The No. 19 Lynn Classical volleyball team has had lots of strong moments this season. So when coach Chris LeBlanc says, “This was, without question, the game of the year for us,” you know it was a good one.
His Rams – in just their second season as a program – stunned No. 14 Fitchburg in a five-set thriller on Saturday to advance to the Round of 16 in Division 2 against three-seeded Wayland (Monday at 5 p.m.). Set scores were 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, and 16-14.
“We played nervous in the first set and we fell behind early,” LeBlanc said. “We stepped up as a team and had our best day on the biggest stage. We knew Fitchburg was going to play hard and that coming out of there with a win would be a challenge. We also had to deal with one of our starters being out for the second consecutive game. He was replaced in the starting lineup by freshman Finn Dalferro, who played great for us.”
Leading Classical’s charge were Josh Gonzalez (14 kills, 6 blocks, 2 digs), Kenzel Lantano (40 assists, 5 aces, 6 digs), and Viet Tran (14 kills, 4 aces, 6 digs, block).
“The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of these guys. They fought all day,” LeBlanc said. “No one expected us to make it to the Round of 16. We are a second-year team that we’re watching grow up right in front of our eyes.”
VOLLEYBALL
Doherty Memorial 3
Lynn Tech 0
No. 41 Lynn Tech won a dozen games this spring – one in the D2 state tournament – but met its end against No. 9 Doherty on Saturday. In clean set scores of 21-25, 17-25, and 12-25, that was all she wrote.
Contributing Tigers were Jayden Tran (9 digs), Felipe De Oliveira (8 digs), Elmer Duran (10 assists, 8 digs), Didlaire Jacques Jr. (6 blocks, 2 kills), Anthoni Diaz (5 kills), and Ederick Gonzalez (4 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces).
Tech won its first-ever state tournament game on Friday – also in its second season.
BASEBALL
St. Mary’s 5
Pentucket 0
No. 2 St. Mary’s punched its ticket to the Division 3 Round of 16 with a shutout victory against No. 34 Pentucket at Fraser Field. Sunday’s showdown saw Michael DeMaino go 2-for-4 with two runs and Josh Doney (6 IP, 4 H, 8K) shut down the visitors from the mound.
The Spartans play host to No. 18 Norwell in the next round (TBD).
Westwood 9
Marblehead 3
No. 24 Marblehead faced a tough task Saturday afternoon as No. 9 Westwood hosted the Saturday afternoon matchup in D2 action. The Magicians were tripled up, 9-3, bringing an end to their season.
Chris Cannuscio went 5.1 innings for Marblehead, striking out two. Cannuscio, Charlie Sachs, and Riley Schmitt registered Marblehead’s only hits, while Stefan Shepard added an RBI.
Braintree 9
Peabody 2
The No. 29 Tanners had no answers for fourth-ranked Braintree Sunday evening, as they conceded nine runs on enemy turf.
The week wasn’t all bad, however, as Peabody defeated Belmont, 4-1, Friday and saw coach Mark Bettencourt secure Coach of the Year honors in the Northeastern Conference. Cam Connolly was named Most Valuable Player, followed by All-Stars Josh Sigmon and Jariel Tolentino.
SOFTBALL
Peabody 6
Westford Academy 0
Abby Bettencourt (13 K) did her thing for the fifth-seeded Tanners, retiring the first 19 batters she saw in a 6-0 victory against No. 28 Westford Academy on Sunday. Peabody – which hosts No. 21 King Philip at 4 p.m. on Tuesday – was led by Lizzy Bettencourt (HR) and Kiley Doolin (2 hits) offensively.
St. Mary’s 11
Tri-County 0
This one was no problem for the fifth-seeded Spartans, who cruised to an 11-0 thrashing of No. 28 Tri-County. Brooke Moloney (2-for-3, 3 runs), Gabby Marichal (1-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI), and Ashanthy Pardilla (1-for-4, run, 2 RBI) led the offense, while Aliza Crean-Oviedo tossed a complete-game shutout.
Agawam 13
Lynn Classical 4
The No. 36 Rams trailed, 5-4, in the sixth inning, but No. 29 Agawam kicked the door in with eight runs in the sixth.
“This was a tight, back-and-forth game,” said Classical coach Joe Morin. “The girls had to play out of position the last few innings (injuries), which led to the big inning from Agawam. I’m proud of this young and inexperienced group for making the playoffs and never backing down in adversity.”
Senior captain Lauren Wilson – who wraps up a stellar career in high school sports – had two hits, two stolen bases, and an RBI. She was followed by Nevaeh Eth (triple), Ava Cahill (double), and Aysia Olaes (hit, run).
Oakmont Regional 7
Saugus 6
In a heartbreaker, No. 27 Oakmont converted on a two-out, walkoff single to eliminate No. 38 Saugus in Saturday’s final inning.
“The kids played great, though,” said Saugus coach Steve Almquist. “We were short-handed and missing several kids today. Several stepped up today.”
Taylor Deleidi pitched “phenomenally,” as said by Almquist, while connecting on a hit offensively. Devany Millerick was 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Felicia Alexander added two RBI.
BOYS LACROSSE
St. John’s Prep 15
Chelmsford 3
Defending champion and top-ranked St. John’s Prep raced past No. 32 Chelmsford with ease, as nine first-quarter goals catapulted the Eagles to the Round of 16. Brendan Powers ripped two goals, Deuce Morton and Danial Magoon paced defensively, and Chase Kenyon won eight draws.
Bridgewater-Raynham 11
Marblehead 10
No. 20 Marblehead entered Sunday’s matchup seven spots behind No. 13 Bridgewater-Raynham, but that didn’t stop the Magicians from making the game a good one. In the end, however, Marblehead’s season came to an end with an 11-10 heartbreaker in overtime.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Nauset 17
St. Mary’s 3
Despite a pair of goals from Vanessa Hall and another from Ava Nason, the No. 22 Spartans had no answer for No. 11 Nauset, which exploded for 17 goals on Saturday. The defeat brought an end to St. Mary’s season.
Lynnfield 16
North Reading 12
The No. 13 Lynnfield girls lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Round of 16 with a win over visiting No. 20 North Reading Sunday night at Pioneer Stadium.
The Pioneers led, 10-5, at the half and built their lead to nine (16-7) with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter. After that, it was all Hornets, who scored five unanswered goals to pull to within 16-12 with a minute to go.
It could have been worse, but for the outstanding play of goalie and senior captain Casey Flynn (10 saves), who stared down five consecutive free-position shots in a two-minute span late in the game to keep the Hornets from closing the gap.
“Considering she never played goalie until last year when she volunteered,” said Lynnfield coach Christina Serra. “She played a phenomenal game and truly saved the fourth quarter for us.”
Hayden Valiton had a monster game with seven goals, also doing a bang-up job on the draw. Fellow freshman Ava Damiani scored five goals and notched three assists, while junior captain Taylor Valiton scored twice. Senior captain Keely Briggs and Jordan Calichman had a goal and assist apiece, while Lily White dished out two assists.
Lynnfield advanced to play the winner of Monday’s game between No. 4 Ipswich, the 2023 runner-up, and No. 29 Advanced Math & Science.
“We’ve already played Ipswich twice this year, so we know what to expect, but it will be tough as Ipswich is a very good team,” Serra said. “But I think we’ve come a long way, so who knows? Our goal was to win a tournament game, so no matter what happens, I’ll be happy because these girls have worked so hard this year and have really improved.”
BOYS TENNIS
Marblehead 4
Reading 1
It was a happy Saturday for the fifth-seeded Magicians, who cruised by No. 28 Reading in D2 action. Mika Garber and Etan Farfel took care of their singles matches, followed by doubles wins from the duos of Jayden Janock-Leo Winocour and Austin Bacon-Ty Cooper.
Marblehead plays host to No. 12 Hopkinton at 4 p.m. on Monday.
St. John’s Prep 5
Chelmsford 0
Top-ranked Prep (18-0) swept its way past No. 33 Chelmsford Sunday, punching the Eagles’ ticket to the Round of 16 against No. 16 Belmont (Tuesday at 4 p.m.). John DeAngelis, Jack Prokopis, and Luke Free won in singles to pace the victors.
GIRLS TENNIS
North Andover 3
Peabody 2
With just three spots separating No. 34 Peabody and No. 31 North Andover, it was an unfortunate ending for the Tanners, who fell in a close match. They checked out with a seven-win season.
Boston Latin 3
Swampscott 2
Despite a doubles win from Victoria Quagrello and Eve Byrne, followed by another from Alexia and Ava O’Donnell in comeback fashion, No. 12 Boston Latin took out No. 21 Swampscott (9-9) Saturday.
Marblehead 3
Melrose 2
In a “highly-competitive match,” as said by Marblehead coach Tracy Ackerman, her No. 15 Magicians escaped No. 18 Melrose on their home courts. Samara Dosch won her singles match, while the duos of Aoife Bresnahan-Lucia Levin and Lani Gilmore-Reese Friedman took care of the doubles department.
“All in all, it was a superb day of high school tennis,” Ackerman said. “We really appreciated all the friends and relatives who came out to cheer us on. I stressed all year the importance of having a first-round home match [and] having the community there to support us played a big role in our win.”
