PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Katie Nevils won her third singles match, 6-0, 6-0.
By HAROLD RIVERA
Dramatic finishes and startling upsets spiced up the MIAA tournament weekend around the North Shore.
In one game, Bishop Fenwick — for the second straight game — found seventh-inning magic in the Division 3 North baseball tournament with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Whittier Saturday.
And in Division 2 North softball, Swampscott, last year’s sectional finalist, stunned top-seeded North Reading, 7-5, in 10 innings Saturday.
SOFTBALL
The No. 16 Big Blue won thanks to Sydney Cresta’s 2-run triple in the top of the 10th.
Hannah Leahy pitched all 10 innings for the Big Blue. Leahy was also strong at the plate, driving in a pair of runs and scoring one herself. With the win, Swampscott advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinal at Wilmington.
Danvers 6, Saugus 0
The season came to a tough end for the Sachems in the first round of the Division 2 North state tournament. Saugus freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Wood fanned eight Danvers batters while allowing five earned runs and four walks. The Saugus bats were kept quiet, as Katie Italiano (1-for-3) recorded the lone hit of the afternoon for the Sachems.
“We put the ball in play but we just couldn’t get runners in scoring position,” Saugus coach Steve Almquist said. Saugus ends the season at 11-10. “The kids played hard and it was a great year,” Almquist said. “Not much was expected of us but to make the tournament, that says a lot about the hard work the kids gave this year. It was a great year for us.”
Danvers was back at it Sunday, defeating Tewksbury, 6-4, and will face Dracut Tuesday (7) at Breed Middle School in the Division 2 North semifinal.
BASEBALL
Fenwick trailed, 2-1, going into the top of the seventh, but took advantage of Whittier miscues to put two runs on the board, the final one on Robbie Murphy’s two-out RBI single that plated Angelo McCullough, with the winning run.
Crusaders’ head coach Kevin Canty said the key was patience at the plate and a stellar effort from starter Ty Thompson.
“Ty was great today, but it was helpful that we had played them before so we knew that Ty was a better matchup against them,” said Canty. “We were very patient and made (whittier starter Prescott Neenan) throw a lot of fastballs, a lot of pitches and it paid off in the fifth and sixth innings.”
Thompson went 6 2/3 innings and was relieved by Nik Pignone, who got the third out in the bottom of the sixth. Dave Furtado closed out the seventh. Furtado struck out the final two batters to punch the Crusaders’ ticket to the quarterfinals at Hamilton-Wenham.
Swampscott 7, East Boston 5
With an upset at East Boston Memorial Park over the Jets, who were 18-2 coming into the tournament, the No. 13 Big Blue advanced to today’s Division 3 North quarterfinal against Austin Prep at Morelli Field in Melrose (3:45). David Peterson got the start on the mound and tossed six strong innings with five strikeouts for the win. AJ Venuti went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Louis Olivieri went 2-for-4 with a triple and a RBI. Colin Frary relieved Peterson in the seventh and forced the Jets to strand the tying run at second base. Sean Lahrizi went 1-for-4 and made a diving catch in center field in the sixth inning to save a pair of runs for Swampscott.
St. John’s 7, Central Catholic 4
At Brockton’s Campanelli Field Sunday, the Eagles continue to dominate Super 8 play with their second win in a row. St. John’s Prep led, 5-4, in the bottom of the eighth, when a pair of RBI singles from the bats of Christian Kukas and Andrew Dembowski put the game out of reach at 7-4.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Woburn 10, Peabody 7
Peabody’s season came to an end in the Division 1 North quarterfinals. The Tanners received a strong performance in net from goalie Gianna Denisco, who made 13 saves in the loss. Sarah Buckley paced Peabody’s offense with two goals and an assist. Lauren Wolff scored two goals while Colleen Crotty, Olivia Kiricoples, and Chloe Gizzi each scored one goal. Catherine Manning led the defense along with Kelly Crotty, Alyssa Shashaty and Carla Patania. Peabody trailed by just one goal, 8-7, late into the second half but late-game penalties proved costly for the Tanners. Peabody ends the season at 17-5.
Newburyport 19, Lynnfield 1
The Pioneers saw their season come to an end at Newburyport in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament. The lone goal for Lynnfield was scored by Ashley Barrett in the second half.
“Ultimately I hope the underclassmen will look at this game and learn from it,” Lynnfield coach Ethan Blanchette said. “Newburyport’s a very focused team and intense, just a committed team that brings the intensity in warmups that we aspire to be. Hopefully we can learn something from it, otherwise we put it in the rearview mirror and we’ll look at this season as 14-6, we won a tournament game, and overall a big step for our program.”
BOYS TENNIS
Lincoln-Sudbury 5, St. John’s 0
The Eagles saw their season come to a tough end in the Division 1 North quarterfinals at Lincoln-Sudbury. St. John’s Prep ends the season at 15-6.
GIRLS TENNIS
Lynnfield 5, Fenwick 0
The Pioneers punched their ticket to this afternoon’s semifinals where they’ll take on the only team to beat them this season, Manchester-Essex. Sarah Mezini took first singles, 6-1, 6-0. Camie Foley won second singles, 6-1, 6-1. Katie Nevils took third singles, 6-0, 6-0. Katie Nugent and Alexa Vittiglio won first singles, 6-0, 6-1. Allison Carey and Laura Mucci won second doubles, 6-4, 6-3.
Reading 4, Saugus 1
The season ends for the Sachems after a loss to the Hornets in the Division 3 North quarterfinals. Saugus ends the season at 16-3.