Revere High pitcher Sabrina Palermo, who two weeks ago set a Revere High single-game strikeout mark by fanning 26 enemy batters in 11 innings, added yet another laurel to her already-illustrious career with a no-hitter against Somerville Friday afternoon on the St. Mary’s Field.
Sabrina fanned 16, though she walked five, en route to chalking up her second career no-hitter. “Sabrina was awesome yet again,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello of his junior ace.
Julianna Cecere led the Revere offensive attack by going 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI. Victoria Russo had two hits and scored three runs, Lauren Hayes likewise had two hits, and Kristina Stella socked a triple which was good for a ribbie.
The triumph also had major significance for the Lady Patriots because it clinched a spot for the Revere girls in the MIAA post-season state tournament. Ciccarello and his crew now stand at a sterling 10-4 on the season.
The triumph was Revere’s second in a row, coming on the heels of an 11-3 trashing of Beverly two days previously. Palermo once again was in control in a route-going effort in which she fanned 13 enemy batters, though she yielded nine hits. “Beverly put the ball in play, but Sabrina bore down when she had to do so,” noted Ciccarello.
Cecere delivered the big hit of the game, a two-run, fence-clearing roundtripper that marked the Lady Patriots’ first homer at the St. Mary’s field. Hayes had two hits, including a double and two RBI, and teammate Ally Hinojosa had two hits and two RBI.
That triumph snapped a two game losing streak for Revere which included a 3-0 loss to archival Winthrop last Monday in which Palemo and her Winthrop counterpart, Maura Lanza, engaged in a classic pitching duel that left matters standing at 0-0 after seven innings.
However, unlike last year’s Palermo-Lanza matchup in which Revere emerged a 3-1 victor, this time it was the Lady Vikings’ turn to take the brass ring. A lead-off home run by Winthrop’s Michelle Lasala in the eighth broke the deadlock and two more runs followed for the 3-0 finale.
Ciccarello and his squad now embarked on the final two weeks of the regular season in which they’ll be trying to obtain as high a seed as possible for the state tourney. They hosted Salem this past Monday; travel to Lynn Classical today (Wednesday); host Westford Academy Friday; entertain Lynn English Monday evening at 7:00 under the lights for Senior Night; and host Peabody Wednesday. They will wrap up their 2014 regular season campaign next Friday at Beverly.
Boys lacrosse wins two, now stands at 7-5
The Revere High boys lacrosse team won both of its games this past week to improve to 7-5 on the season.
Last Thursday, the laxers earned hard-fought 4-2 triumph at Lynn in a defensive battle. Brian McNitt led the way for the Patriots on offense, figuring in all of the Revere scoring with two goals and two assists, with both goals coming in the fourth quarter that proved the difference. Teammates Jay Seigal and Eddie Sullivan had a goal apiece.
“Lynn’s defense and their goalie played great, but our guys kept getting quality shots on net,” said RHS head coach Mike Guanci. “Their goalie probably had about 15 saves, many of them off very good shots, but we didn’t put our heads down and we kept chipping away, and it paid off.”
On the defensive end, Doug Zingali played well in net for Revere with 13 saves off 15 shots, a superb save percentage in lacrosse. In front of Zingali, Ben DiGiulio, Matt Roncevich, Mike Dreeszen, Gennaro Cataldo, John Carnabucci, and David Sinatra (a freshman making his first start) played well for the Pats.
Two days the Patriots defeated Matignon, 10-7. Revere got off to a slow start, but recovered and played a solid game. Sullivan, another RHS freshman, had a nice day of offensive production with three goals and an assist. “Eddie is a tough kid and has been playing well all year as a freshman,” noted Guanci.
Jeff Kingston, filling in at attack from his normal position, also made a major contribution with two goals. Seigal also had two goals and an assist, Brian McNitt again had two goals and two assists, and Ben DiGiulio scored a goal.
“Matignon was playing help defense by cheating off the attack man behind the net, and when we identified that and started making that pass, we started to get some easy goals,” said Guanci. “All year we have preached moving the ball to the back side of the defense, and we did a good job executing it on those plays.
“We have a lot of guys playing through nicks and bruises, and they haven’t even questioned playing through it to help the team, and that is really a sign of the kids’ dedication to each other,” continued the coach. “We like to call ourselves a family, and our guys have really been living up to that. Brian McNitt had a cut on his eye in the third quarter and was bleeding, but he got a few stitches and hopped right back into the game. That is the type of dedication all our guys have been giving, and it is great to see them leaving everything on the field. As coaches, we can’t really ask for anything more from them.”
The Patriots, who now stand at 7-5 overall and 4-3 in the Northeastern Conference, had a big contest on tap yesterday (Tuesday) as the Journal was going to press. Senior Night festivities will take place Friday evening with a 7:00 matchup against Malden.
Baseball team tops N.E. Voke in 11 innings
The Revere High baseball team earned a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over Northeast Regional Vocational School Friday afternoon in a contest that stretched into 11 innings.
After N.E. took a 2-0 lead in the opening frame, the Patriots got one back when speedy Dan Murphy walked, stole second, moved to third on a base hit by Jake DeAngelis, and scored on a passed ball.
Northeast expanded its lead to 4-1 with a pair of markers in the third, but the Patriots stayed in the game with a tally in the fourth. Tommy Portrait singled, stole second, and was delivered homeward on a base hit by Chris Charido to make it 4-2.
Northeast struck for a solo run in the fourth to which the Patriots responded in the fifth when Murphy walked, moved to second on a sacrifice by DeAngelis, and eventually scored on a ground out by Steve Selevitch.
That set the stage for a Revere rally in the sixth that evened the count at 5-5. Charido and Brett Deukmejian got the ball rolling for the Patriots by drawing walks. After Murphy singled to fill the bases, DeAngelis came through with a big hit to plate Charido. Mike Ciambelli then drew a bases loaded walk to force in Deukmejian with the tying tally.
The Patriots had to hold on for dear life in the bottom the seventh. RHS starting hurler Noah Jaynes, who had pitched well, was taken out by RHS head coach Sean Brinkley when the first two N.E. Voke hitters reached base.
Brinkley brought in Portrait, who intentionally walked the next N.E. hitter to load the bases with none out. Brinkley’s faith in Portrait proved justified when Tommy fanned the next Northeast hitter and then ended the inning on a double play on a grounder to DeAngelis at second, who tagged the Northeast runner coming from first and then threw to Deukmejian at first base for the DP.
The contest then headed into extra innings where Revere faced another similar jam when Northeast had runners at the corners with one out. A grounder came DeAngelis’s way again, but this time he missed the tag on the baserunner and tossed the ball to first for the out. Deukmejian then made a throw to Steve Selevitch at home for the tag on the Northeast runner from third who had decided on a break for home.
After three scoreless extra frames, the Patriots broke the deadlock in a big way with three runs in the 11th. After Portrait and Kyle Norton drew walks to start the inning, Charido banged a double that brought in Portrait. Subsequent base hits by Deukmejian and DeAngelis scored Norton and Charido for some insurance tallies. Portrait then finished of Northeast in the bottom of the 11th to preserve the victory.
“Tommy pitched absolutely unbelievably,” said Brinkley. “He showed incredible poise in tough situations.”
The Patriots did not have as much luck in their previous outing last Wednesday at Beverly. A tight 5-4 contest dissolved into a 12-5 runaway after a seven-run fifth for Beverly. The Patriots scored four times in their seventh, but it was too little, too late.
Key offensive stars for Revere were Kyle Norton, who banged a triple and a sac fly for two RBI; Ciambelli, who had an RBI double; Portrait with two hits; and DeAngelis with a double. James Furlong made some nice plays at third base, starting a double play and diving into the hole to take away a base hit and throwing the runner out at first.
Brinkley and his crew, who now stand at 5-9 on the season, were set to face Salem this past Monday; host Lynn Classical today (Wednesday); and then trek to Lynn English Monday and to Peabody Wednesday.
Five Lady Patriots compete at Coaches Invitational Meet
Five members of the Revere High girls track team competed at Saturday’s State Coaches Invitational Meet, which is open only to athletes who qualify by running a particular time or achieving a certain standard.
The Lady Patriot 4 X 100 meter relay team broke the Revere High School record with a blazing time of 53.22. The relay quartet was comprised of Jessica Cambraia, Angie Buenaventura, Brenda Rudecindo, and Comfort Toglan.
“The goal going into the meet was to run under a 53.9, which was the record set last year and they were poised to do so,” said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “This was their fifth time running the relay together, so the chemistry on the baton passes is improving and that, combined with the competitiveness of the meet and the ideal weather conditions, made it a perfect day to run a great time.
“The good news is that there is still room for improvement as the second hand-off from Buenaventura to Rudecindo was too slow,” added LaBruna. “They’ll have a few more cracks at improving their record time this season and I’m very confident they can go under 53 seconds.”
Toglan, who will be attending Regis College next year, competed in her signature individual event, the the 200 meter dash, and almost broke her own school record. Comfort crossed the line in 27.3, which was just a tenth of a second off her RHS mark of 27.2.
Rudecindo, who is bound for Brigham Young University in the fall, competed in the 100 meter hurdles and ran an 18.58. She also competed in high jump, but did not clear the opening height which was set at 4′-9″. “It usually takes Brenda a few jumps to really get going, so the format of this meet wasn’t suited well for her,” noted LaBruna. “She did get better with each jump and still has a couple of meets to clear 4′-11″, which is the qualifying jump for the Division 1 State Meet. Her current PR is 4′-10″.”
RHS senior Nikki Nelson ran the mile in 5:49, which is her season-best time. “Nikki will have multiple opportunities toward the end of the season to chip that time down,” said LaBruna. “Her current PR is 5:41, which she achieved at the end of the indoor track season.”
The entire Lady Patriot squad took on Peabody yesterday (Tuesday) and will wrap up their 2014 dual meet season against Salem this coming Tuesday.
RHS girls tennis team defeats Wnthrop, 3-2
The Revere High girls tennis team chalked up its second victory of the season with a 3-2 triumph over Winthrop last week. Senior Sara Grujic handily won her match at first singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, over her Winthrop counterpart. Junior Andrea Rueda also triumphed in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, in her match at third singles.
Senior Yesenia Mazo dropped her match at second singles, 1-6, 5-7, as did the second doubles duo of sophomore Lyda Khan/junior Alejandra Escobar, 1-6, 4-6.
That left the outcome of the match up to the first doubles contest. The Lady Patriot tandem of juniors Cassidy Hernandez/Leila Darouey won their first set, 6-3, but dropped the second, 0-6, setting the stage for a dramatic third and deciding set. With the match on the line, Cassidy and Leila engage in a classic tennis battle which saw them emerge the winners, 6-4.
“Cassidy and Leila did an excellent job coming back in the third set to win their match,” said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco.
The Lady Patriots dropped a contest with Salem last Thursday, 0-5, in a contest that was closer than the final score might indicate. Grujic at first singles went to three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6. Mazo fell at second singles, 3-6, 3-6 as did Rueda at third singles, 1-6, 2-6. In the doubles contests, Darouey/Hernandez lost 2-6, 3-6 and Khan/Escobar came out on the short end of a 1-6, 1-6 decision.
The Lady Patriots travel to Salem today (Wednesday), host Beverly Friday, and trek to Lynn English Monday.
Boys tennis team earns first victory
The Revere High boys tennis team claimed its first victory of the season with a dramatic 3-2 triumph over Salem last Thursday.
Revere dropped their matches at first and second singles, with Ryan Tran falling in the first spot in straight sets and Satyak Som at second singles in a hard-fought three-setter, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 3-6.
However, freshman Matthew Lopez handily won his match at third singles, 6-0, 6-0, and the first doubles combo of Kont Lumaj/Danton Duque triumphed 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
That left the outcome of the match up to the second doubles tandem of freshmen David Grujic and Naveed Jabbar. After dropping the first set, 3-6, they fought back to win the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4), setting the stage for a dramatic third and deciding set.
Once again the freshman pair went to a tiebreaker and once again they came through in the clutch, winning the set and the match, 7-6 (7-1).
“It was an exciting match and a nice win for the team,” said RHS head coach Mike Flynn.
Earlier in the week the Patriots were shorthanded in their match with Winthrop, forcing Flynn to juggle his lineup. Som moved up to first singles, falling 0-6, 1-6. Lumaj played at second singles, playing well in a 2-6, 2-6, outcome. Freshman Nelson Ortiz, playing the first varsity singles match of his career, got the call at third singles, and performed credibly in a 2-6, 0-6 loss.
In the doubles matches, the duos of Duque/David Henao and Josh Preciado/Jabbar played well.
“We have a young team, but each week we’re gaining more experience and getting better,” noted Flynn.
The RHS racketmen host Salem today (Wednesday), play at Beverly Friday, entertain Lynn English Monday, and travel to Danvers Tuesday.
