Everett's freshman baseball team enjoys thrilling win over Somerville

By Pete Legasey

Everett High’s (EHS) freshman baseball team enjoyed its most thrilling win of the season last Thursday when a walk-off single by David Fitzpatrick gave the Crimson Tide a 10-9 win over Somerville High.
The game-winning hit put a cap on what was already a memorable performance from Fitzpatrick, who pitched all seven innings and struck out 12 batters in the win. He helped his cause as much as any of his batters by going 4-for-5 at the plate. Cody Skeffington reached base three times and scored every time, as did Nick Chiariello. Dylan Dasilva and Bobby Allen each chipped in with a pair of hits.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for the frosh Tide a day later when they traveled to Lynn to take on St. Mary’s High. The Catholic School squad came into the game without a loss on their record and played much the way one would expect an unbeaten team to play.
Everett didn’t make things better for themselves by giving St. Mary’s a handful of extra outs with some inconsistent play in the field. The defensive mishaps occurred early and often for the Tide, and St. Mary’s was all too eager to take advantage. By the end of the first inning, Everett already trailed by five runs and went on to lose, 13-1. The only real bright spots for the Crimson Tide were the solid hitting of Chris Iascone and Connor O’Malley, as well as the pitching of Chiariello, who struck out five batters in four innings of work.
The frosh Tide recovered a day later with a home win over Revere. Everett had some extra power in the lineup, thanks to the presence of five freshmen who normally play with the JV (which had no game scheduled for Saturday). Matt Costello went 2-for-4 and pitched the middle three innings, while Shawn McGrath went 1-for-2 with a home run. Jonathan Spinelli started on the mound and pitched the first three innings, while Raymond Gallagher got the final three outs of the 11-3 win.
Everett also got plenty of contributions from their regulars. Chris Iascone went 3-for-4, and Skeffington, Fitzpatrick and Chiariello all had two hits apiece.
The freshman Tide are now 2-2, which gives them as many wins as the last two Everett High freshman baseball teams combined. Head coach Lenny Parsons said his team takes pride in the fact that they have a good chance to be the best frosh squad in recent memory for EHS.
“For the past three or four years, people have just been used to the fact that the freshman teams stink,” said Parsons. “They definitely want to change that around and they definitely feel they had that pressure to win that first game. We hope to have a winning record by the end of the season and we’re just trying to do our part to help the whole city of Everett’s baseball program get back on track.”
Everett was scheduled to play at Waltham High on Monday. They also will play at home against Medford on Wednesday before traveling to Arlington High a day later.

JV Softball

They JV Tide defeated Malden High last Wednesday and didn’t even need five whole innings to do it. The umpires stopped the game in the fifth with Everett up, 19-5, and distancing themselves. Hailey Ellsworth had a home run and a double, and Sara Fitzpatrick had a double and a triple for the Crimson, who also got a three-base hit from Samantha Sarni.
Things got out of hand (in a good way) again for Everett last Friday in a win over Somerville High that was even more lopsided than the blowout over Malden. The game was called in the sixth inning when a two-run triple by Angela Mirra put the Tide ahead, 17-2. Samantha Sarni had three stolen bases, and Chistine Faia swiped two bags of her own.
Everett (6-3) was scheduled to play against Waltham High on Monday but the game was rained out. The Tide will play host to Medford High on Wednesday before traveling to Arlington on Friday.

Freshman Softball

The freshman softball Tide roll into this week on the momentum of back-to-back wins. Everett scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to earn a 10-7 victory at Peabody High last Friday. The Tide had given away an early lead and were locked in 7-7 stalemate until Celina Giovanno hit a double that scored Nicole Bartholomew and Mariah Rodriguez. Giovanno then scored on a single by Rachel LeBlanc.
Ilene McFadden went 4-for-4 at the plate for Everett, which scored six runs in the top of the first inning only to watch the Tanners chip away at the lead before finally tying the game heading into the final frame.
It was the second consecutive game in which the Crimson offense put at least 10 runs on the board. Everett had earned a 16-9 victory over Malden High on Wednesday. Just as she would two days later against Peabody, Ilene McFadden had four hits in as many at-bats. Andrea Scanelli helped keep the Malden offense at bay with three outstanding catches in left field.
Rachel LeBlanc, who had never played at the catcher position before this season, earned some high praise from coach Melissa O’Donnell, who was not the only one who took notice of LeBlanc’s excellence behind the plate.
“She’s turning into a great catcher,” O’Donnell said. “The umpire [in Wednesday’s win over Malden] even complimented her. He said that she was a great catcher and that she did what she had to do and that she’s going to turn out to be great.”

Roundup

Ortiz, Dancewicz, and Poste lead boys track

Xavier Ortiz, Alan Dancewicz, and Stephen Poste each won two events, but the Everett High boys track team fell short by a 78-54 score to Chelsea on Friday.
Sophomore Ortiz captured both dashes, the 100 in 11.7 and the 200 in 23.8. Xavier’s performance in the 200 was particularly impressive given that it was the first time he ran in that event and his time is just short of the 23.5 clocking needed to qualify for the state divisional meet.
Poste took the shot put with a throw of 41-1.5 and the discus with a toss of 118-8, while Dancewicz was a victor in the high jump with a leap of 5-8 and in the 110 high hurdles in a time of 17.0. Alan also ran a leg of the winning 4 x 100 relay team to end up as the top scorer for the Crimson Tide with 11.25 points.
The trio of Ortiz, Poste, and Dancewicz accounted for 31.25 of their team’s 54 points, more than half.
Andrew Beckford Rosario was the other Everett first place finisher, triumphing in the 800 in 2:13.8. In addition to Dancewicz, the other members of the winning 4 x 100 quartet were Michael DeFlorio, Domenic Mucci, and Umberto Cardaropoli.
A number of Crimson Tide athletes achieved a personal record (PR) in the Chelsea meet. Jehu Cimea took second in the 400 in a PR of 53.3, just 0.1 off the state qualifying time of 53.2. Freshman Peter DuPerier also ran a PR of 54.9 in the 400. Cimea pulled off another PR in the long jump with a leap of 19-5.5 for third place, which also is within striking range of the state qualifying distance of 20-3.
Freshman Brian Panarese nabbed third place in the 200 in a PR time of 25.4, while fellow freshman Mucci also achieved a PR in 26.0.
Crimson Tide performers who added three points for second place finishes in the Chelsea meet were Ryan Delgado in the javelin with a throw of 114-8 and Ivan Velev in the mile in 5:20, a nice run for the freshmen’s first-ever entry in that event.
Single points for third place efforts were achieved by Cardaropoli in the 100 dash in 2:12.2; DeFlorio in the javelin with a toss of 111-0; and Alexander Urquiza with a high jump of 5-0.
Coach Shelanda Irish’s squad has a busy week, having taken on Somerville yesterday (Tuesday) and facing Malden tomorrow (Thursday).

EHS track girls fall just short to Chelsea

The Everett High (EHS) girls track team fell just short to Chelsea, 70-66, in a meet held Friday morning.
Cara Woodward and Joanne Cimea led the Lady Crimson Tide with first place finishes in their specialties. Cara won the high jump and the 110 high hurdles (18.6). Her leap of 4-11 in the former event qualified Woodward for the state divisional meet. Cara also ran a leg on the winning 4 x 100 relay team to end up with 11.25 points on the day.
Cimea grabbed a first place with a long jump of 16-0, a distance that qualifies her for the state meet, and sped to a first in the 200 dash in 28.1, a time within striking distance of the 27.8 needed to qualify for the states. Joanne also anchored the winning 4 x 400 relay squad to give her 11.25 points for the meet.
Amy Vietro was next on the scoring parade with nine points. The talented Vietro led a Lady Crimson Tide sweep of the 300 low hurdles in a time of 52.8, a personal record (PR) that is just shy of the 51.5 clocking needed to qualify for the state divisional meet. Amy also took a second in the high hurdles in 19.2 and a third in the triple jump with a hop, skip, and jump of 25-10.
Livia Populin brought home a first place in the 800 in a PR time of 2:45 and also ran a leg of the 4 x 400 relay. Sashae Walls led an Everett sweep of the 400 in a PR of 65.6 and also ran a leg of the 4 x 400. The other member of that quartet, whose winning time was 4:49, was Abigail Jean.
In addition to Woodward, the other members of the winning 4 x 100 relay team are Jackie Buonopane, Sabrina Dornela, and Merima Ikanovic.
Rebekkah Porter achieved a milestone of sorts (no pun intended ) by earning points in both the mile (third place in 7:18) and two mile (second place in 15:07).
Ikanovic finished second in the 400 in 67.1 and third in the long jump in 14-3. Deborah Jean Francois took second in the 300 low hurdles in a PR of 57.6 and Buonopane completed the Everett sweep in 59.9.
Shaina Benjamin grabbed third places in the discus with a toss of 69-6 and the shot put with a heave of 21-4.5. Marie Louis took third in the 200 in 29.8; Abigail Jean did likewise in the 400 in 67.8; and Kassandra Sampson added a point to the Everett scoresheet with a third in the javelin with a toss of 56-2.
The Lady Crimson Tide took on Somerville yesterday (Tuesday) and will meet Malden tomorrow (Thursday).

Ortiz, Magezi win GBL frosh soph meet

Xavier Ortiz and Elia Magezi won first places in last week’s GBL Freshman Sophomore Meet held at Somerville’s Dilboy Field.
Ortiz, a sophomore, sped to victory in the 100 dash in a time of 11.4 seconds, while freshman Magezi won the shot put with toss of 34-8.25.
A number of other Crimson Tide boys received ribbons for finishing in the top six. Freshman Peter DuPerier took second in the 400 in 57.0, a personal record (PR); freshman Brian Panarese took fourth in the 200 in 25.5, a PR, and sixth in the 400 in 56.2; fellow freshman Domenic Mucci grabbed sixth in the 200 in 26.2, also a PR; freshman Ivan Velev finished fourth in the 800 in 2:23.5 and sixth in the triple jump in 33-0; sophomore Dan Marshall finished fifth in the 800 in 2:29.4; and sophomore Braythener Machado took sixth in the 300 in 52.1.
On the girls side, freshman Kassandra Sampson came through with a javelin throw of 53-8.5, good for second place. Sophomore Deborah Jean Francois also grabbed a second place in the 300 in 58.7.
Freshman Sashae Walls finished fourth in the 200 in 28.5; sophomore Tracey Nicholson was fourth in the triple jump in 27-5 (an impressive feat for Tracey for her first competition in that event); sophomore Adra Ringdahl grabbed sixth in the mile in a PR of 7:05; and freshman Darryl Colson took fifth in the discus with a twirl of 57-8.
“Many of the members of the team achieved personal records, which was nice to see,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “It was a good meet for us.”

EHS softball team defeats Somerville, 7-2

The young Everett High softball team dropped two contests last week to Peabody (9-1) and Malden (18-8), but then bounced back to claim a 7-2 win over Somerville.
Michelle Zullo pitched a fine game for coach Stacy Poste’s Lady Crimson Tide, going all seven innings and allowing just three hits and fanning seven Somerville batters.
Everett broke the game open with six runs in the second inning that provided Zullo with more than enough of a cushion. Samantha Bruce had two hits and two RBI, while Amanda Ray went 2 for 2.
In the Malden contest, the Everett girls led 7-6 in the fourth inning, “but then the roof fell in on us,” noted Poste. Sam Rebello was 2 for 2 with two RBI to lead the team in the hitting department.
Poste and her crew, who now stand at 2-1 in the GBL (4-5 overall) have a busy week on tap, hosting Medford today (Wednesday), traveling to Arlington tomorrow, and then journeying to Waltham Friday for a makeup of Monday’s washed out game.

Baseball team wins pair

The Everett High baseball team won a doubleheader of sorts on Friday morning, defeating Revere in a resumption of a protested game and then defeating St. Mary’s of Lynn 9-8 in 11 innings.
The delayed win over Revere lasted all of one batter, as Justin Spinelli fanned a Revere hitter to end the bizarre contest and officially place a “W” into the record books for the Crimson Tide.
The game, which began two weeks ago, had to be picked up with two outs, the bases loaded, and Everett ahead, 5-2. The Revere coach successfully had protested a third out call because the third strike (which was called on a checked swing by the first base umpire on a 3-2 pitch) hit the dirt and the Everett catcher was unable to make a play at first because the home plate umpire initially had ruled it ball four and sent the batter to first.
In any event, Spinelli ended the drama with a K on a 3-2 pitch.
Justin then started the ensuing game with St. Mary’s which also was a wild one. Everett jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to se St. Mary’s knot matters at 3-3. When the Tide made it 4-3 in the fourth, the visitors from Lynn responded in their fifth to make it 4-4.
Everett once again grabbed the advantage with two runs in their half of the sixth, only to see St. Mary’s score twice in the seventh to send the contest into extra innings.
St. Mary’s finally took its first lead of the game, 8-6, in the ninth, only this time it was Everett’s turn to play catchup, as the Tide pushed across a pair of markers to keep the game going.
That set the stage for the game winning run to come across in the 11th, with Spinelli, who had started the day as the Everett hero, fittingly ending the marathon affair with a base hit to bring in the winning tally.
Matt Invernizzi had two hits, two walks, three stolen bases, and two runs scored, while Frank Cafarella went two for four to pace the Everett offense.
Spinelli pitched five innings, Dan Forrestall went three and two thirds frames, and J.W. Forte came on for the final one and one third innings to pick up the win.
The Tide also played well in two previous games on the vacation week, but came out on the short end of 3-0 decisions to Malden and 4-3 to Somerville. John Davis pitched well in the starting role against Malden, allowing just three hits and fanning six in five and two thirds innings. However, four walks proved costly. Moreover, his teammates managed only three hits on the day.
Al Saia finished the final one and one third innings, whiffing three Malden batters and allowing no hits.
In the tough loss to Somerville, Everett saw Somerville score two runs in the final inning to hand the Tide the defeat. Starting pitcher Dan Izzo gave his team a strong outing, going four and two thirds frames, yielding just two runs and two hits and striking out four. Saia finished the contest, striking out five in the final two and one third innings.
“It’s been a frustrating season thus far,” said EHS head coach Dana D’Agostino. “We’re 3-4, but just as easily we could be 5-2.”
Everett will be back in action today (Wednesday) at Medford and then host Arlington tomorrow.

Netmen split, remain at .500

The Everett High boy tennis team split its matches last week, defeating Medford 3-2, but falling to Cambridge by the identical margin.
Stephano Tran powered past his Medford opponent at first singles, winning handily in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Robinson Tran was a winner at third singles, 6-4, 6-3. The first doubles duo of Andrew Tran and Carmine Matarazzo provided the winning match by a 6-4, 6-3 score.
The other matches were well contested, with Ngoc Tran losing at second singles 5-7, 0-6 and the second doubles tandem of Tony Vu and Bruce Vu falling 4-6, 5-7.
In the Cambridge match, both of coach Long Lee’s doubles teams won in straight sets. However, despite the losing efforts of the singles players, Lee praised them effusively for their strong battles that lasted more than two hours for Stephano Tran at first singles and Robinson Tran at third singles (the latter falling in three sets by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 4-6).
“They gave it their all,” Lee said afterwards, “but just fell short. A few bounces here or there and we could have won.”
The Everett netmen stand at the .500 mark with a 3-3 record and were set to take on Malden today (Wednesday).