EHS Roundup

Two More Wins for EHS Boys Volleyball

The Everett High boys volleyball team ran its record to 7-2 with wins over Medford and Chelsea last week.

The Tide traveled to Medford last Tuesday to play a rematch with the Mustangs of their thrilling, five-set match earlier in the season which Everett won, 3-2.

Once again, the two teams needed a fifth set to settle things, and once again, Everett emerged on top.

 “To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to pull it off,” said head coach Mike Fineran. “We were down two sets to one and we weren’t playing particularly well.”

Everett dropped the first set 25-20, despite seniors Marcilio Melo and Brandon Ho combining for seven kills. The second set was even closer, with no team able to build more than a two-point lead. Ho had five aces in the set, including the final two points that gave Everett a 32-30 win.

The Tide could not sustain the momentum in the third set, falling behind 14-7 en route to a 25-15 loss.

“We looked defeated,” said Fineran. “We hit six serves out in that set, and we managed only three kills.”

But Fineran knew that his team could play better and he challenged his front row hitters to be more aggressive. “Our most consistent trait all year has been our ability to shrug off bad sets and fight until the end. We know how to make a comeback. We just had to go make it happen,” the coach said.

And in the fourth set, they did. Melo was a man on a mission, scoring five kills and a block in the set. Nine of his 13 kills came in the fourth and fifth sets. Ho had 10 service points, including seven that extended a 15-12 lead to 22-12. Freshman Henrique Franca and junior Dimitar Dimitrov combined for three kills, while junior Philip Fonseca and freshman Dantae Bauer played solid defense in the Tide’s 25-16 win, forcing the match into a decisive fifth set.

Senior Caio Santos had four serves in the final set, taking over with the game tied 10-10 and bringing Everett to match point. Melo had four more kills and another block, and sophomore Dawens Germain had two of his three kills as Everett completed the comeback with a  15-11 win in set five.

“I’ve been on the losing end of a lot of matches like that,” said Fineran. “Our players deserve a lot of credit for sticking together and playing their best when the game is on the line.”

On Friday, Everett hosted Chelsea and came away with another victory, 3-0. Everett took control of their match with the Red Devils from the outset, thanks to three kills and a block by Melo, and two kills apiece by Franca and Germain. Franca added five aces, including the last three points of the first set which Everett won, 25-18.

In the second set, Santos had 10 service points (six aces), including an eight-point run which turned a 16-12 deficit into a 20-17 advantage. Santos had a kill, as did Germain and Dimitrov. Ho had three kills, and Melo had two and a block. Bauer added an ace, and sophomores Nischal Tamang and Hyan Soares DeCasto turned in stellar performances in the back row.

In the third set, Santos set up Ho for five kills, and senior David Gutierrez Ospina served six points with an ace to seal the set and the match, 25-20.

“We got strong performances from so many players,” said Fineran. “This is a special team, and our senior leadership has been outstanding, but we have a deep bench and a lot of talent coming up. We have an exciting future.”

Superb Victory for EHS Softball Team

The Everett High softball team made the long journey to Rockport a worthwhile endeavor, returning home with a 3-2 victory over the Vikings, who earlier in the season had handed the Lady Crimson Tide a 5-1 loss at Glendale Park.

Everett star pitcher Celeste Fuccillo went the entire seven-inning route, allowing just five hits and one earned run while striking out nine enemy batters.

Everett took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning when Emma Longmore stroked a hard-hit ball to left for a single and took second on a passed ball. After Jayla Dasilva drew a walk and Kristi Skane singled to load the bases, Gianna Masucci drew a base on balls to force in Longmore.

Rockport put a runner on base with a two-out base hit in the bottom of the inning. The Lady Viking stole second, but then was gunned down at third by catcher Kayley Rossi on a throw to third baseman Alexa Uga on another attempted steal.

Everett added a run in the fourth when Uga singled into the outfield, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a two-out base hit by Fuccillo.

The Lady Crimson Tide upped their advantage to 3-0 with another solo marker in the fifth. After a base hit by Jayla Davila, Skane was hit by a pitch. Rossi then came through with a big base hit to right to deliver Davila with what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Fucillo meanwhile, was cruising along in the pitcher’s circle, tossing shutout softball, but Rockport broke through in the bottom of the sixth for a run.

The Lady Vikings’ #8 batter singled up the middle and stole second. Celeste fanned the next two enemy hitters, but then yielded a double that produced the first Rockport run.

Rockport appeared on the verge of a big inning when the next Lady Viking singled and both runners advanced on a passed ball to put runners at second and third.

However, Fuccillo got the Rockport clean-up hitter on a grounder to Longmore, who made the play for the third out.

Everett had a chance to get that run back and add another insurance run in the top of the seventh when Davila drew a walk and stole second, but the Lady Crimson Tide could not get her home.

Rockport then made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, scoring a quick run when their #5 hitter led off with a triple and scored on a dead ball on an attempt to get her out at third on a throw from the outfield.

However, Fuccillo was unfazed, and proceeded to fan the next three Lady Vikings to end the game with a flourish.

“This was an amazing game to watch,” said EHS head coach Stacy Schiavo. “It was very fast-paced and it was our first game in a week due to a rainout and a postponed game.

“Celeste was amazing on the mound and her defense worked hard on making sure that when the ball was put in play, their runners didn’t get on,” Schiavo said. “The first time we played them, we lost 5-1, and their pitcher struck us out 17 times and we didn’t put the ball into play. This game she only had nine.  We also made four errors last game that cost us three runs.

“We are getting better as the season goes and this game was one of those where you could see it,” Schiavo added. “It was a big win for us because not only did it improve our record to 10-3, it got us a bid in the state tournament.”

Schiavo and her crew are scheduled to host Medford today (Wednesday) at 4:00 at Glendale Park in a key Greater Boston League matchup.

They will travel to non-league opponent Stoneham on Friday; return home to entertain Lynn English on Saturday at noon; trek to Lynn Classical on Monday; and wrap up their season next Thursday (May 26) at Somerville.

Tough Week for EHS Baseball Team

The Everett High baseball team dropped three contests this past week to a trio of Greater Boston League opponents.

In an 11-1 loss to league-leading Lynn Classical (11-2 in the GBL), Everett yielded two quick runs, but cut the Ram lead to 2-1 early in the game.

However, Classical struck for seven markers in the fourth to break the game open. Omar Marshall led the Crimson Tide at the plate with two hits.

In an 8-4 loss to Somerville, which sports a 10-2 record in the GBL, Everett spotted Somerville six runs before they could get anything going.

The Tide were able to cut into the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Alex Velasco. With the ballgame standing at 7-2 in the fifth, Frankie Velasquez delivered a two-run single to slice the Highlanders’ lead to 7-4.

The Tide brought the tying run to the plate with runners on second and second, but were unable to do further damage.

 Alex Lara turned in a nice pitching job in relief, allowing just one run in three innings of work. Offensively, Brian Gibbs, David Saia, and Frankie Velasquez all had multiple-hit games.

This past Monday at Glendale, the Crimson Tide battled their foes from Revere into the sixth inning, trailing by a slim 1-0 margin, but a trio of Everett fielding miscues and multiple infield hits allowed the Patriots to extend the lead to the ultimate finale of 4-0.

“We had many chances early in the game with runners in scoring position, but were unable to come up with a big hit,” said EHS head coach Joel Levine.

Omar Marshall was the lone bright spot for the Tide, going all seven innings on the mound in a fine effort. Omar fanned seven Patriot batters and allowed just two earned runs.

David Saia led the Tide offense with two hits.

Everett now stands at 6-9 on the season after dropping five games in a row,

“There is no more room for error in our season if we want to be playing in June,” said Levine. “These kids fight hard every game. We are going to have to eliminate the one bad inning in the field and come up with some timely hitting.”

Levne and his crew are scheduled to play at Medford today (Wednesday) and will engage in a home-and-home series with non-league foe Charlestown at Glendale on Friday and then will travel to Charlestown on Monday.

They will do the same with another non-league opponent, Saugus, at Glendale next Wednesday and then at Saugus next Friday.

The Tide will have to win all four games to qualify for the post-season state tourney.

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