Here is a look at the ninth week of scheduled games for ORR spring athletics.
Baseball: After a strong regular season which included a co-SCC Championship with Apponequet, the Bulldogs looked to continue their good fortune in the Division 3 South state tournament. The boys received the number three seed and justified it with a 5-1 opening round win over fourteenth-seeded Coyle-Cassidy. Senior ace Andrew Ryan played well from the mound, striking out ten batters while only allowing four hits and one run scored. Offensively, the Bulldogs had ten hits on the game, with Tyler Zell contributing three and Austin Salkind, Bryant Salkind, and Chris Carando each recording a pair. With the win, the Bulldogs advance one step further in the tournament, and face off against sixth-seeded Fairhaven, a SCC rival.
Boys’ Track: This week, the boys’ track team competed in the Division 4 State Championships at Durfee High School, where they had some fantastic performances. The Bulldogs placed second overall as a team with 57 points, just missing first place to Stoneham by two points. Mike Wyman had an amazing day, setting a meet record en route to a win in the two-mile and then returning with a win in the 800-meter. Kevin Saccone was a triple scorer, placing second in the long jump and third in both the 110-hurdles and 400-hurdles. Colin Knapton pitched in with a third in the javelin and a second place finish in the 100-meter, while classmate Jack Smith came sixth in the 100-meter. The Bulldogs were up by six points over Stoneham going into the final event, the 4×400-meter relay, but Stoneham got a key second place to earn eight points and take over the lead. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs performed well, and Saccone, Knapton, and Wyman will all be traveling to the All-State Meet at Bridgewater State University on Saturday, June 7.
Girls’ Track: The girls also competed in the Division 4 State Championships this week, placing seventh overall as a team. Paige Santos was the lead scorer for the Lady Bulldogs, placing second in both the high jump and 100-hurdles. Zoe Smith also had a good day, taking seventh in the triple jump and eighth in the high jump. The girls also got great performances in the relays, with the 4×100-meter relay team of Lauren Ovian, Arden Goguen, Morgan DaSilva, and Elexus Afonso placing eighth and the 4×400-meter relay team of DaSilva, Santos, Nicole Mattson, and Sammie Barrett placing third. Both Santos and the 4×400 team qualified for the All-State Meet as well.
Boys’ Tennis: Like the baseball team, the boys’ tennis team rode into the postseason with an SCC Championship title and high hopes. The sixth-seeded Bulldogs lived up to expectations in their opening round of the Division 3 South Tournament, defeating eleventh-seeded Bishop Connolly 4-1. The ORR singles players came through in the match, as first singles Alex Bilodeau, second singles Alden Truesdale, and third singles Josh Lerman all won their matches to give the Bulldogs three key points. Doug Blaise and Maxx Wolski also added a point with a win in second doubles. With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face a tough competitor in third-seeded Cohasset.
Girls’ Tennis: The girls’ tennis team had a tough season this year, as their lack of varsity experience caused them to not grab a share of the SCC Championship in several years. Despite this, the girls had a record over .500, meaning that they would have a postseason berth in the Division 3 South tournament. However, the ninth-seeded Lady Bulldogs fell in the opening round to eighth-seeded Cape Cod Academy 4-1, thus officially ending their season. Julia Nojeim provided a win in her match at first singles, but due to some untimely injuries, the Lady Bulldogs were not able to win any other matches.
Boys’ Lacrosse: The sixth-seeded Bulldogs played their first and last playoff game this week, as they were upset by eleventh-seeded Martha’s Vineyard in a tough 9-7 loss. The Bulldogs stuck right with Martha’s Vineyard for the opening half, but by the fourth quarter, they were behind 8-4. Despite a late game push, ORR was not able to close the gap and was eliminated from the tournament. The boys’ team had a great season, however, including a co-SCC Championship title with Apponequet.
Girls’ Lacrosse: The seventh-seeded Lady Bulldogs had a strong start to their postseason, earning a 13-4 win over tenth-seeded Mashpee in the opening round of the Division 2 South tournament. The win was also a historic one for the girls, as it marked the first time the ORR girls’ lacrosse team played in a playoff game. Juniors Bailey Truesdale, Chloe Riley, and Mikayla Demanche made sure it was a good one, with Truesdale scoring four goals, Riley notching a hat trick, and Demanche contributing a pair to the lead the ORR offense. Riding off the momentum of their first-ever playoff win, the Lady Bulldogs moved into the next round, where they faced a heartbreaking loss to second-seeded Scituate, 15-3. The Lady Bulldogs were not able to overcome the depth of Scituate, and thus their season came to a close.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of June 1.
Baseball: (15-6-0) (12-4-0); Softball: (7-11-0) (6-11-0); Boys’ Track (7-1-0) (7-1-0); Girls’ Track (8-0-0) (8-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (16-3-0) (15-1-0); Girls’ Tennis: (10-8-0) (9-4-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (10-6-0) (8-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (17-5-0) (4-4-0).
By Michael Kassabian