EHS Roundup
Softball team wins opener, Poste at 199
The Everett High softball team, fresh off a recent long weekend of spring training at Disney World in Florida, opened its 2012 season with an exciting 14-13 win at Swampscott Monday.
The contest was a classic cat-and-mouse affair, with the Lady Crimson Tide grabbing a lead from the outset and then adding to it throughout the game, only to see Swampscott battle back each time that Everett threatened to put the game away. The final frame saw the Lady Crimson Tide score thrice in the top of the inning to enlarge their lead to 14-8, but then have to hang of for dear life thanks to a five run Swampscott rally in the bottom of the inning.
Everett scored twice in the top of the first. Junior Alea Martinelli earned the distinction of crossing the plate for the first tally of the 2012 campaign when she drew a walk, stole second, and then moved to third on a single by senior Erin McLaughlin. A subsequent error allowed Martinelli to scored and McLaughlin to move to second. McLaughlin then came home on a single by junior Janyne Sierra.
Swampscott got one back in their half of the first, but Everett exploded for five markers in the third. Martinelli singled, stole second, and scored on a double by Sierra. Sierra came around on a two bagger by senior Brianna Uga. Senior Tori Cyrus bunted, forcing an error, and then moved to second base. Uga took advantage of this and scored from second. Junior Jess Wade singled with two outs, knocking in Cyrus.
However, Swampscott responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to narrow the gap to 6-5 after three.
Everett pushed one run across in the fourth when Martinelli singled, stole second, moved to third on a fielder’s choice by McLaughlin, and scored on a hit by Sierra. The Lady Crimson Tide made it 8-5 with another marker in the fifth when Cyrus doubled, moved to third on a hit by Wade, and then scored on a single by junior Franki Perreault.
But once again Swampscott kept things close, scoring a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to make it 8-7.
Everett seemed to have things well in hand when the Lady Crimson Tide scored three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, with Swampscott scoring once in the sixth, to leave matters at 14-8 entering the last half of the seventh. In the Everett sixth, Martinelli reached first on an error, stole second, and scored on a two bagger by McLaughlin. Sierra then socked a two run homer.
In the Everett seventh, senior Taylor Sweeney walked, swiped second, and scored on an RBI base hit by McLaughlin. After Sierra reached first on an outfield error, Uga knocked in both teammates with a base hit.
But Swampscott tallied five times in its final at-bat, the key blow being a grand slam homer. Swampscott then put runners on second and third with two out, but Everett hurler Perreault, who went all the way on the mound , fanned the last Swampscott hitter to preserve the win.
“This was a great first game,” said EHS head coach Stacy Poste. “Both teams battled against each other and made the important plays and got the hits when they needed them most. Coach John Nuzzolo and I were happy with the girls’ bats this game. They hit the ball hard and were aggressive on the bases.”
The victory gave Poste her 199th career win, bringing her to the brink of the coveted 200 career victory mark. “Last year, the girls tried to get me my 200th win, but fell short in the playoffs,” noted Poste. “Many are as excited to be sharing this with me this year as I am with them. This win against Swampscott gave me 199, and we are hoping the 200th will come against Latin Academy on Wednesday.”
Poste and her crew enjoyed five days of spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports over a long weekend two weeks ago. The EHS girls raised funds for the trip and were given permission by school officials to travel to Florida for the spring training session.
“We would like to thank our friends, family, and local businesses who made contributions to our fundraising efforts which that made it possible for our girls to attend such a great event,” said Poste. “This trip brings the girls closer together both as friends and teammates. The coaches also would like to thank the parents for being such great help with chaperoning the girls.”
The trip south afforded the Lady Crimson Tide the opportunity to play at a top notch facility where the directors of the spring training program gave them access to the batting cages and the well-manicured fields for practice and scrimmages.
Everett played a pair of scrimmages against teams from Wisconsin and Virginia. In the Wisconsin contest, Poste noted that her team did not hit the ball as well as she had hoped. “The Wisconsin pitcher threw a lot slower than what we were hitting off in the cages,” said Poste. “Our girls were over-anxious and didn’t wait on the ball. However, defensively we made the correct plays when the ball was hit to us.
“In our second scrimmage against Virginia, the opposition pitcher was at a speed the girls were used to. They hit the ball more and were able to be more aggressive on bases. Playing these scrimmages allowed the girls to be in game-like conditions and situations so the coaching staff could stop the game and correct any problems the girls were faced with before their season actually started,” added the coach.
Poste and her crew host Latin Academy today (Wednesday) at Glendale Park at 3:45. They travel to Somerville Tuesday for a 10:00 encounter and trek to St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge on Thursday for another 10:00 tilt.
Boys track edged by Somerville, 68-66
The Everett High boys track team dropped its season opener by the narrowest of margins, 68-66, last week against Greater Boston League rival Somerville.
“We had a number of boys who turned in fine performances, especially for so early in the season,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “But we had hoped to place higher in some of the events and that proved to be the difference in the meet.”
The top scorer for the Crimson Tide was Jaylen McRae, who finished first in the long jump with a leap of 19-3, second in the 100 meter dash in 12.1, and anchored the winning 4 x 100 relay team for a total of 9.25 points.
Brendan Jefferson also enjoyed a fine day, contributing eight points to the EHS cause with a first in the discus with a toss of 84-10 and a second in the shotput with a heave of 35-9.
Other first place finishers for Everett were Trevor Freeman in the 100 meter high hurdles in 20.0; Andres Tejeda in the 200 dash in 24.2; Heiu V-Tran with a high jump leap of 5-6, a personal record for Heiu; and Daniel Plunkett with a javelin throw of 123-4.
The 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 quartets also earned first place points with victories over their Somerville counterparts. The 4 x 400 foursome consisted of Alex Repucci, Louis Franco, Jason Mendoza, and Ricky Perez and the 4 x 100 team were Soufiane Fdal, Jonathan Mendez, Andres Tejada, and Jaylen McRae.
Adding three points to the Everett cause with second place efforts were: Jordi Oliveira in the 100 high hurdles in 20.9; Jason Mendoza in the 800 in 2:18.7; Jonathan Mendez in the 400 in 2:53.7 and in the long jump with a leap of 18-4; and Steven Ho with a javelin throw of 113-7.
Single points for the EHS side of the scoresheet for third place finishes came from: Ricky Perez in the two mile in 12:07.7; Jefrey Perez in the mile in 5:36.7; Gustavo DaSilva in the 200 dash in 26.0; Steven Ho with a shotput heave of 33-1.5; and Henry Maldonado with a triple jump of 30-6.
Irish and her crew will be back in action today (Wednesday) at Malden and travel to Lynn Classical Saturday.
EHS girls track team opens season
The Everett High girls track team received strong performances from a number of Lady Crimson Tide in the team’s season opening meet last week at Somerville.
Katie Steeves earned points in three events, taking second place in the 200 dash in 28.9 and long jump with a leap of 14-11 (a personal record) and third spot in the 100 dash in 14.3 for a seven point total on the day.
Emila Ponikiewski took home top honors in the 800 in 2:45.5 and Serina Welch-Shull outran the field for a first place finish in the 400 in 70.9.
Second place finishers for the Lady Crimson Tide were: Elspeth Colson in the 400 low hurdles in 1:28.6 and in the 100 high hurdles in 23.5; Kathy Phan with a high jump leap of 4-2; Jackie Steeves with a javelin throw of 78-8; and Maeve Kernan in the two mile in 13:37.5.
Also contributing to the EHS cause with third place points were: Sophia Pinabell with a javelin toss of 73-7; Jackie Steeves in the discus; Jess Mangan in the mile in 6:30.2; Jessica DeAlmeida in the two mile in 16:18.8; and Bernyda Germain in the 100 high hurdles in 23.7.
The Lady Crimson Tide were set to take on Malden today (Wednesday) and trek to Lynn Classical Saturday.
Everett High School April sports schedule
Wednesday, April 11
3:45: Softball vs. Boston Latin
3:45: Boys and girls track at Malden.
Thursday, April 12
3:45: Boys tennis at Boston Latin
Friday, April 13
3:45: Girls tennis at Boston Latin
4:00: Baseball at Methuen
Saturday, April 14
2:00: Boys and girls track at Lynn Classical
Tuesday, April 17
10:00: Baseball vs. Somerville
10:00: Softball at Somerville
Thursday, April 19
10:00: Baseball vs. Cambridge
10:00: Softball at Cambridge
Saturday, April 21
11:00: Baseball at Marblehead
Tuesday, April 24
4:00: Baseball at St. John’s Prep
4:00: Softball at Marblehead
Wednesday, April 25
3:35: Boys tennis at O’Bryant High
Thursday, April 26
3:45: Softball vs. Malden
3:45: Boys tennis at Somerville
4:00: Baseball at Malden
Friday, April 27
3:45: Girls tennis at Somerville
4:00: Softball vs. Lowell
Saturday, April 28
11:00: Baseball vs. St. John’s Prep
Monday, April 30
3:45: Girls tennis at Malden
4:00: Softball at Whittier Regional