EHS Baseball Team Wins 4-of-5 Contests To Reach the Tourney
Two weeks ago, in the wake of a pair of heartbreaking losses to Greater Boston League rivals Somerville and Revere, the Everett High baseball team’s chances of qualifying for the post-season state tourney appeared slim at best.
The double-dip to Somerville (by a score of 1-0) and Revere (by a 9-7 final score) left coach Joel Levine’s Crimson Tide with a record of 6-9, which meant that in order to achieve the magic .500 tourney-qualifying mark, they would need to win four of their last five games to punch a ticket for a Journey to the Tourney.
But successive wins over Medford and Charlestown two weeks ago accomplished half of that goal, and Levine’s crew completed their mission with two more victories this past week in contests with Greater Lawrence and Mystic Valley.
In an 11-3 triumph over Greater Lawrence last Monday at Glendale Park, starting pitcher Matt Turilli turned in a fourth consecutive strong start with what Levine termed a “fantastic” outing in which Matt yielded just two earned runs over the complete-game, seven-inning route.
Everett took a commanding 7-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back. Albert Santana led the way offensively (2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored). Also contributing were Omar Marshall (1-for-3, two RBI), Alex Velasco (1-3, two RBI), Nordeivy Santana (1-4), Alex Lara (1-4), and Enrico Vega (1-1 three runs scored).
“It was nice to get back to .500 and give us an opportunity over the next two games to try and qualify for the tournament,” said Levine. “The kids really worked hard over the past two weeks to put us in this position.”
However, Levine and his crew had to put a hold on the celebration when they came up short in a bizarre return match that started at Greater Lawrence on Wednesday and ended up at Glendale on Thursday.
In a strange continuation of the game because of the weather, the teams began play at GL’s home field, but when the rains came, the umpires halted matters with the score tied at 3-3. The teams continued the game on Thursday at Glendale when the Tide were unable to return to Greater Lawrence because of transportation issues.
GL graciously made the long trek to Everett and then played the spoiler role on the Tide’s home diamond in cruel fashion with a walk-off victory (because they were still the home team) . The score remained level at 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh, when GL pushed ahead the winning run thanks to a walk, two stolen bases, and a throwing error.
Starter Nordeivy Santana threw four strong innings, giving up three earned runs. The Tide were led at the plate by David Saia (2-3 ) and Turilli (2-3).
“We were unable to capitalize early in the game when we had a number of runners on and in scoring position,” noted Levine. ‘Like last year, that brought us to the last game of the season needing a win to get in.”
However, there would prove to be no need for late-inning dramatics for the Crimson Tide in the season-finale contest with Mystic Valley on Friday. The Tide celebrated Senior Night in grand fashion by blasting their way into the tourney with an 8-1 win over MV at Glendale.
Omar Marshall turned in what Levine termed as a “spectacular” pitching effort in the tournament-clinching victory. Omar threw a complete game one-hitter with no earned runs.
With Everett tralling 1-0 entering the third, Marshall (2-4, two runs, one RBI) stepped to the plate and helped his own cause with a blast that enabled him to speed around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to tie the game.
The Tide tacked on two more runs in that inning and never looked back. Saia led the way offensively (3-4, two RBI, three runs). Velasco, Nordeivy Santana, Lara, and Turilli also had hits in the game.
“It was really a great way to cap off the regular season and send the seniors off on Senior Night with a win,” said Levine. “It was nice to see the excitement from the kids when the game was over. You can tell it meant a lot to them. Now we need to see if we can go and shock someone, and with the way Matt and Omar are throwing the ball, it’s not all that far fetched.”
The announcement of the Crimson Tide’s final seeding in the MIAA’’s power rankings and their first round tourney opponent is expected today (Wednesday).
EHS Softball Team Wins Final Two Games; Awaits Tourney Foe
The Everett High softball team wrapped up its regular season last week with a pair of victories over non-league opponents Minuteman Regional, 7-0, and Cambridge, 3-0.
Lady Crimson Tide star pitcher Kristi Skane pitched a stellar 14 innings of shutout softball in the two victories, racking up her seventh and eighth shutouts of the season.
In the triumph at Minuteman last Monday, Kristi yielded just three hits while fanning six opponents and walking only one, and in the Cambridge win last Wednesday, she tossed a four-hitter with six strikeouts and only one base-on-balls.
In the win over Minuteman, the Lady Crimson Tide gave Kristi all of the support she would need when they grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening inning thanks to a pair of errors by Minuteman and base hits by Kayley Rossi and Gianna Masucci.
Masucci made it 4-0 in the third with a clutch, two-RBI base hit that scored Skane (who had reached on an error) and Rossi (who had singled).
Minuteman threatened in the bottom of the third, placing runners at second and third with one out, but Bryanna Mason snared a line drive and Skane caught a pop-up to end the threat.
After a scoreless fourth inning, in which Everett center fielder Emilia Maria-Babcock made the defensive play of the game with an amazing diving catch, and a scoreless fifth, in which Babcock again made another great catch, the Lady Crimson Tide extended their advantage with two more runs in the sixth.
Masucci reached on an error and soon came racing home on a double by Mason, who herself then scored on a base hit by Longmore.
Base hits by Babcock and Skane and an error accounted for the final Everett run and the 7-0 finale.
“When Minuteman had runners on, our defense stepped up their game and backed up Kristi’s pitching,” said EHS head coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo. “Kayley.Rossi always does a great job behind the plate with Kristi, but she made sure she stopped any wild pitches to stop runners from advancing.”
The win over Cambridge two days later was a scoreless pitcher’s duel through four full innings until the Tide broke through in the bottom of the fifth.
Cambridge itself almost snapped the deadlock in the top of the fifth by loading the bases on three scratch-type base hits, but Skane escaped the jam when she snagged a bouncer back to the circle and threw to Rossi at home for the force at the plate to keep Cambridge off the board.
In the Everett fifth, Mason led off with a double and, after Longmore drew a one-out walk, both runners advanced on a passed ball. Maria-Babcock then singled into the outfield, with Longmore scoring on some great base-running on the play at the plate.
Skane was hit by a pitch, and when Kristi attempted to steal second and was thrown out, Maria-Babcock was able to race home to make it 3-0.
Skane remained in full control over the final two innings to preserve the win and her shutout.
“Our defense played tough, especially when they got runners on,” said Poste-Schiavo. “That fifth inning could have changed the game around if they had gotten the ball out of the infield.”
Prior to last week’s games, Poste-Schiavo and her crew learned that they had won an undisputed Greater Boston League championship thanks to Medford’s win over Lynn Classical the previous Friday.
“On Friday, we were waiting to hear the news of who won the Medford/Classical game,” said Poste-Schiavo. “Last year, we shared the GBL title with Classical and we were tied for first again with them, but Medford beat them to allow us to have the first place title for ourselves. We still would have loved to have beaten Medford earlier that week. It would have been a different feeling to clinch it during the actual game instead of having to wait.
“But either way, I am so proud of the girls and how much they have accomplished throughout the season,” Poste-Schiavo continued. “There are always 2-3 standouts on a team, but I truly believe THIS team is made up of 14 players who play well together, and when you have teammates who can play well together, then you win games.”
The Lady Crimson Tide already have received post-season accolades with the selections of Kristi Skane and Kayley Rossi to play in the Agganis softball game in Lynn on Sunday, June 26th, at 1:00.
The season’s statistics reveal that seven Lady Crimson Tide are hitting over .400. Their individual stats are as follows:
CF Emilia Maria-Babcock: .542 batting average and an .819 slugging percentage (singles=30, doubles= 2, triples=3, home runs=4) and 21 RBI;
3B Alexa Uga: .477 batting average and a .662 slugging percentage (singles=24, doubles= 4, triples=1, home runs=2) and 23 RBI;
1B Bryanna Mason: .475 batting average and an .831 slugging percentage (singles=16, doubles= 7, triples=1, home runs=4) and 15 RBI;
Pitcher Kristi Skane: .469 batting average and a .703 slugging percentage (singles=19, doubles= 8 triples=2, home runs=1) and 20 RBI;
RF Ashley Seward: .439 batting average and an .877 slugging percentage (singles=13, doubles= 5, triples=3, home runs=4) and 20 RBI;
2B Emma Longmore: .429 batting average and .a 589 slugging percentage (singles=19, doubles= 3, triples=0, home runs=2) and 21 RBI; and
C Kayley Rossi: .410 batting average and a .672 slugging percentage (singles=14, doubles= 8, triples=1, homeruns=2) and 20 RBI.
The team’s defensive leaders are:
Catcher Kayley Rossi with a fielding percentage of .993;
1st base Bryanna Mason with a fielding percentage of .980;
CF- Emilia Maria-Babcock with a fielding percentage of .980;
SS Gianna Masucci with a fielding percentage of .930; and
Pitcher Kristi Skane with a fielding percentage of .955.
In the pitching department, Kristi Skane has tossed 109 innings with a record of 17-2, including eight shutouts. She has allowed 65 hits and 27 earned runs for a sterling ERA of 1.73. Kristi has racked up 143 strikeouts while walking only 26.
“The team has greatly benefitted from Skane being in the circle with Kayley Rossi behind the plate,” noted Poste-Schiavo. “The two are also friends off the field which contributes to the rapport they have built. Kayley knows Kristi’s strengths and weaknesses and what pitches she has going for her before the game starts. They have spent this entire season polishing up on Kristi’s pitching skills to help the team keep runners off the bases. You can also see the trust Kristi has in Kayley in stopping any wild pitches and allowing her to call the pitches, even when Kristi may think they are not working that day. Kristi played outfield before stepping into the pitching role this year. She worked hard in the off season to come back as the best pitcher in the GBL, helping lead this team to win the GBL title. Coach Nigro and I believe the reason this team did so well again this season is because they work together, contributing to our success whether it be at practice or a game.”
Poste-Schiavo and her crew will await the announcement today (Wednesday) of their final seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA state tournament.
EHS Boys Volleyball Team Wins Final Pair
The Everett High boys volleyball team closed out its 2023 season on a positive note by winning its last two matches, including a 3-1 win over Pioneer Charter School last Friday in the season finale.
Missing three regulars, Everett finished the contest with just eight players, as junior Hyan Soares DeCasto exited after the first set. However, Hyan made the most of his limited time, tallying two kills and serving the Crimson Tide out of a 19-12 hole to a 21-19 lead. Fellow junior Kalleb Miranda continued his dominant front row play, adding two blocks and two kills. Sophomores Henrique Franca and Jefferson Umana combined for five kills, including Umana’s game-winner that gave Everett the 25-23 opening-set win.
“We did not start very well, but we did not panic,” said EHS head coach Mike Fineran. “Once we buckled down and actually started moving to get the ball, I knew we’d be okay.”
In the second set, senior co-captain Roberto Brizuela had three serves that gave Everett a 14-10 lead. Junior Nischal Tamang, who hit in all 11 serves for the match, put the Tide up, 21-17. Franca had five kills in the set, and Umana had an ace, a block, and two more kills, including the second game winner, 25-21.
Everett seemed to be cruising to a win in the third set, with five serves from sophomore setter Dantae Bauer putting the Tide up, 16-13. Junior Andrew Linhares came alive, nailing four kills and a block. Miranda had two kills and a block, and Franca had three kills. Junior Dawens Germain, who was limited to just 14 sets this season after injuring his elbow in the first week, had a block and a kill.
After a Franca serve, the Tide thought they were ahead, 24-20, but they were penalized for being out of rotation, which made it 23-21. Pioneer took advantage, serving out the set for a 25-23 win
“We have been in this situation many times this season, on the verge of victory, but falling short,” said Fineran. “We missed the tournament by two games, and there have been at least three matches where we’ve been in control and let it slip away. But we did not want to end our season that way, and we refocused for the fourth set. “
Germain, moving over to middle hitter, had two kills and five service points that gave Everett an 8-4 lead. Tamang had three serves to build a 12-8 advantage. Miranda had four blocks and two kills, Brizuela neutralized Pioneer’s attack with stellar defense, and the duo of Bauer and Umana combined to go 10/10 on serves.
“Bauer and Umana each served more than 200 times this season,” noted Fineran.
The match, and the season, ended fittingly: Umana served in, Brizuela handled Pioneer’s attack, getting the ball to Bauer, who set it perfectly to the outside hitter spot, where Franca soared and smashed it down for the final point in a 25-22 win. It was Franca’s 16th kill of the day, giving him 176 in just 14 games.
“Henrique is an incredible athlete, but he’s also a great kid, humble, and a hard worker,” said Fineran. “He is one of four sophomores who will return next season with varsity experience. In fact, eight of the nine players from this game should return next year. We fell short of our goal to make the state tournament, but I am hopeful and excited about the team’s potential in the future. I hope that we’ve learned our lesson about the importance of early season games, and about closing out opponents when you get the chance. Every team we played this year was better than they were last year, and we should expect that to be the case again next year. But I think we proved to ourselves what we are capable of when we play our best.”
EHS Boys Finish Third at GBL Meet
The Everett High boys outdoor track and field team turned in an impressive showing at last week’s Greater Boston League (GBL) Meet. Coach Jehu Cimea’s Crimson Tide, who finished second in the regular season in the GBL with a 6-1 dual meet record, finished in third place at the meet with 79 points, behind Somerville with 121 points and Revere with 92 points.
Shane MacKenzie was the leading scorer for the Crimson Tide, placing 18 points in the Everett column on the scoresheet among three events: Shane scored eight points with a second-place performance in the javelin with a toss of 132’-7.5”; four points with a fourth-place toss of 39’-0” in the shot-put; and six points with a third in the discus with a throw of 118’-2”.
Donald Michel totaled nine points for the Tide, grabbing eight points with a second-place effort in the high jump with a leap of 5’-2” and scoring a point with a sixth-place finish in the 110 high hurdles in 18.72.
Kayshaun Eveillard grabbed a second-place medal in the 400 dash with a time of 53.39 to score eight points.
Adail Costa Fernandes also added eight points for the EHS cause with a second place finish in the long jump with a flight of 19’-6.75”.
Khang Nguyen tallied seven points on the day, grabbing six points with a third place finish in the long jump with a leap of 19’-5” and adding a point with a sixth in the triple jump with a final landing of 37’-2”.
Jalen Jones scored four points with a fourth-place finish in the 200 dash with a sprint of 24.02.
Matth Telson earned a fourth-place medal in the 800 with a time of 2:07.65.
Fludjy Moise scored two points with his fifth-place finish in the 400 dash in 54.50 and Elijah Lassiter also brought home a fifth place medal in the 100 high hurdles in 18.36.
Shinay Aristhene grabbed a sixth place medal in the 400 hurdles with a clocking of 1:04.59.
The Tide’s 4 x 100 relay team took second place and the 4 x 400 quartet also took second place.
Three EHS Girls Wins GBL Crowns
The Everett High outdoor girls track and field team turned in a solid performance at last week’s Greater Boston League (GBL) Meet. The Lady Crimson Tide, who compiled a 3-3-1 record in their dual-meet season against their seven GBL foes, finished in fourth place overall with 80 points.
Medford won the girls meet with 116 points, followed by Medford with 97 and Somerville with 85.
The highlight for the Lady Crimson Tide was the performance of the throwing team, crowning three GBL champions and scoring a total of 51 points.
Darynn Desrameaux won the discus with a spin of 91’-7” — a throw that was 3’-5” further than her nearest rival — and also took second in the shot-put with a toss of 31’-9” to tally a team-high 18 points on the day.
Darynn was edged in the shot by teammate Layla Betancur Cardona, who took first place with a throw of 31’-9.5”.
Kaesta Sandy was Everett’s third GBL champ, winning the javelin with a toss of 80’-1”. Teammate Victoria Macao took second spot in the jav with her effort of 76’-9” and Tiana Allen added four points in the javelin with her fourth-place throw of 73’-11.” Tiana also scored a point in the discus with a sixth-place effort of 70’-3”.
Ida Bittaye finished second in the long jump with a leap of 14’-10,5” to score eight points.
Malaica Guillaume scored six points with a third place effort in the triple jump with a distance of 31’-11.5”.
Jossycah Emmanuel scored four points with a fourth-place finish in the 100 meter high hurdles with a clocking of 19.95.
Selma Moutaouakkil scored two points with a fifth place finish in the 400 dash with a clocking of 1:11.13.
Yelsa Garcia scored a point and took home a medal with her sixth place performance in the long jump with a leap of 13’-11”.
In the relays, the Everett girls finished fourth in the 4 x 100, fifth in the 4 x 800, and fifth in the 4 x 400.