EHS Softball Comes Back to Top LC, 8–5; Moves Into First Place
The Everett High softball team exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to erase a 5-2 deficit and earn an 8-5 victory over Greater Boston League (GBL) archrival Lynn Classical (LC) last Wednesday at Glendale Park.
The triumph, coupled with Medford’s loss to Revere, allowed coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo and her crew to move into sole possession of first place in the GBL, with the Lady Rams (who were GBL co-champs with Everett last year) and Medford both falling one game back in the standings.
EHS starting pitcher Kristi Skane tossed all seven innings, allowing just five hits and four earned runs, while fanning four and walking only two.
The Lady Crimson Tide’s defense shone early in the contest when Everett limited Classical to just one run in what could have been a disastrous opening inning.
After the Lady Ram lead-off batter drew a walk and stole second and third, she came home on a base hit. The next LC hitter also singled, bringing up the Classical clean-up hitter with two on and none out.
However, Everett third baseman Alexa Uga snared a line drive and the second out was made on a force play at third from shortstop Gianna Masucci to Uga. Uga then made the last out when she grabbed a grounder and stepped on the bag for the force-out.
“These defensive plays were huge,” noted Poste-Schiavo. “A big inning by Classical could have changed the dynamic of the game, but holding them to only one run was a key factor in keeping us in the game.”
Everett also threatened in its half of the first, but Classical’s defense kept the Lady Crimson Tide off the board. Everett had the bases loaded with one out, but a runner was picked off second. Ashley Seward drew a walk to reload the bases, but Everett was unable to score. “This was frustrating because our bats have been on fire lately and we could have taken the lead easily if we had just made contact,” noted Poste-Schiavo.
However, the Lady Crimson had better success in the second to take a 2-1 lead. After Uga was hit by a pitch and Bryanna Mason drew a walk, Emma Longmore reached on an error to load the bases once again. Although the next batter popped up, Skane helped her own cause with a base hit into the outfield that delivered Uga and Mason.
Everett threatened again in the third with runners on second and third, but a timely hit was not to be found.
Classical then erupted for four runs in the fourth, thanks to a single, double, triple, walk, and an error, to move out to a 5-2 advantage. Skane settled down for the next few innings, but her teammates were unable to cut into the Classical lead.
But in the sixth, the Lady Crimson Tide put together a game-changing — and season-changing — explosion that catapulted them into an 8-5 lead.
Arabella Cvitkusic drew a walk and with one out, Jules Curran was hit by a pitch. Skane once again was her own best friend, socking a triple to make it a 5-4 contest.
After Kayley Rossi drew a walk, Seward singled, knocking in Skane with the tying run. Gianna Masucci drew another walk and Uga then doubled, delivering Rossi. Bryanna Mason followed with another two-bagger, this one for two RBI, scoring Seward and Uga, for an 8-5 lead.
Skane then set down Classical in short order in the seventh. The first two outs came via 4-3 ground balls (Longmore to Mason) and, after the next batter reached on an error, she was tagged for the final out by Longmore, who had snared her third ground ball of the inning.
“Emma made some great plays here in this last inning,” lauded Poste-Schiavo. “The balls were hit hard to her and she stopped them to make the outs.
“Our defense was on fire to keep them at five runs and Kristi’s pitching was nothing but amazing,” Poste-Schiavo continued. “The Classical coach even complimented her on her performance.
“This was an amazing win and these girls played with a lot of emotion,” added the veteran coach, who is in her 25th season at the helm of the EHS softball program. “We knew we had to come back and beat them if we wanted a chance at the GBL title.
“We got more good news when we found out Revere beat Medford, whom we had lost to last week and with whom we had been tied for first place,” added Poste-Schaivo. “We need to beat the rest of the GBL teams, but we are going to do this one game at a time.”
The Lady Crimson took that first step with a 10-0 blanking of Lynn English this past Monday. Skane went the entire seven-inning route, fanning 11 while walking three and yielding just three hits to record her fifth shutout of the season.
The Everett offense took a while to get going. The Lady Crimson Tide scored a solo run in the third thanks to a base hit by Longmore and some English miscues. English threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with two outs, but a line drive back to the box was snared by Skane to end the inning.
“This could have been a big inning for English, but Kristi’s quick reflexes allowed no runs,” said Poste-Schiavo.
However, the Everet bats finally exploded in the fourth for six runs, with a two-run homer by Emilia Babcock and a two-RBI base hit by Ashley Seward keying the rally.
The Lady Crimson Tide tacked on three more markers in the sixth behind RBI doubles by Skane, Rossi, and Seward.
“The last time we played this team we beat them 18-0,” said Poste-Schiavo. “We came out late with our bats, but got the hits when we needed them. Their pitcher had a lot more control and we hit directly to their players a lot. Games like this, where we score a lot of runs in one inning, are stressful because I know this team can consistently hit. Their hitting is contagious — when one hits they all hit. We need to make sure that we are more consistent with the at-bats. Kristi Skane and Kayley Rossi are a great battery and with the defense behind them, they were able to get another shutout.”
Poste-Schiavo and her crew, who now stand at 13-1 overall (10-1 in the GBL), host Somerville today (Wednesday) at Glendale at 4:00 and non-league foe O’Bryant on Friday at Lafayette Park. They will entertain Revere on Monday at Glendale for Senior Day and will travel to Medford next Tuesday in their GBL finale.
Boys Volleyball Tops Pioneer, 3-0
The Everett High boys volleyball team improved to 4-8 on the season with a 3-0 victory over Pioneer Charter Academy this past Friday afternoon at the EHS gym.
“Friday’s win was a full team effort,” said EHS head coach Michael Fineran. “We got solid defense from the back row, almost everyone got their serves in, and we limited the serving runs that have hurt us in other games.”
The Crimson Tide were in control from the outset, with sophomore setter Dantae Bauer hitting two aces for a 3-0 lead and junior middle Andrew Linhares delivering six of his seven service points in the set in a run that pushed the lead to 11-3.
Pioneer battled back to tie the set at 18, but Linhares hit an ace and sophomore Henrique Franca had three kills in the 25-21 win.
Franca was the star of set two, earning the serve with Everett leading 7-6 and acing five serves in a row. Linhares added three kills and two blocks to power the Tide to a 25-11 win.
In the third set, junior Nischal Tamang had six service points with an ace and a dig. Fellow junior Hyan Soares served three points to go with two digs and three kills. Senior co-captain Roberto Brizuela served the final point of the match, giving Everett a 25-23 victory.
“I liked how we were able to maintain our focus throughout the match,” said Fineran. “I also liked how we were able to close out the match in the third set, even though it was a much tighter contest than the second set.”
The victory followed a pair of tough losses earlier in the week to Greater Boston League rivals Chelsea and Lynn Classical.
“Our inability to put away games hurt us in those two losses,” noted Fineran.
In last Monday’s match with Chelsea, Everett cruised to a 25-15 win in the first set thanks to solid play from senior captain Dimitar Dimitrov and sophomore Jefferson Umana.
In the second set, it took the Tide a while to get anything going offensively, but they eventually broke out of it, with Franca earning three more kills and sophomore libero Steve Flores hitting two aces.
Everett battled back from a 23-21 deficit to serve for the set at 24-23.
“If we had won that point, we would have felt much better about our chances up 2-0,” said Fineran. “Instead, we missed the serve and dropped the next two points, so we had to settle for a 1-1 split.”
In the third set, Everett hit four of its first five serves out, but somehow still built a 9-6 lead. The Tide were ahead, 16-14, thanks to two kills apiece from Linhares and Franca, but two more missed serves late in the set sealed Everett’s fate.
The Crimson Tide’s serving returned for the fourth set, but ultimately Chelsea played with more energy and intensity. Everett had an 11-9 lead, but the Red Devils had an answer for every big swing from the Tide, with Chelsea eventually prevailing, 25-17, to take the match.
3-1.
Last Wednesday Everett trekked to Lynn Classical.
“We knew we would have our hands full with a similarly-scrappy Lynn Classical team, and the match did not disappoint,” said Fineran.
Senior co-captain Said Soiab had three kills in the opening set and junior Kalleb Miranda had a pair of kills and blocks, but Classical took the opener 25-22.
The second set was close early on, but Everett went from being down 8-6 to 20-6 “in what felt like 30 seconds,” said Fineran.
Serves from Bauer and Soares made the final score a little more respectable, 25-14.
“We did not look good,” said the coach. “I reminded the team before the third set that previous scores and previous games don’t matter. I told them to forget about the score and start having fun.
“But what turned things around for us was not words, but the play of Jefferson Umana,” Fineran continued. “Lynn Classical would have run away with the match in the third set if not for his defense. Jefferson had four memorable digs that neutralized their attack and kept rallies going. That made Classical adjust their offense, and we were now in better position to counterattack.”
Umana also had three kills and an ace in the set and Miranda had another pair of kills and blocks, part of his season-high of seven in both categories. Linhares had a kill and a block, Soares had five service points, and Bauer aced two of his last three serves to give Everett the win, 25-21.
The Tide carried that momentum into the fourth set, where Franca once again had a monster game, serving nine in a row to build a 15-3 lead, then tallying three kills to put the set away, 25-11.
The fifth and deciding set proved close.
“We couldn’t maintain any momentum with the pressure back on, and it felt like we were always just one step behind,” said Fineran, whose squad.dropped the set, 15-12. “But I’m proud of the way we fought back.
“We sit at 4-8, which means we still have a shot at the tournament, but we have to capitalize on every opportunity we get to put a team away,” noted Fineran, whose crew travels to Somerville today (Wednesday) and to Revere on Monday before returning home to host Medford next Tuesday.
“We know what we need to do. We can’t let up now,” Fineran added.
EHS Baseball Team Defeats Chelsea
The Everett High baseball team won one of its three contests this past week.
Last Monday the Tide took the measure of Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea, 16-2.
Nordelvy Santana recorded the win for Everett, throwing four innings in which he allowed two runs on two hits. Alex Velasco led the Tide offensively with three hits and three RBI. Also chipping in for Everett offensively were Isaiah Goffigan, David Saia, Nordelvy Santana,
Albert Santana, Matt Turilli, Tyler Wedge, and Nick Gilbert with a hit apiece.
The victory at the time was Everett’s fourth in five games and brought the Tide back to the .500 mark with a 5-5 record.
However, the Crimson Tide dropped its next two contests to GBL foes Lynn Classical and Lynn English.
In a 10-0 loss to Classical last Wednesday, Everett could not generate much in the way of offensive production. Saia led the way going 3-for-3, but other than that, only Goffigan and Gilbert were able to muster base hits.
Omar Marshall pitched three innings, giving up five earned runs in the loss.
“It was a tight ballgame heading into the fifth, but some defensive miscues did us in,” said EHS head coach Joel Levine. “When you play a team like Lynn Classical, you have to play your absolute best if you want to have a chance to beat them, but that just wasn’t in the cards for us.”
This past Monday, Everett came up on the short end of a 14-7 decision to Lynn English at Glendale Park.
Everett held a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth inning, but then the proverbial wheels fell off the bus. Velasco, Nordelvy Santana, and Alex Lara each had multi-hit games, while Marshall and Albert Santana had a hit apiece.
“The fact that we were leading in that game was a miracle. Our pitchers surrendered 21 walks over the course of the game, which quite frankly is unacceptable,” said Levine. “I would rather watch their entire lineup hit balls on top of the police station than watch us walk the ballpark. This was not a game that they won, it was a game that we lost. We need to be much better down the stretch if we want to make a run at the tournament.”
With their record now at 5-7 on the season, Levine and his crew will need to win five of their final eight contests in order to finish with the .500 record they will need to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.
The Tide are scheduled to begin that quest today (Wednesday) at GBL foe Somerville. They will entertain non-league opponent Salem Charter Academy on Friday and then will travel to GBL rival Revere on Monday before returning to Glendale to take on GBL foe Medford next Tuesday.
EHS Boys Tennis Senior Day Is Monday
The Everett High boys tennis team will conduct its Senior Day festivities this Monday when the Crimson Tide host Revere.
“All seven of our seniors will be playing in the varsity match,” said EHS head coach Greg Bluestein.
The Tide came up short in its matches this past week. In a 4-1 loss to Lynn Classical, the second doubles tandem of Matthew DiDomenico and Carlos Mungia defeated their Classical counterparts, while both the Tide’s first doubles and second singles players fell just short in tie-breaker sets.
In a 4-1 loss to Lynn English this past Tuesday, sophomore first singles player Bryant Jimenez won his match. At second singles, senior co-captain Shishir Pokhrel lost his match in a tiebreaker in the third set.
Bluestein and his crew play Latin Academy today (Wednesday). After Monday’s match with Revere, they will wrap up their 2023 season Tuesday at Medford.