable varsity experience. We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to duplicate the success we had this year. This was a special group, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” Fineran said.
EHS Boys Track Splits Two Meets
The Everett High boys outdoor track and field team split its final two dual meets of the 2022 season, falling to Somerville, 79-57, but easily cruising past Lynn English, 109-22.
Junior Shinay Aristhene was a double-winner in the contest with Somerville. Shinay won the 400 hurdles with a clocking of 1:03.3 and took top spot in the 100 high hurdles in a time of 18.5 seconds.
Senior Donovan Gaskins also won two events vs. Somerville. Donovan won the shot-out with a throw of 41’-7”, which was a personal record (PR). He also captured the discus with a spin of 108’-7”, which was another PR.
Junior Fludjy Moise captured first place in the 400 dash with a time of 57.8 and senior Lilian Pochot won the long jump with a PR flight of 20’-1”.
The Crimson Tide also took first in both of the relays. The foursome of Seth Sylvain, Gaskins, Pochot, and Darrly Monvil edged their Somerville counterparts by 0.3 of a second in the 4 x 100 with a clocking of 46.7.
The quartet of Reklov Lageroy, Patrick-Bien Aime, Wensley Mompremir, and Moise ran the 4 x 400 in a time of 4:34.3.
Adding three points to the Everett side of the scoresheet with second place finishes were: senior Richard Malloy in the 100 dash in 11.2; junior Owen Beauvil in the 400 dash in 59.2; and Joseph Murillo in the shot-put with a PR toss of 41’-7”.
Third-place finishers who scored a point for the Crimson Tide were: Murillo in the discus (101’-4”); senior Hector Guevara in the shot-put (36’-4.5”); junior Adail Costa Fernandes in the triple jump (36’-6); Pochot in the 200; junior Matth Telson in the 800 (2:21.9); Bein-Aime in the 400 dash; Monvil in the 100 dash (11.5); and Monpremier in the two-mile (12:14.1).
In the meet with Lynn English, the Crimson Tide captured every event other than the two mile run. The chief highlights were:
— Aristhene once again won both of the hurdles events;
— Gaskins took the shot with a PR throw of 43’-6” and the discus with a PR spin of 132’-10” which also qualified Donovan for the state meet;
— Malloy won the 100 dash and the high jump;
— Pochot captured the long jump and took second in the 200 dash;
— Seth Sylvain won the javelin with a PR toss of 117-11” and took second in the 100 dash;
— Mompremier took the mile;
— Moise reigned supreme in the 400 dash;
— Matth Telson outran the field in the 800 in a PR time of 2:16.8;
— Monvil sprinted to victory in the 200 dash in 24.2; and
— Fernandes won the triple jump with a final landing of 37’-4.5”.
Scoring three points for the Tide with second-places were: Adam Penaflor in the 400 hurdles and the high jump; Anthony Cooper in the two mile (with a PR of 12:24); Samuel Desir-Mafouana in the mile and triple jump; and Nicholas Freitas in the 800.
Adding third-place points were: Penaflor in the javelin; Hector Guevara in the discus; Israel Maul in the triple jump; Reklov Lageroy in the 200 dash; Aadit Manandhar in the 800; Owen Beauvil in the 400 dash and 400 hurdles; Patrick Bein-Aime in the 100 dash; and David Huezo-Erazo in the two-mile (with a PR of 13:39).
EHS Girls Track Defeats English
The Everett High girls outdoor track and field team earned an 80-46 triumph over Greater Boston League rival Lynn English last Thursday.
Junior Luca Jean Noel was a double-winner for the Lady Crimson Tide, capturing the mile with a clocking of 7:17.3 and the 800 with a time of 3:10.5.
Senior Lakisha Kirnon also won two events, the 110 high hurdles with a time of 19.03 and the high jump with a leap of 4’-6”. In addition, Lakisha snared third place in the long jump with a leap of 14’-5”.
Other first-place finishers for coach Jehu Cimea’s squad were: sophomore Suzanne Maharjan in the two-mile run with a time of 17:41; senior Rejeana Guillaume in the long jump with a flight of 14’-10”; sophomore Darrynn Desrameuax in the discus with a spin of 61’-5”; and senior Alyssa Hurley in the javelin with a throw of 74’-9”.
The Everett 4 x 100 quartet of junior Ida Bittaye, Guillaume, senior Yelsa Garcia, and senior Gigi Boyce won their race by more than six seconds over their Lady Bulldog counterparts with a clocking of 55.2.
Scoring second-place points for Everett were: freshman Jossycah Emmanuel in the 400 hurdles (1:34.8); Boyce in the 100 dash (14.0); Bittaye in the 110 hurdles (20.7); junior Selma Moutaouakkil in the 400 dash (1:12.2); freshman Zyelle Cannon in the 200 dash (31.4); sophomore Nicole Brandao in the high jump (4’-4”) and the long jump (a PR flight of 14’-6”); Hurley in the shot-put (25’-10”); and sophomore Victoria Macao in the javelin (a PR throw of 72’-8”).
Adding third-place points were: sophomore Tiana Allen in the javelin (69’-0”); sophomore Layla Betancur-Cardona in the shot-put (25’-10”); Guillaume in the high jump (4’-2”) and the 200 dash (31.7); freshman Alyssa Lafontant in the 400 dash (1:13.1); Emmanuel in the 110 hurdles (20.8); and Cannon in the 100 dash (14.9).
Two days earlier, the Lady Crimson Tide came up on the short end of a 72-55 decision to Somerville.
Top performers with first-place finishes for Everett were: Maharjan in the two-mile (18:20.6); Bittaye in the high hurdles with a personal record (PR) time of 19.8; Guillaume in the 200 dash with a PR sprint of 27.8 and in the high jump (4’-3”;) sophomore Leyla Betancur-Cardona in the shot with a PR throw of 26’-4”; and Desrameuax in the discus (64’-6”).
The EHS 4 x 400 quartet of sophomore Victoria Macao, senior Tanashia Johnson, freshman Alisha Lafontant, and senior Selma Moutaouakkil defeated their Somerville foes by 14 seconds with a clocking of 5:14.