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Baseball

JV baseball achieves winning record against tough competition

by Jacob Schwartz

“Our hard work paid off,” said coach Rob Greenfield, describing JV baseball’s 11-9 season. “We were able to compete with teams that had more talent than us.”

The team’s defense “was terrific,” according to Greenfield. “Our pitchers pitched to contact, and our defense played well behind them.”

According to sophomore Steven Kelly, “We worked a lot on our fielding, and we have really become tight on the defensive end. Each and every player has worked to improve and move the team forward.

“We also stayed very mentally focused,” Kelly said.

Some of the highlights of the season have been the team’s comeback victories, Kelly said. For example, the Tigers came back from a five-run deficit Tuesday, May 24, to defeat Catholic Memorial at home, 7-5.

Greenfield said that juniors Mikey Jiminez and Ryan Phinelli were essential to the team, leading by example throughout the season.

“In general, we work hard as a program, and the team came together this season.”

June 6, 2012 0 comment

Baseball Sports Spring

Tigers make States, fall in preliminaries

written by The Newtonite

Senior Kyle Krasker snags the ball in the Tigers’ 5-1 home win May 25 against Needham. The victory qualified the team for the playoffs. Photo by: Gabe Dreyer

by Kristian Lundberg

Baseball’s season ended Thursday when the Tigers lost at Malden Catholic 16-4.

An impressive four-game winning streak near the end of the season earned the team a spot in the postseason, but, being the lowest seed in the tournament, making a deep run seemed unlikely for the squad.

May 25, the Tigers defeated Needham 5-1 at home. With the win, the Tigers qualified for the State Tournament, securing a record of at least .500 with their 10th victory.

“We had good pitching, good defense and timely hitting, which is pretty much hard to figure out since it mostly happens by luck,” Siciliano said.

The win came at a critical point in the season and extended the Tigers’ winning streak to four games.

After an 8-4 home loss to South May 14, the team stood at 6-8, and their chance of qualifying for the State Tournament seemed to be slipping away.

However, the Tigers came up with a clutch win on the road against Brookline May 20, and came back the next day with a 3-2 win against Weymouth at home, according to Siciliano.

The Tigers then edged Framingham 2-1 in 12 innings at home May 23. Junior Jeff Howard held the Flyers at bay with “fantastic pitching,” Siciliano said. He pitched 10 innings, striking out 13 and holding Framingham to a single run.

“The win was a tribute to the whole team’s mental toughness and focus up there,” Siciliano said.

According to senior Jack McLaughlin, a captain with seniors Danny Anderson and Alex D’Agostino, the Tigers’ success this season “depended upon our pitching.”

“When our pitching comes through, we play well, but if our pitching struggles, then we struggle as a team,” McLaughlin said.

August 1, 2011 0 comment

Baseball Sports Spring

Baseball develops, improves skills

written by The Newtonite

by Ryan Condon

Freshman baseball, 10-6, had a strong season, learning more about its players and the team, said coach James Greeley.

“We had a really strong team this year,” Greeley said. “Our pitching and defense really were our strengths.”

The team learned about what positions are best for its players throughout the season, Greeley said.

“At the beginning of the year, we knew we had some good athletes, but we didn’t know where everyone was going to play,” said Greeley.

“Throughout the season, we developed our style of play.”

Freshman Sam Jones said that the highlight of the team’s season was its walk-off win April 21 at home against Xaverian Brothers.

“Xaverian is a private school, and they have a really good team, so beating them felt pretty good,” Jones said.

The team’s hitting, while not a strength, was adequate and improved steadily over the course of the season, Greeley said.

“We really needed to figure out our strategy for the lineup going into the season,” said Greeley.

“Now, we know that it’s the first hitter’s job to get on base, and then the rest of the order tries to drive them in.”

August 1, 2011 0 comment

Baseball Sports Spring

Strong hitting bolsters JV baseball, 12-8

written by The Newtonite

by Jacob Schwartz

Throughout the season, strong hitting helped JV baseball, 12-8, stay competitive, according to coach Chris Anderson.

While the team had a slow start, it was able to bounce back once the players began “getting better each day and coming together as a team. We also made sure to have some fun,” he said.

Junior Jeff Weinfeld said learning how to hit well was an important reason the team was able to end up with a winning season.

“We gained a lot of experience facing tough pitchers and that helped us grow,” he said.

According to Weinfeld, junior Drew Mackowski got the ball rolling, pitching the team to its first win earlier in the season, which gave the team momentum.

Sophomore Phil Biancusso also stepped it up this year, according to Weinfeld, by hitting well and consistently making contact in the cleanup spot.

A walk-off single by sophomore Michael Courtney gave the Tigers a 5-4 victory over Weymouth at home May 21. Courtney said, “It felt fantastic to get the hit. I felt like I had really contributed something to the team.”

May 27, the Tigers lost 10-6 at Waltham.

“Although we lost, we had an early 6-1 lead,” Anderson said.

At Brookline May 19, the Warriors defeated the Tigers in a nail-biter, 3-2.

Anderson said the team “was a little rusty against Brookline. The way we played was sloppy, and the rainy weather didn’t help.”

August 1, 2011 0 comment

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