Eight high school sports takeaways from a Saturday that crowned two Boston City League champions
1. Milestones
Two girls' lacrosse seniors notched their 100th career goals. Nantucket's
Mayson Lower
did it during a five-goal performance to beat Martha's Vineyard, 14-3, and Hamilton-Wenham's
Maisie Leland
scored three goals to reach triple digits in a 19-11 win over St. Mary's.
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Chelmsford announced senior captain
Liam Quinn
surpassed 1,000 career points in kills, aces, and blocks this week.
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🚨Congratulations🎉 to Senior Captain Liam Quinn for surpassing 1,000 career points in kills, aces, & blocks this week! Incredible season & incredible career at CHS!
Let's keep it going!🚨
— CHS Volleyball (@CHSBVolleyball)
2. Walkoff wins
Mimicking
Haverhill's
Max St. Hilaire
singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh against Methuen with the score tied, 1-1, and
Nick Schraffa
singled him home for a 2-1 victory in a consolation game of the Hillie Classic.
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:
In the Northeastern Conference, Peabody's
Joe Sinibaldi
picked off the potential go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, then in the 10th,
Ethan Waybret
walked it off with a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 win over Danvers.
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And in Andover, Wakefield senior
Cam DePrizio
drilled a walkoff double for a 1-0 win over the host Warriors.
3. Going, going, gone
Nobody's power was more prodigious Saturday than Bridgewater-Raynham senior
Olivia Roy
, who connected on a pair of home runs and finished with nine RBIs in a 17-5 win over Mansfield.
Lexington senior
Lidia Palys
broke open a tie game with a blast in the top of the eighth, putting the Minutemen in position for a 10-1 win over Belmont. Plymouth North's
Danny Kenney
launched a two-run shot in the fourth inning, his second of the season, in a 4-3 loss to BC High, and English High's
Armanis Romero
raced for an inside-the-park round-tripper in the top of the fourth of a 6-4 win over Latin Academy in the BCL baseball championship. In the city league softball final, Latin Academy's
Claire Hauck
rallied her team to a 9-5 win with a two-run shot.
Ryleigh Williams
of St. Mary's joined in the longball party, as did Holliston's
Jayden Hayes
, who homered twice in a 19-6 win over Bellingham.
4. Daily lacrosse goals leaderboard
Avery Nistl
, Hamilton-Wenham, 6
Ally Bettencourt
, Peabody, 5
Clare Latham
, Bishop Feehan, 5
Brooke
Lomasney
, Peabody, 5
Mayson Lower
, Nantucket, 5
Ava Nason
, St. Mary's, 5
Madi Barrett
, Peabody, 4
Emily Berube
, Bishop Feehan, 4
Avery Texiera
, Bishop Feehan, 4
5. Daily strikeout leaderboard
Luke Joyce
, Braintree, 15
Cam Collier
, Latin Academy, 13
Jack Zimmerman
, St. Mary's, 13
Luke Rogan
, Mansfield, 11
Ty Southall
, Georgetown, 10
Lyla Moore
, Carver, 9
Tyer Alsen
, Cardinal Spellman, 8
Ayden Balter
, Wilmington, 8
Dylan Lawrence
, North Andover, 8
Caroline Arruda
, Marshfield, 7
Danny Kenney
, Plymouth North, 7
6. Commitment central
Payton Kamin
, a 6-foot-8-inch senior forward out of Worcester Academy he has committed to play men's basketball at Penn.
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Big congrats to Payton Kamin '25 on his commitment to Penn!
— Worcester Basketball (@WA_VBB)
BC High senior
Jack Darcy
, a middle infielder from Milton, who can hit 88 miles per hour with his fastball, is headed to Amherst to play baseball.
Welcome to the Amherst Baseball Class of 2029, Jack!🦣
— Amherst Baseball (@AmherstBaseball)
7. College corner
With a roster featuring freshman
Kierstyn Zinter
(North Andover/Central Catholic), freshman
Danielle Cox
(Norwell), junior
Ali Hoyt
(Boston/Tabor), and freshman
Maddie Szyluk
(Longmeadow), Tamp won the NCAA Division 2 women's lacrosse championship, 15-9 over Adelphi. Szyluk, a midfielder, had two goals in the championship game.
WPI graduate student
Avinash Bissoondial
, a Millbury High graduate, capped his standout career with All-America honors after finishing eighth in the 5,000 meters (14:17.02) at the NCAA Division 3 men's track and field championship in Geneva, Ohio.
Odds and ends
Ella Peper
, a freshman at Dexter Southfield who plays club basketball for the Bay State Jags, was selected as one of the 22 finalists for the USA Women's U16 National Team.
22 finalists have been announced for the 2025 🇺🇸
»
— USABJNT (@usabjnt)
Peper, who hails from Newton, already has offers from Kentucky, Clemson, Louisville, Alabama, Purdue, Indiana, Virginia, Baylor, Arizona State, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, and more. A video from the US Olympic Training center in Colorado showed the 6-foot-4-inch 15-year-old dunking in practice.
She's 15!! Get Up 💥
📍 🇺🇸
— USABJNT (@usabjnt)
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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Boston Globe
16 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Nine takeaways from Wednesday, when girls' golf champions were crowned and Georgetown hired a new basketball coach
Here's our coverage of all the days action: 1. Upset central The first No. 1 seed fell on Monday when Taunton baseball was upended by No. 32 Winchester in the Division 1 first round. On Wednesday, the second No. 1 seed was eliminated, and once again it came on the baseball diamond, where No. 16 Apponequet took care of No. 1 St. Mary's behind three hits and three RBIs from Gabe Zuber and 4⅔ innings of one-hit relief from Pete Kanakis . Advertisement Taunton and St. Mary's are the only No. 1 seeds to have lost in any MIAA spring tournament thus far, but two No. 4 seeds fell Wednesday. Previously, the only No. 4 seed to be knocked out was Apponequet boys tennis, but the Lakers got some company when No. 4 Old Rochester girls' tennis lost, 3-2, to No. 13 Danvers in the second round of the Division 3 tourney, and No. 4 Shawsheen baseball, which was 20-0 during the regular season, was eliminated, 5-4, from the Division 3 bracket by No. 13 Wakefield. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Also falling was two-time defending champion Seekonk baseball, the No. 6 seed in Division 4, which dropped a 6-3 second-round game to No. 11 Dennis-Yarmouth. Advertisement 2. Milestones Hamilton-Wenham girls' tennis senior Naomi Provost recorded her 80th career win in a 4-1 Division 4 quarterfinals victory over Cohasset, extending her own school record. Also for the Generals, girls' lacrosse junior Evie Bernard surpassed 300 career goals during an eight-tally performance in a 20-6 second-round win over Swampscott in the Division 4 tournament. Medfield boys' lacrosse junior Braeden Sutton scored nine times, including the 200th point of his career, in a 22-5 Division 3 second-round win over North Middlesex. Andover senior Jack Cooper matched the program's single-game record by scoring seven goals in a 20-9 second-round win over Andover in the Division 1 boys' lacrosse bracket. King Philip senior Liv Petrillo not only slugged two home runs, but she reached 100 career hits and 100 career runs in a 12-0 Division 1 second-round softball win over Newton North. Also in the D1 softball bracket, Weymouth junior Jill Ondrick notched her 750th career strikeout, but it came in a season-ending 7-1 loss to Taunton in the second round. 3. Walkoff wins Manchester Essex boys' lacrosse survived Pentucket, 9-8, on Luke Renzi's overtime winner, which came after he won a faceoff in the second round of the Division 4 tournament. Nantucket girls' lacrosse won similarly, with Dylan Damian netting the OT goal to beat Manchester Essex, 7-6, in the Division 4 second round. Westwood's Izzy Walsh supplied the heroics in the bottom of the seventh, delivering an RBI single to capture a 4-3 Division 2 softball win over Malden Catholic. 4. Going, going, gone Power came in bunches, with Bedford's Alyx Rossi and King Philip's Petrillo both blasting a pair of home runs in wins. Walpole's Adriana Torres , Norah Broderick , Abby Riley , and Grace Todd all homered in a 17-0 softball win over Stoughton and Middleborough's Taylynn Robinson and English High's Manny De Jesus both recorded round-trippers. Advertisement 5. Three stars De Jesus, English High — The senior struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing just two hits while collecting three of his own, including an inside-the-park home run, to spark second-seeded defending Division 5 champion English to an 8-0 second-round win over Westfield. Kanakis, Apponequet — The sophomore shortstop was summoned for a relief appearance with the bases loaded and the Lakers trailing, 3-1, in the third inning. He proceeded to pitch 4⅔ shutout innings with five strikeouts, allowing 16th-seeded Apponequet to rally for an 8-3 win over top-seeded St. Mary's. Rossi, Bedford — The Boston College-bound senior was unfathomably good in a 10-0 second-round win over Duxbury, homering twice while also pitching a perfect game (her second of the season) with 16 strikeouts. 6. Daily lacrosse leaderboard Goals Braeden Sutton , Medfield, 9 Evie Bernard , Hamilton-Wenham, 8 Reese Bromby , Newburyport, 7 Jack Cooper , Andover, 7 Caroline Nozzolillo , Westwood, 7 Thomas Donovan , Mansfield, 6 Cece Levrault , Apponequet, 6 Eddie Breslin , Medfield, 5 Tristan Clayton , Acton-Boxborough, 5 Jameson Murphy , Falmouth, 5 Lucas Ogden , Dracut, 5 Emilie Demaio , Westwood, 4 Jack Sovik , Duxbury, 4 Cece Thurmond , Westwood, 4 Points Breslin, Medfield, 11 Sutton, Medfield, 10 Bromby, Newburyport, 8 Matt Grafton , Abington, 8 Finn Wright Jr. , Ipswich, 8 Cooper, Andover, 7 Liam Goodwin , Duxbury, 7 Grace Maroney , Hingham, 7 Nozzolillo, Westwood, 7 Will Cronin , Acton-Boxborough, 6 Levrault, Apponequet, 6 Nico Smith , Medfield, 6 7. Daily strikeout leaderboard Cate Larson , Taunton, 18 Alyx Rossi , Bedford, 16 Kelsey Blanchette , Lincoln-Sudbury, 14 Kiley Hogan , Tyngsborough, 13 Brian Mancinelli , St. John Paul II, 12 Jack Peabody , Mansfield, 11 Advertisement Taryn Clancy , Middleborough, 10 Sharlotte Stazinski , Walpole, 10 Joe Coughlan , Sandwich, 9 Kaylee Gendron , Plymouth South, 9 Mikey St. Martin , Walpole, 9 Lila Alvarez , Joseph Case, 8 Bridget Mulkeen , Westwood, 8 8. Boys' lacrosse has a home After a long search, a venue has been secured for the boys' lacrosse finals. All four divisions will play at Mass. Maritime Academy's Clean Harbor Stadium in Bourne on June 14. Game times are scheduled for 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Time slots will be assigned to the divisions based on the finalists. The girls' lacrosse finals will once again be held at Babson College with two divisions playing June 12 at 5 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and two finals June 13 on the same schedule. 9. Coaching carousel Georgetown boys' basketball, coming off a Division 4 state title, has a new coach. After coach Josh Keilty left for St. Mary's, the school announced the hiring of Kevin Fair , a Milford High Hall of Famer (class of '91) who is still the Scarlet Hawks' all-time leader in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Fair also coaches the Royals' girls' soccer team and was named the 2024 MIAA Division 5 Coach of the Year. 🚨Royal News: 🏀New Head Boys Basketball Coach: Kevin Fair Elected to Milford High School Athletic HoF in 2018. MHS all time basketball leader in rebounds, steals, blocks. Fair currently is the Royals Girls Soccer Coach and was the 2024 MIAA D5 COY — Georgetown Royals Athletics (@GMHS_Royals) Brendan Kurie can be reached at
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
How St. Mary's baseball marched to second-ever NCAA regional with zero NIL money
St. Mary's baseball, a program whose history dates to 1872 when it was introduced as the school's first sport, has never played under the lights at home. It isn't a figure of speech. There are literally no lights at Louis Guisto Field. Gaels home games begin no later than 2 p.m. — and 3 p.m. after Daylight Saving Time. When winning seasons became the norm during Eric Valenzuela's first stint at the helm from 2014-19, opposing teams would occasionally make full use of their offensive timeouts, to which the St. Mary's dugout relentlessly exclaimed, 'We don't have lights!' Whether it was a tactic to draw the game past sundown or simply coincidental, Athletics starting pitcher and Gaels alumnus Ken Waldichuk remembers well how the team's favorite chirp emerged as the calling card for good baseball in Moraga. 'We embraced it, honestly,' Waldichuk said. 'Not having lights and being in that situation kind of brought guys together.' Valenzuela left for Long Beach State following the 2019 season after having led St. Mary's to four straight 30-win seasons, by far the most in school history, during a stretch that included the program's first NCAA regional appearance in 2016. Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and MLB All-Star Tony Gonsolin were starting pitchers for that famed group of Gaels, whose legacy was finally matched last weekend. St. Mary's won the West Coast Conference tournament to automatically qualify for the program's second regional appearance, again under the leadership of Valenzuela, who returned as head coach in the summer of 2023 after four seasons in Long Beach. The feat seems more impressive this time around. In 2016, pay-for-play name, image and likeness (NIL) deals and a practically no-holds-barred transfer portal would not be implemented for another half decade. In 2025, success in college athletics is afforded to those with the deepest pockets. More than half of the NCAA tourney's field of 64 is made up of Power 4 teams (34). St. Mary's is one of a select group of mid-major teams included for winning its conference championship. As a result, Valenzuela and company find themselves as a four seed in a Corvallis, Ore., regional that features No. 8 national seed Oregon State, USC (Big Ten) and TCU (Big 12). It's safe to say all three programs have various levels of NIL backing. The NIL money spread across St. Mary's current roster? A whopping total of $0, Valenzuela told the Chronicle. 'There's absolutely no NIL with this current team at all,' Valenzuela said. 'We're not going to have the luxury of a lot of these programs, even in our conference, that have NIL and have a ton of it. … We're not there just yet.' All told, Valenzuela lost six of nine starters from a 2024 lineup that brought the program back above .500 last season at 34-22 (16-8 WCC) after consecutive campaigns with records of 25-26, 25-30 and 23-28 in his absence. Roster turnover heading into this season was inevitable from what was a senior-heavy team. But the Gaels also failed to retain catcher Bear Harrison (Texas A&M), who started 42 games with a .322 batting average and eight home runs as a freshman, outfielder Dalton Mashore (South Carolina), an All-WCC second-team selection, and 6-foot-11 pitcher Jason Reitz (Oregon), whom Valenzuela said would've likely been a weekend starter. Valenzuela cited internal conversations about potentially establishing an NIL budget and funding more baseball scholarships when the allowable number by the NCAA expectedly increases from 11.7 to 34 as part of the House v. NCAA settlement. What steps may be taken, while valuable, are also unlikely to make St. Mary's baseball competitive in the NIL marketplace overnight. Valenzuela knows any high school, junior college or transfer recruits who land with the Gaels won't be the ones chasing money. 'The times have totally changed,' Valenzuela said. 'You never know what a Tony Gonsolin or a Ken Waldichuk or a Corbin Burnes would have done if they were in this era.' For what it's worth, Waldichuk said he thinks he would've stayed. The development he received in three years at St. Mary's after joining as a preferred walk-on in 2017 was well worth it once the New York Yankees spent a 2019 fifth-round pick on him following his junior season. He said his cost of tuition was almost entirely covered once he was put on a partial athletic scholarship after posting a 2.00 ERA as a true freshman reliever. In his final two years, Waldichuk said he had to pay about $1,000 per semester. Every St. Mary's baseball player pays some portion of tuition, according to Valenzuela, who acknowledged maybe one or two are close to attending the school for free but that 'a lot of them are paying the majority.' Meanwhile, some starters at Power 4 programs, especially in the SEC, not only have their tuition covered — they regularly net money off of NIL deals. The independent variable in Valenzuela's success has been his staff. Associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Daniel Costanza has coached alongside Valenzuela for 12 years. And under hitting coach Jack Meggs, who was retained from the program's previous staff, the Gaels boast a top-50 batting average in the country (.301). Fueling that are All-WCC first-team first baseman Eddie Madrigal, whose average is a team-best .372 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs, and outfielder Aiden Taurek, who is batting .336 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in his first year as a starter. 'If I'm a coach at a Power (4) school, I'm looking at schools like ours who found ways to be successful with limited resources — I'm going to try to hire those guys,' Valenzuela said. The deeper the Gaels go this postseason as the Bay Area's only chance at a College World Series berth in Omaha, Neb., the farther they'll be from home. But their future on the grounds of Louis Guisto Field at Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium will only brighten in the years to come. The town of Moraga recently approved outdoor light fixtures to be installed at the ballpark. Gone are the days of an afternoon first pitch thrown against the backdrop of bleachers marked by the handful of parents who could get off of work early. Valenzuela said he always has believed night games could increase exposure for the program across the broader Lamorinda area, ripe with young baseball talent. To enlighten those who have been in the dark: Since 1967, St. Mary's baseball has fielded 12 teams that won at least 30 games, including the past six coached by Valenzuela. 'If you compare Coach V to probably any other coach in the country, he gets more out of what he has than just about anybody,' St. Mary's president Roger Thompson said.
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Eastern Mass. girls' lacrosse: Globe Players of the Week, May 18-25
Brooke Lomasney , Peabody — The senior standout finished the week with 18 points, including five goals and three assists in a 17-13 triumph over Beverly that clinched a share of the Northeastern Conference title. Advertisement Mayson Lower , Nantucket — The Whalers outlasted St. John Paul II, 17-11, on Friday thanks in part to eight assists from Lower, then defeated island rival Martha's Vineyard as the senior added three more assists along with five goals to hit 100 career goals. Jill Martin , Chelmsford — The Lions, winners of eight straight, leaned on the Merrimack-bound senior to cruise past Nashoba (2 goals, 1 assist, 8 draw controls) and Westford (4 goals, 1 assist). Trevor Hass can be reached at
