Here is a look at the sixth week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.
Baseball: The boys’ baseball team suffered their first loss of the season this week to SCC rival Fairhaven in a disappointing 3-0 shutout. Despite a strong pitching effort by Sam Henrie, who allowed only three hits and recorded five strikeouts, the Bulldogs were not able to gain any momentum offensively, as they only got two hits off the entire game. The loss was surely a tough one for the Bulldogs, but they managed to rebound nicely later in the week with an exciting 2-1 run-off victory. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1, senior Brendan Deverix got off a first-base hit, which allowed sophomore Will Hopkins to race to home plate and score the winning run for the Bulldogs. Deverix also played well from the pitcher’s mound during the game. With the conclusion of the week, the boys’ record still remains at the top of the SCC at 10-1.
Softball: The Lady Bulldogs had a strong start to their week with a 7-6 win over Fairhaven. Thanks to a strong performance by freshman Sophie Hubbard, who went 3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, the ORR softball team defeated Fairhaven in what is likely to be the first time in three years. Hubbard was joined in the offensive rankings by Maddie Lee, who went 2-4 with a run and RBI, and four other Lady Bulldogs who contributed. Kaleigh Goulart earned yet another win from the pitcher’s mound. The win marked the girls’ fourth straight victory, a streak that would unfortunately be broken the next game against Somerset-Berkeley, where the girls fell 5-2. Though Courtney Dextradeur and Michaela Guard had run-scoring hits, it would not prove enough to defeat the out-of-conference Blue Raiders. The girls’ overall record stands at 7-5.
Boys’ Track: The boys’ track team came back nicely after losing their first meet of the season last week with two wins over SCC rivals to advance their record to 5-1. The Bulldogs defeated both Case and Apponequet, with several athletes winning multiple events. Kevin Saccone won the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter, and 200-meter, while Ben Rounseville contributed a win in the 100-hurdles and Trevor Capachione won the javelin. After the two conference wins, several athletes competed in the Glenn D. Loucks Games, held in White Plains, New York for some of the finest athletes on the east coast. There, Saccone placed second overall in the 400-hurdles with the second-best time run by a Massachusetts athlete this year in the event, as well as nabbing fourth in the long jump. Other competitors included Rounseville and Eli Spevack in the pentathlon and Ben Dion in the 100-meter.
Girls’ Track: The Lady Bulldogs remained undefeated this week by defeating Apponequet and Case by large margins. The girls beat Case 107-23 and Apponequet 105-26. The girls got wins from Zoe Smith (high jump, 100-meter, 100-hurdles), Lexi Afonso (long jump, triple jump), Jill Sethares (shot-put, discus), Nicole Gifford (javelin), Avery Nugent (2-mile), Rachel Demmer (400-hurdles), Nina Bourgeois(mile), Nicole Mattson (400-meter), and the 4×100-team. The girls are on track to be SCC champions for the fifth consecutive year if they can get past GNB Voc-Tech and Seekonk next week. A few female athletes also competed in the Loucks Games later in the week, notably Smith, Afonso, and Brooke Santos in the pentathlon and Arden Goguen in the 100-meter.
Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team continued their domination of the SCC this week, defeating Wareham, Fairhaven, and Case in 5-0 shutouts to keep their conference record at a perfect 12-0. ORR swept all three teams in all five matches, getting key wins from players like Owen Sughrue (first singles), Alex Bilodeau (first singles and second singles), Sam Pasquill (second singles and third singles), and Sean Nutter (third singles). With only a few matches left in the season, the Bulldogs look poised to claim their second consecutive SCC title and make a strong run in the state tournament.
Girls’ Tennis: Like the boys’ team, the girls’ tennis team went 3-3 for this week against Case, Fairhaven, and Wareham. Against Wareham and Fairhaven, the girls won 4-1, with Julia Nojeim (first singles) and Morgan Middleton (second singles) winning their respective matches in both. The girls also shut out case 5-0 thanks to an incredible performance by first doubles team KK Bindas and Emma Collings, whose match went nearly three hours as they fought for the win. Luckily, their efforts paid off, and combined with the domination of the other matches, the Lady Bulldogs were able to nab another victory en route to advancing their record to 10-3.
Boys’ Lacrosse: After a strong win over Bourne (14-13) to start their week, the boys’ lacrosse team suffered their first loss of the season to Apponequet in a 7-6 battle. Despite goals from Ethan Lizotte (2), Landon Goguen (3), and a lone score from Charlie Tirrell, the Bulldogs were not able to clinch the victory. Unfortunately, this means that Apponequet and ORR are now tied at the top of the SCC with just a few games left. The boys got out some of their frustration later in the week with a massive 18-2 victory over non-conference Bishop Stang. The Bulldogs currently stand at an 11-1 overall record.
Girls’ Lacrosse: The girls also suffered a 7-6 loss to Apponequet this week, which marked the girls’ first conference loss all season. Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs were strong, with Maggie Adams (2), Maddie Cooney (2), Emily Hiller, and Mikayla Demanche all recording goals, but the girls were not able to halt an aggressive Apponequet on the other side of the field in order to secure the win. Luckily, ORR will remain at the top of the SCC rankings and just needs to defeat two more teams to secure the title. The girls also won an impressive 15-14 victory over Bishop Stang, which is very admirable considering the depth of Stang’s program.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of May 11.
Baseball: (11-1-0) (10-1-0); Softball: (7-5-0) (7-3-0); Boys’ Track: (5-1-0) (5-1-0); Girls’ Track: (6-0-0) (6-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (13-1-0) (12-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (10-3-0) (10-2-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (11-1-0) (5-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (11-2-1) (6-1-0).
By Michael Kassabian
