RhS sports Roundup
Correia’s three run blast powers RHS softball to walk-off victory
Revere High senior captain Victoria Correia blasted a two-strike, two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Lady Patriots softball team a dramatic, 6-5 victory over previously-undefeated Marblehead last Monday at St. Mary’s field.
“The ball left her bat like a rocket and went out of the park on a line,†said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello of Victoria’s bash, which literally was the shot heard ‘round the world (or at least in the neighborhood) when it ricocheted off the scoreboard and made a loud bang for a dramatic sound-effect.
Up until the fateful bottom of the seventh, the contest appeared firmly in the grasp of the visiting Lady Magicians, who had built a 5-1 lead, and whose pitcher, Charlotte Plakans, had overpowered the Lady Patriots through the first six innings.
Revere’s lone run had come via the scratch variety on a base hit by Eve Lescovitz, a sacrifice bunt, and then an RBI base hit by Adriana Fusco.
Fusco, a plucky freshman, had earned the nod from Ciccarello as his starting pitcher with the Lady Pats’ regular starter (and clean-up hitter), Olivia McManus, sidelined after being struck in the wrist by a line drive back to the mound in the previous game.
However, Adriana rose to the challenge, keeping the first-place Marbleheaders in check, allowing just four earned runs on three hits in seven innings, and thereby giving her teammates a chance to win.
The decisive bottom of the seventh began inauspiciously, with Jolie Giuliano, Revere’s #6 hitter in the order, drawing a base-on-balls.
Adriana Keefe followed with a single and #9 batter Danielle Dion did likewise to load the bases with one out.
Leskovitz, Revere’s sophomore shortstop who does it all for the Lady Patriots, then delivered a clutch, two-run single to draw Revere within 5-3 with the tying runs on base. A ground out by Alexis Iacoviello moved both runners into scoring position, but that would prove to be superfluous. Coreia came up next — and the rest was history.
“We’ve won a lot of big games in the past, but this definitely rates as one of the most exciting,†said Ciccarello. “We had not been able to get anything going all game, but we told the girls before they went to bat in the seventh that they could do it if they believed in themselves. We are a young team overall, but this is the sort of game that builds character and grit.â€
Ciccarello and his crew have a busy week after two rainouts last week. They were set to play at Swampscott this past Monday and will trek to Lynn English today (Wednesday). Lynn Classical comes here tomorrow (Thursday) in a makeup game and Salem visits this coming Monday. The Lady Patriots will make the long ride to Gloucester next Wednesday.
RHS baseball defeats Somerville, Everett
The Revere High baseball team took the measure of Somerville and Everett, a pair of former foes from the Greater Boston League who have joined the Northeastern Conference, in recent contests between the long-time rivals.
In an 11-2 rout of Somerville, RHS starting pitcher Frank Sims earned the victory on the mound, tossing one-hit, no-run ball through the five innings he worked. Lucas Rincon went 2-for-3 with two RBI and teammate E.J. Leone terrorized the Highlanders, going 2-for-2 with two walks and four stolen bases.
Jon Murphy gave Revere a 1-0 in the bottom of the second with a bases-loaded single that scored Matt Cravotta, who had reached on a dropped third strike.
The Patriots then exploded for four runs in the third on RBI base hits by Kasey Cummings (that scored Leone, who had singled and stolen second), James O’Donnell (that scored two runs), and Lucas Rincon.
Murphy brought across his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly that scored Alex Baez in the fifth and Revere put the game away with five more runs in the sixth. A Somerville throwing error allowed Leone and Kevin DePaula to score, Rincon singled for an RBI, and John Leone came through a bases-loaded base hit for the final two runs of the contest.
“All 19 of our players played in this game and contributed to this win,†said RHS head coach Michael Manning. “We have a deep bench, and I trust every guy on this team to play a role.â€
In an 11-3 triumph over Everett, the Patriots were held scoreless through the first four frames and trailed 2-0 before breaking through in the fifth.
Back-to-back singles by Zach Furlong and Murphy got the Patriot rally off and running. David Guillama then blasted a shot over the Everett right fielder’s head and used his speed to circle the bases for a 3-2 Revere lead.
After walks to EJ Leone and Matt Cravotta, James O’Donnell singled home Leone on a line drive that was too hot to handle to make it 4-2.
Everett got one back in the top of the sixth, but Revere counterattacked with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the inning.
Three singles in a row by Murphy, Guillama, and E.J. Leone were followed by a two-run double by Cravotta. DePaula singled to score Leone and Cummings pinch hit and scored Cravotta with a ground out to first.
O’Donnell scored DePaula with a grounder to third, and Furlong capped the big inning with a two-run home run to right field.
E.J. Leone was credited with the win in relief for his three-innings of one-run pitching. Guillama was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and Furlong went 2-for-4, including his two-run homer
In between the big wins, the Patriots dropped a 7-5 decision at Saugus. Revere spotted Saugus a 4-0 lead before getting on the scoreboard in the fourth with three runs on RBI base hits by Rincon, DePaula, and Guillama. .
Saugus got two of those back in its half of the stanza, but the Patriots responded with two of their own in the sixth, the key blows being doubles by DePaula and Jon Leone, cutting the margin back to one, 6-5.
However, that would be as close as the Patriots would get on the day, with Saugus adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth for the 7-5 finale.
Cravotta started for Revere and pitched well , working five innings and yielding only three hits. Guillama (3-for-4 with an RBI) and DePaula (2-for-3 with an RBI) led the Patriot offense, which outhit Saugus by a wide margin,11-3.
“We hit well off a great arm, which is encouraging, but we are still just stranding too many runners in scoring position,†noted Manning. “Hats off to Saugus – they were well-coached and did the all the little things well.â€
The Patriots were set to play Swampscott this past Monday and host Lynn English today (Wednesday). They entertain Salem this coming Monday and Gloucester next Wednesday.
Bua scores nine goals to lead boys lax to win
The Revere High boys lacrosse team improved to 7-3 on the season with a come-from-behind, 12-10 victory over Everett on Monday.
Junior Eric Bua buoyed the Patriot comeback effort, reaching the back of the Crimson Tide net for nine goals, bringing his season’s total to 43.
Coach Austin Powers and his laxmen play at Saugus tomorrow (Thursday) and host Wilmington on Saturday. They will entertain Winthrop on Monday and trek to Lynn next Thursday.
Girls tennis team defeats Somerville
The Revere High girls tennis team earned a 3-2 victory over Somerville last week.
Trang Nguyen, playing at second singles, defeated her Lady Highlander counterpart in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. “Trang made a great comeback in the second set after she had been down 1-4,†noted RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco.
Christina Restrepo, playing at third singles, also defeated her Somerville rival in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
The Revere first doubles duo of Luisa Gil & Nora Le won the third and deciding point with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The Lady Patriots’ top player, Farah Selman, played well in a 2-6, 4-6 loss. The second doubles tandem of Taylor Le and Lina Nguyen came out on the short end of a hard-fought and close match, 7-6, 6-7, 4-6.
Two days later, the Lady Patriots dropped a 4-1 contest to Lynn Classical in which Selman was the lone victor for the Revere side with a triumph at #1 in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.
Maniscalco and her squad are scheduled to host Lynn English today (Wednesday) and Everett on Friday at the Gibson Park courts. They travel to Salem on Monday and entertain Gloucester next Wednesday.
Boys tennis team drops two contests
The Revere High boys tennis team dropped a pair of contests last week, falling to perennial Northeastern Conference power Marblehead and then coming up just short to Lynn Classical.
RHS head coach Mike Flynn had to adjust his lineup for both matches because of player absences.
The Patriots’ lineup in the Marblehead encounter featured David Phan at first singles, Riaz Butt at second singles, and Alejandro Zuleta at third. The doubles pairings were Sidarong Men & Wellen Sok at first doubles and Hussain Alharbi & Matt Feitas at second doubles. For the latter duo, the contest marked their first varsity appearances.
In a 3-2 loss to Classical, Phan held down the first singles spot. Butt at second singles dropped his match, 0-6, 4-6, but Men, moving up to third singles from his usual doubles spot, defeated his Classical opponent, 10-8, in a match played as a pro set because of the lateness of their match.
Eric Meza and Zuleta triumphed at first doubles, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Sok and senior Patrick Adolphus, playing at second doubles, fell by a score of 5-7, 1-6.
“The team is working hard and we’re improving every day and every week,†said Flynn. “I’ve been thrilled with their effort. This is a great group of boys to coach.â€
A number of  the Patriot netmen will be moving on to big things upon graduation. Adolphus, who will likely be the Class of 2018 valedictorian, is planning to attend Harvard; Butt will be attending Boston University; Zuleta is headed to Cornell; and Meza will be an Eagle at Boston College.
