EHS Softball Team Overwhelms Chelsea
The Everett High softball team opened its season with a runaway 29-0 victory at Greater Boston League (GBL) foe Chelsea last Wednesday.
Lady Crimson Tide hurler Peyton Warren tossed a no-hitter over the five-inning span (the game was called after five frames because of the mercy rule), fanning eight Lady Red Devil opponents and walking three.
Everett began the barrage from the outset, scoring 14 runs in the first inning of the 2024 season. Their run production came as follows: Freshman Olivia Dresser singled, Jayla Davila walked, and Gianna Masucci walked, with Dresser and Davila scoring on passed balls. Alexa Uga reached second base on an overthrow, allowing Masucci to score. Ashley Seward doubled, knocking in Uga. With one out, Bryanna Mason doubled into right field, bringing in Seward. Arabella Cvitkusic singled. Alessandra Foster earned first on an HBP (courtesy runner Kassidy Rivera) and both base runners advanced on a passed ball. After Dresser drew a walk, Davila was hit by a pitch to score Cvitkusic. With two outs, Uga walked, scoring Rivera. Ashley Seward singled, knocking in two runs. With runners on second and third, Warren belted a home run. Mason reached first on an error and advanced to second. Cvitkusic then tripled, knocking in Mason.
Warren began her season in strong fashion, striking out the first two batters looking. The next Chelsea batter drew a walk, but Foster gunned her down at second on an attempted steal to end the inning.
Everett added three more markers in the second. Foster drew a walk (Rivera courtesy runner) and Dresser socked a homerun to left. With one out, Masucci walked, Uga singled, Seward walked to load the bases, and Warren was hit by a pitch to force in Masucci.
The Lady Tide added four more in the third, the key hits coming on RBI base hits by Seward and Warren and a two-RBI double by Mason.
In the fourth, Everett grew its lead with a seven-run outburst, the big blow coming from Stephany DeSouza (a two-RBI double) and freshman Mia Allen, who socked a grand slam that scored teammates Chloe Salvi (who had singled), Uga (base on balls), and Warren (HBP).
The Chelsea fourth saw Everett play some nice defense behind Warren, with Dresser making two outs on pop-ups at shortstop (to where she had moved from second), and Salvi, who was playing at second, fielding a ground ball and making the throw to Mason at first.
“Chelsea is a very young team, but they did their best,” said EHS head coach Stacy Schiavo. “This was our first time playing in a game and we had to make the adjustment of hitting off a machine to slower pitching. We made the plays when runners did get on and Peyton on the mound and Alessandra Foster behind the plate both did an amazing job.”
Schiavo and her crew were scheduled to take on Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday) in a game that had been moved from Monday because of the eclipse. It will be an early-season showdown between two of the top teams in the GBL.
They will play at Lynn English today (Wednesday) and at non-league foe O’Bryant on Friday. They will host Somerville on Monday and Revere next Wednesday during the holiday week, with both of those contests slated to start at 10:00 AM at Glendale.
Girls Tennis Tops Saugus
The Everett High girls tennis team earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over non-league rival Saugus this past Friday.
“It was an all-around team win,” said EHS head coach Courtney Meninger. “We had a lot of girls step up and play spots they haven’t played before.”
Yasmine Laabadla, playing at first singles, lost a heartbreaker in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 2-6. Simran Tang, playing at second singles, fought hard in her first set, falling short in a tie-breaker.
At first doubles, the tandem of Nga Ho and Rosena Pun, who were playing together for the first time, came up with a big win, 6-2, 7-5. Likewise, the second doubles duo of Alanna O’Brien and Kirsty Hall, who also were playing together for the first time, came up with another huge win in three sets 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
With the match deadlocked at 2-2, the outcome came down to the third singles match, but it was the Lady Crimson Tide’s Tracy Pham, who was making her singles debut, who won the match in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
“This was a big win for our team,” said EHS head coach Courtney Meninger. “We hope that we can carry that momentum in our matches in the coming week.”
The Lady Crimson Tide are scheduled to travel to Medford today (Wednesday) and will host Revere tomorrow (Thursday). They will entertain Malden next Tuesday and trek to Somerville next Wednesday.
Boys Volleyball Splits Two Matches
The Everett High boys volleyball team split its two matches this past week, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Greater Boston League (GBL) foe Chelsea last Wednesday, but rebounding with 3-1 triumph over non-league opponent Pioneer Charter on Thursday.
“We expected Chelsea to be strong, especially in their front court,” said EHS head coach Michael Fineran. “Both of our programs have improved so much in the three years since we started our teams, and the talent in every league match is apparent.
“We have a talented group, but we have to earn everything, against every opponent. I thought we made too many mental errors, but then again, it is very early in the season and there were more positives to take away than there were negatives,” Fineran continued.
The Tide fought back in the first set from deficits of 15-10 and 24-20. Senior assistant captain Mark Pierre had two of his three aces in the set. Junior captain Henrique Franca also had four kills, two digs, and two aces that tied the game at 24-24. Sophomore libero Christian Ramirez aced the next two serves to win the set 27-25.
The second set was tied 9-9, 17-17, and 21-21 with Everett serving, but Chelsea took the point and served for the next three points. Franca added three kills and five service points. Senior middle Kalleb Miranda had two of his team-high eight blocks. Junior Steve Flores and Harvard-bound Nischal Tamang added steady defense and timely kills.
After dropping the third set 25-19, Everett came out strong to start the fourth set, with junior Matheus Queiroz serving the team to a 7-1 lead, and Franca serving six to build a 15-3 advantage. Junior Jefferson Umana tallied two of his seven kills, and sophomore setter Noel Lopez served out the set to push the match to a fifth-game tiebreaker.
Miranda had two blocks and a kill, and Umana, Tamang, and Flores also earned kills, but Everett missed three serves, and in a tight race to 15 points, that was too much to overcome, as the Tide fell by a score of 15-10.
The next day’s contest with Pioneer started off more smoothly, thanks to four serves from Pierre and nine in a row from Queiroz to boost the Tide into a 17-6 lead. Franca had three kills and two aces and Miranda had three kills and a block, as Everett cruised to 25-11 victory.
“I warned the team before the second set that the rest of the game would be much harder and that was apparent right at the start,” said Fineran. “We found ourselves chasing them by a point or two for most of the set, despite four kills from Franca, who finished the afternoon with 13 kills, and two kills and three aces from junior Bryan Soares.”
Senior captain Hyan Soares also added his second block in the set. “Hyan is such an important player for us,” noted Fineran. “Like Henrique, he is a three-year starter. He does so many things right, and he just makes good things happen on the court. “
However, Everett hit six serves out, and lost the set by five. The third set was just as close, but Queiroz powered the Tide with five kills and two aces to tie the game at 14, and Ramirez served six in a row to give Everett a 24-21 lead on the way to a 25-23 win.
In the decisive fourth set, Queiroz had five more kills, Flores had a kill and a block, Franca and Miranda had three kills each, and Ramirez had a run of eight serves. Still, Pioneer battled the whole way, before the Tide prevailed, 25-22.
“So we definitely have a long way to go this season and we have a lot we can improve on,” said Fineran. “But we’ve shown the ability to come back against any team, and we are getting contributions from all of our players. Every game is going to be tough, but so are we.”
Fineran and his crew are set to host GBL foe Lynn English today (Wednesday) and will trek to GBL rival Revere next Wednesday.
EHS Baseball Team Hosts English Today
Coach Malik Love’s Everett High baseball team, which won its season-opener against Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea last week by a score of 14-4, will host GBL foe Lynn English this afternoon (Wednesday) at Glendale Park. The Tide took on Lynn Classical yesterday (Tuesday) in a contest that was moved from Monday because of the eclipse. They will trek to GBL opponents Somerville next Monday and Revere next Wednesday.
Greg Bluestein’s EHS boys tennis team hosts Medford today (Wednesday). They will trek to Revere tomorrow (Thursday) and to Malden on Monday before returning home to entertain Somerville next Wednesday.
The girls lacrosse team will play at Revere tomorrow (Thursday) and at Lowell on Friday. They will host Somerville next Thursday.