Here is a look at the seventh week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.
Baseball: The boys’ baseball team had a tough start to their week with a 4-3 loss to Seekonk due to two errors in the seventh inning that allowed Seekonk to edge ahead. The loss did not bode well for the Bulldogs, as it had the potential to keep them out of the race for the SCC title. Luckily, the boys were able to recover for the remainder of the week as they earned two more wins to stay in the race for the conference championship. Much of that success had to do with sophomore Sam Henrie, who in the Bulldogs’ 12-1 win over Bourne, pitched five shutout innings, striking out eight and only allowing two walks. Against Bourne, Brent Rezendes came through offensively, going 4-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs. Henrie also played a pivotal role in ORR’s 4-2 win over Apponequet. Henrie had an RBI double as well as a two-run homer late in the game to provide valuable runs for the Bulldogs. James Leidhold earned the win from the pitcher’s mound, improving his personal record to a perfect 5-0. With the important win, the Bulldogs are now tied with Fairhaven at the top of the SCC with just a few games remaining.
Softball: After two losses to Seekonk and Bourne early in the week, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back nicely with a 4-0 shutout over Apponequet, effectively snapping a four-game losing streak. Kaleigh Goulart earned yet another win from the pitcher’s mound, recording a shoutout and scattering five hits. In addition to Goulart’s contribution, the entire ORR defense was very solid throughout the game. From the plate, Maddie Lee powered the Lady Bulldogs, going 2-for-3 and recording two RBIs. With the results of this week’s games, the girls’ record stands at 8-8 overall, right on track for a state tournament berth.
Boys’ Track: This week, the boys’ track team defeated GNB Voc-Tech, but suffered a narrow two-point defeat to Seekonk. Despite the split of results, ORR got several impressive performances by some of its athletes. Kevin Saccone continued to dominate in the conference, winning the 400-meter, triple jump and long jump, while Ben Rounseville took first in the 110-meter hurdles. Some other notable performances were Patrick Briand, who ran his personal best in the mile with a 5:04, as well as Trevor Capachione, who threw the javelin 154’1” en route to a win against GNB Voc-Tech. Ben Dion also did well, running a speedy 11.9 seconds in the 100-meter. With the win and loss, the boys end their regular season with a 6-2 record.
Girls’ Track: The girls’ track team defeated both GNB Voc-Tech and Seekonk this week to secure their fifth consecutive SCC Championship for the outdoor season. The girls won nearly every event as they easily flew by two of the tougher competitors in the league. Big wins for the Lady Bulldogs came from Zoe Smith (100-meter hurdles, 100-meter), Avery Nugent (two-mile), Rachel Demmer (400-meter hurdles), Maddie Meyer (mile), and Nina Bourgeois (800-meter). The success of the girls’ track program over the past few years really speaks to the depth of the team as well as the excellent coaching job by coaches Bill and Cindy Tilden. The Lady Bulldogs end their regular season with a perfect 8-0 record as they look onto the state divisional meet later this May.
Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team secured their second straight SCC Championship this week thanks with two wins. The boys first defeated non-conference Sandwich in a 5-0 sweep, with Owen Sughrue (first singles), Alex Bilodeau (second singles), Sam Pasquill (third singles), Stephen Burke and Jahn Pothier (first doubles), and Josh Lerman and Maxx Wolski (second doubles) all earning wins for the Bulldogs. The boys later defeated Apponequet 5-0 to secure the SCC crown for their second consecutive year. With a lot of new faces on the team, the boys meshed nicely to earn a 15-1 overall season record. The boys will look to continue their season in the state tournament later this month.
Girls’ Tennis: The Lady Bulldogs started their week off strong with a 3-2 win over Fairhaven. Julia Nojeim (first singles), Morgan Middleton (second singles), and KK Bindas and Sophie Church (second doubles), all earned wins for the girls, who battled it out with the Lady Blue Devils to earn their eleventh victory of the season. Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs faltered later in the week with a 5-0 shutout against Apponequet. The Lady Bulldogs were not able to score any points against a balanced, tenacious Apponequet team. The loss also officially shut ORR out from securing the conference championship. The girls’ record currently stands at 11-4.
Boys’ Lacrosse: The boys’ lacrosse team had a great week, including securing their second co-SCC championship in the past two years. The boys started off with a 14-0 blowout against New Bedford, with Ethan Lizotte providing the offensive backbone of the team by scoring five goals. Later in the week, the boys defeated GNB Voc-Tech 20-2 to secure the co-championship with league rival Apponequet. Thanks to a great performance by senior Taylor Hatch, who scored four goals, the Bulldogs easily surged past the Bears en route to their twelfth victory of the season. Also impressive in the game was goalie Gerald Lanagan, who made 10 saves in net. The Bulldogs, who have easily qualified for the state tournament, will look to continue their season and potentially pick up a state championship on the way.
Girls’ Lacrosse: In their lone game this week, the Lady Bulldogs defeated GNB Voc-Tech 10-5. The highlight of the game was senior Chloe Riley notching her 100th career goal at ORR. Riley marks the second ORR player this year to reach the milestone, as senior Mikayla Demanche scored her 100th goal earlier this season. In the game, Riley and Bailey Truesdale, who scored her 100th goal last season, each led the Lady Bulldogs offensively with three goals apiece. The girls’ record currently stands at 12-2-1 overall.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of May 17.
Baseball: (13-2-0) (12-2-0); Softball: (8-8-0) (8-7-0); Boys’ Track: (6-2-0) (6-2-0); Girls’ Track: (8-0-0) (8-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (15-1-0) (13-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (11-4-0) (11-3-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (13-1-0) (7-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (12-2-1) (7-1-0).
By Michael Kassabian
