School roundup: Franchi tosses a shutout in Lynnfield baseball win

Lynnfield sophomore Peter Franchi tossed a complete-game shutout in a 6-0 win over Ipswich Tuesday at Ipswich.The lefty scattered four hits and fanned six to improve his record to 1-1 and the team’s to 3-1.”He did a great job for us,” Lynnfield coach John O’Brien said. “He kind of set the tone. The guys played some great defense behind him.”O’Brien said it was great to see Franchi come back with such a strong performance after losing to Winthrop the other day.”From first pitch to last, he did a really nice job,” O’Brien said. “He threw a lot of strikes. The game lasted an hour and 50 minutes. Anytime you can play a high school game in under two hours is a good deal.”Franchi had plenty of help at the plate. Lynnfield pounded out 14 hits with sophomore shortstop B.J. Neil accounting for three of them along with an RBI and a stolen base. Franchi helped himself out with an RBI single and Nick Roberts had a two-run double. Second baseman Dante Padovani (RBI double) and Mike Pescione (RBI single) also helped the cause.SOFTBALLNashoba 15, Tech 0At Lynn, Shanel Bird struck out six and did a good job defensively on the mound for the Tigers (0-4). Tech plays Shawsheen on Thursday (10).Melrose 11, Lynnfield 2At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (1-3) had a tough outing defensively. Rachele Milordi went the distance, allowing 12 hits, striking out three and walking one. Offensively, sophomore catcher Julia Goldstein had two doubles and scored a run; sophomore first baseman Melody Mancinelli had a long double and scored a run and junior shortstop Katie Rowe had an RBI single.Winthrop 16, AB Williams 6At Winthrop, the Vikings brought the bats to this one, banging out 13 hits. Catcher Abby Belcher was unstoppable, going 5-for-5 with three doubles, two singles, two RBI and five runs scored. Haley Benson was also a tough out. She went 3-for-5, scored four runs, walked once, reached on an error and stole two bases. She also drove in a run. Taylor Brown (2 doubles, 4 RBI, 3 runs scored) also had a big day.Elaine Lanza allowed three hits in five innings before giving way to Alex Fery, who allowed two hits in the final two innings. Winthrop is 2-2.BOYS LACROSSEPentucket 5, St. Mary’s 3At Lynn, Nikko Markham scored a pair of goals and an assist for the Spartans (0-6). Nico Manganiello scored the other goal. Matt Molloy added an assist. Don Hesse turned away 18 shots.Lynnfield 17, Fenwick 7At Fenwick, Jake Panzini had three goals and an assist and Travis Panzini, four goals, to lead the Pioneers past Fenwick. Nico DeCesare (3 goals, assist); Tim LaMusta (2 goals, 3 assists); A.J. Roberto (2 goals, 3 assists) and Jon Tremblay, Joe Hennessey and Ryan Higgins, one goal each, also helped out.BOYS VOLLEYBALLSt. John’s 3, MethuenAt Danvers, the Eagles (7-1) won two out of three games by sizable margins: 25-10 and 25-12. The third game was a bit more competitive, as they won 25-21. Senior setter Luka Ralic had a great day, picking up 29 assists. Andrew Lutz added 17 kills.GIRLS TENNISNo. Reading 4, Fenwick 1At North Reading Monday, Liz Sears and Demi Velonis combined to win at first doubles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, for the Crusaders’ (3-3) lone point.