EHS Softball Team Is Undisputed GBL Champ
The Everett High softball team is the undisputed 2023 Greater Boston League champion!
Coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo’s squad learned that they were the champs Friday afternoon thanks to Medford’s triumph over Lynn Classical. Classical had been tied with the Lady Crimson Tide for the top spot in the GBL with two losses apiece, but Medford’s victory provided Everett with the undisputed title.
Medford proved to be the ultimate spoiler in the GBL title chase within a 48 hour span last week. On Wednesday, the Lady Mustangs knocked off Everett, foiling the Lady Crimson Tide’s dreams for an undisputed GBL crown and giving Classical hope for a co-share of the title. But then on Friday, Medford shattered LC’s ambitions with a 16-11 victory over the Lady Rams.
The final GBL standings show Everett at 12-2, Classical at 11-3, and Medford at 11-3 — Everett knocked off Classical twice, Medford did the same to Everett, and Classical and Medford split their two games. However, Medford also lost to Revere and Somerville.
Prior to receiving Friday’s good news, Poste-Schiavo and her crew figured they would be the 2023 co-champ with Classical for the second year in a row after their heartbreaking 3-1 loss at Medford last Wednesday.
The Lady Crimson Tide grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third when Emma Longmore rapped a base hit up the middle and Emilia Maria-Babcock singled into right field. Kristi Skane followed with what appeared to be a base hit, but Babcock was forced out at second.
Skane then stole third, placing runners at second and third. Ashley Seward followed with a double, bringing in Longmore, but Skane was held at third, and the inning ended on a deep fly ball to center.
The lack of a timely hit plagued the Lady Crimson Tide throughout the contest, with Everett LOB’ing a total of 10 runners — two in the first, two in the third, three in the fourth, one in the sixth, and two more in the seventh.
Fortunately, EHS pitcher Kristi Skane, who is among the top candidates for MVP in the GBL, was cruising along, tossing shutout softball through the first five frames.
However, in the sixth, Medford broke through for three runs. Ironically, the inning began well for the Lady Crimson Tide. The Lady Mustang clean-up hitter reached on an error, stole second, and made it to third on an overthrow, but was thrown out by shortstop Gianna Masucci at the plate when she tried to make it all the way home.
But that piece of good fortune did not prevail for the remainder of the frame. A Medford base hit was followed by a bad hopper over the Everett third baseman. Another base hit and a two-out double produced the three Medford runs.
Skane ended up with a final line of five hits, two earned runs, and seven strikeouts.
“This loss hurt more than the first time,” said Poste-Schaivo afterwards, referring to Medford’s victory over her squad earlier in the season. “I know we are a better team than we played. Revere and Somerville beat Medford and we beat them. We just can’t leave runners on base the way we did. Kristi pitched a great game and our defense was amazing up until that sixth inning. We have two games left and we need to now focus on them and prepare for the playoffs.”
Poste-Schiavo and her crew, who stand at 16-2 overall, were scheduled to wrap up their regular season against a pair of non-league opponents, Minuteman Regional this past Monday, and Cambridge Rindge and Latin tomorrow (Wednesday). The latter contest is set for 4:00 at Glendale and will be the Tide’s last home game of the season.
The Lady Crimson Tide, who punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney three weeks ago, then will await word of their final seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming Division 1 State Softball Tournament. Everett presently is ranked 34th in Division 1 among the playoff-qualifiers. If the rankings stand through the end of the season, Poste and her crew will have to travel to play Worcester’s Doherty Memorial High School, which is ranked 31st in D-1, in an opening round play-in contest.
Boys Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night With Victory
The Everett High boys volleyball team celebrated Senior Night in fine fashion with a 3-1 victory over a state tourney-bound Medford Mustang squad last Tuesday.
Prior to the contest, the trio of seniors, captain Dimitar Dimitrov and co-captains Said Soaib and Roberto Brizuela, were recognized for their contributions to the boys volleyball program at EHS, which formed just last year.
All three have played important roles in establishing and building the boys volleyball program, which has gone 15-12 in its first two years, and all three were major contributors in Tuesday’s win over the Mustangs.
Soaib had two aces to put Everett up early 5-1, and had two kills and a block in the set. Brizuela had two digs while anchoring the back row. Dimitrov had five service points, including the last two points in a 25-16 win.
“But it wasn’t just the seniors who propelled us,” noted EHS head coach Mike Fineran.
Junior Kalleb Miranda was a monster in the first set, getting four blocks and a kill that set the tone for the match. In the second set, sophomore Henrique Franca had five kills, including the game-winner, as Everett went up 2-0 with a 25-23 win.
Soaib added an ace, and Dimitrov had a kill to go with three service points. Junior Andrew Linhares had two kills, a block, and a dig, and Brizuela had two more digs in the set.
“We were playing with intensity all day and not letting anything hit the floor,” noted Fineran. “We lost to Medford 3-0 a couple of weeks ago, so we knew how good they are. We also knew it wouldn’t be easy to put them away, and the third set proved that.”
Everett built an 11-4 lead, but Medford stormed back to tie it at 16-16. The teams traded points for the rest of the set. The Tide held a 23-22 advantage, and then were tied at 24-24, but ultimately fell, 26-24.
Dimitrov had three kills in the set, as did Soaib. Franca had three kills, a block, and two digs. Miranda and Linhares combined for three blocks.
However, the Tide were not about to let this one slip away.
“I am proud of the way our team responded after that set,” said Fineran. “We have been in that situation before, where we’ve been in control only to come up short in a set and then ultimately the match.”
Three sophomores made sure that would not be the case again on Senior Night. Jefferson Umana had two kills, Franca had six more, and setter Dantae Bauer had two kills and served the final points of the match. When Dantae got the serve, the match was level at 20-20, but he nailed two aces in the string of five serves, including the final point of the match.
Dimitrov, who will attend Suffolk University, had 48 kills this season, and served 88% of his 189 serves in. Brizuela, a future educator, led the team with 92% serves in. He will attend Fisher College. Soaib, who is Boston College-bound, tallied 38 kills and 90 serves in.
“I could not ask for better role models and leaders for our team,” lauded Fineran. “They have been dedicated and enthusiastic, and I wish them all the best as they move on from Everett High.”
EHS Baseball Team Stays Alive for Tourney
The Everett High baseball team, which entered the final quarter of the season needing to win four of its last five games in order to qualify for the post-season state tournament, achieved haf of that mission with a pair of victories over Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Medford last Tuesday and non-league foe Charlestown on Friday.
In the 8-3 win over the Medford Mustangs, the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings and never looked back.
Nordeivy Santana (2-for-3) knocked in two runs in the top of the first to get Everett on the board. Omar Marshall (1-for-4), Alex Velasco (2-for-4), and David Saia (2-for-4) all had RBI singles to propel Everett to its 6-1 advantage.
Matt Turilli turned in a gem on the pitcher’s mound. Matt tossed a complete game, allowing just three earned runs over the seven-inning route.
Alex Lara (2-for-3 with two RBI) and Isaiah Goffigan (2-for-2) also had nice days at the plate, while Turilli (1-for-3) and Tyler Wedge (1-for-3) chipped in offensively as well.
“Everyone in the lineup contributed,” said EHS head coach Joel Levine. “We had some big hits with guys in scoring position, Matt threw the ball real well, and we were sound defensively. It was a nice way to end our league play with all non-conference games the rest of the way.”
Three days later, Levine’s crew won a thrilling walk-off victory over Charlestown in extra innings, 5-4.
Trailing 2-0 in the third, the Tide brought the contest back to level on an RBI single by Alex Lara, who then scored on an error by the Charlestown defense on the next play.
In the fourth, Everett capitalized again on another Charlestown miscue to move ahead, 3-2. Charlestown re-knotted matters at 3-3 in the fifth, but Everett pushed in the go-ahead run when Albert Santana executed a perfect suicide squeeze to deliver Nordeivy Santana from third.
However, Charlestown kept the see-saw going with a run in the top of the seventh thanks to a run-scoring triple. Senior pitcher Omar Marshall then bore down and retired the side to leave the Townie runner stranded at third with the score deadlocked at 4-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tyler Wedge drew a walk with one out. After another out, Tyler (similar to Dave Roberts in Game 4 of the Red Sox-Yankees series in 2004) stole second and eventually scored on a base hit by Alex Velasco (in the role of David Ortiz) for the game-winning, walk-off run.
Velasco (2–for-4), Nordeivy Santana (2-for-4), David Saia (1-for-4), Alex Lara (1-for-4), Matt Turilli (1-for-4), Isaiah Goffigan (1-for-1), and Wedge (1-for-3) all chipped in offensively. Omar Marshall tossed seven innings, allowing just two earned runs in the no-decision. Enrico Vega threw a scoreless eighth inning to claim the “W.”
“Half of our wins this season have come during our last at-bat and this was our second walk-off win of the season,” said Levine. “There is no better feeling as a coach to see your kids so excited after a thrilling win. Even though we didn’t play perfect baseball, it was good enough to win, and it was sure fun to watch.”
The victory brought the Tide’s record to 8-9, with 10 wins being the magic number needed to punch their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.
Everett hosted Greater Lawrence Monday and then will trek to Greater Lawrence today (Wednesday). They will wrap up their regular season Friday when they host Mystic Valley at Glendale at 4:00.
Boys Track Falls Short to Somerville
The Everett High boys outdoor track and field team came up just short by a score of 76-60 in its meet last week with Somerville in a battle of unbeatens that decided the 2023 Greater Boston League (GBL) title.
The Crimson Tide’s top scorer was junior captain Jalen Jones who contributed 12 points to the EHS side of the scoresheet with a quartet of second-place finishes in the high jump (5’-2”), the triple jump (39’-5”), the 100 dash (11.9), and the 200 dash (22.9).
The Crimson Tide captured first place in five of the 13 individual events. Junior Shane MacKenzie, as he has all season, once again was a double-winner, capturing two events, the shot-put with a throw of 39’-1” (to lead an Everett sweep in that event) and the discus with a spin of 115’-1.5”.
Senior Adail Costa Fernandes won the long jump with a flight of 19’-1.5” and took third in the triple jump (37’-4”) to score six points on the day.
Freshman Kayshaun Eveillard sped to victory in the 400 meter dash with a clocking of 53.3 and junior Donald Michel won the high jump with a leap of 5’-2.”
Crimson Tide who contributed three points with their second-place finishes were: senior Fludy Moise in the 400 dash (55.1); senor Matth Telson in the 800 (2:19.5); and Jason Stark in the shot (38’-2.5”).
Adding single points with third-place performances were: sophomore Fabrice Michaud in the discus (84’-0”) and the shot (35’-8.5”); junior Matthew LaMonica in the javelin (97’-9”); sophomore Elijah Lassiter in the 110 hurdles (17.8) and the 400 hurdles (1:07.2); senior Anthony Cooper in the two-mile (12:19.1); senior Giacobbe Ward in the 100 dash (11.9); and senior captain Samuel Desir-Mafouana in the mile (5:18.7).
The foursome of Moise, Desir-Mafaouana, Eveillard, and Telson added five points to the Everett total with a run in the 4 x 400 relay of 3:57.7.
Coach Jehu Cimea’s Crimson Tide finished their dual meet season with a sterling 6-1 record, which was good for sole possession of second place in the eight-team GBL.
EHS Girls Track Falls Short to Somerville
The Everett High girls outdoor track and field team came up on the short end of an 81-50 decision to Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Somerville last Thursday.
The highlight of the meet for the Lady Crimson Tide was their dominating performance in the three throwing events in which they captured 23 of the possible 27 points.
Junior Darrynn Derameaux took first place in the discus with a spin of 73’-9.75” and second in the shot-put (28’-9.5”). Junior Tiana Allen topped the field in the javelin with a throw of 69’-7” and grabbed third in the discus (53’-4”) Junior captain Layla Betancur-Cardona won the shot-put with a toss of 29’-2.5”.
Junior Taisha Alexandre took second in the discus (56’-0”) and Victoria Macao grabbed third in the javelin (58’-5”).
Sophomore Jossycah Emmanuel claimed the other first-place performance for the Tide with a winning effort in the 110 high hurdles with a personal record time of 19.9. Jossycah also scored a point with a third place in the 400 low hurdles (1:39.8).
Adding three points to the EHS side of the scoresheet with second-place finishes were: Junior Malaica Guillaume in the 400 hurdles (1:25.2) and in the triple jump (a personal record of 32’-5”); and junior Tiffany Escobar in the mile (7:31).
A plethora of Lady Crimson Tide added single points with third-place performances: Junior captain Suzanne Maharjan in the two mile (16:46.7); sophomore Zyelle Cannon in the 100 dash; junior Nicole Ramos Fonseca in the mile (8:12); senior Selma Moutaouakkil in the 400 dash (1:14); sophomore Milena Antonio in the 800 (2:56.1); junior Victoria Macao in the 200 dash (29.2); and sophomore Yelsa Garcia (a personal record of 13’-7”).
The Everett quartet of Cannon, freshman Isabel Pimenta, Macao, and Garcia sped to victory in the 4 x 100 with a time of 55.3, which was 5.3 seconds faster than their Somerville counterparts.
Coach Jehu Cimea’s squad finished their dual meet season with an even-steven record of 3-3-1.