RHS Softball Team is Playing Well

The Revere High softball continued to play well, splitting four games this past week to leave Coach Joe Ciccarello and his squad with a 6-5 record at the halfway mark of the season. The Lady Patriots now need four victories in their final nine contests in order to qualify for the state tourney.

Revere began its busy stretch last week with a tough 2-1 loss at Peabody in 10 innings. The duo of Briana Lauletta and Sabrina Palermo combined for 10 innings of brilliant pitching (five innings apiece) in which they yielded just one run each. Lauletta gave up just one hit in her five frame stint, while Palermo gave up four hits and fanned 11 enemy batters.

The lone Revere run came in the sixth inning to tie the score at 1-1 (Peabody got on the board in the fourth) when Michaela Maguire banged a base hit up the middle to bring in Lindsay Gurska. The Lady Patriots threatened in the top of the 10th, loading the bases with one out, but a hard grounder back to the pitcher resulted in a 1-2-3 double play to extinguish the Revere scoring bid.

However, one of the trademarks of this year’s Revere squad has been it ability to rebounds from a loss, shake it off, and get back on the winning track. “We’ve been preaching all year that we have to bounce back like a rubber ball,” said Ciccarello. “We very easily could have been down after the 10 inning loss to Peabody, but we came back the next day against Saugus with a lot of positive energy and we were ready to play.”

The result was a 6-2 triumph over Saugus, an opponent which no Revere team has beaten in quite a few years. Lauletta went all seven innings on the mound, allowing just seven hits, one earned run, and, most impressively, walking none.

After spotting Saugus a 1-0 lead in the opening inning, Revere came right back with two markers in the bottom of the frame. The Lady Pats added three in the second and tacked on a solo marker in the fourth for an extra insurance run.

Alex Ambrosino delivered the big hits of the game, a pair of doubles that produced two runs. Logan DiCarlo struck for two base hits that brought in three teammates.

The Pats the had to play for a third day in a row on Thursday, with the opponent being Danvers, one of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference. The contest was a tight 2-0 affair after four frames, but Danvers broke through after that and came away with a 12-0 triumph.

“Danvers is a great team, no question about it,” said Ciccarello. “But we were mentally and physically drained by then.” However, in keeping with their theme of “bouncing back like a rubber ball” (it makes you think of that 1960s song, Red Rubber Ball), Ciccarello and his crew came out ready for action Monday at Gloucester, making the long bus rude northward well worth the trip with a 5-3 triumph.

Lauletta and Palermo once again shared the pitching duties, with Briana taking the front four and Sabrina coming on in the fifth for the final three. Ambrosino came through with the big hit of the day, a two run homer in the third inning that gave Revere a 3-0 lead. The Lady Patriots added two more in the fourth to make it 5-0. Gloucester chipped away with a solo marker in the fourth and two in the fifth, but Palermo held the fort the rest of the way for the win.

Kristina Stella had a nice day at the plate with two hits, as did Maguire, who was 2-for-2, hit twice by a pitch, and scored a run.

The Lady Patriots travel to Marblehead today (Wednesday), host Winthrop Monday, and trek to Beverly next Wednesday.

Boys tennis team  splits two matches 

The Revere High boy tennis team split its two matches this past week, defeating St. Mary’s of Lynn 3-2, but falling to Malden by the same score.

As has been the case for most of their matches this season, the Patriots’ encounters were marathon affairs, stretching well beyond three hours and being decided by the closest of scores.

Nick Tran, playing at No. 2 singles, defeated his St. Mary’s counterpart with a nice comeback victory in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. The first doubles tandem of Soun Lee and Duong Nguyen won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-4, while the second doubles duo of Sela Leng and freshman Ryan Tran, who was playing in his first varsity match filling in for William Truong (who was away for an educational-related opportunity), came from behind to defeat their St. Mary’s counterparts, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

“This was the first time that Sela and Ryan were playing together and they did a great job,” lauded RHS head coach Mike Flynn.

Mladen Pepic, stepping up to the number one singles slot for this match, dropped a tight and well-played  4-6, 5-7 match, while Nick Mucci, at third singles, came out on the short end of a 5-7, 1-6 outcome.

The next day (Friday), the Pats took on former Greater Boston League rival Malden. Pepic, returning to his usual number two singles slot, came through with a victory in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. “Mladen came from a set down and then played tough,” noted Flynn. “It was a very good win for him.”

The first singles pair of Lee and Nguyen remained perfect on the season with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 triumph. “Soun and Duong really battled back after dropping that second set,” said Flynn. “They kept their focus and their poise to win that third set.”

Nick Tran fell at first singles, 1-6, 3-6, as did Mucci at third singles, 1-6, 2-6. The second doubles match was a long, three-set affair in which Leng and senior Sinirath Kong (filling in for Truong) almost came away with a victory. They dropped the first set 5-7 and came back to win the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(7-1), but could not sustain their momentum in the deciding set, falling 2-6.

“Sela and Sinirath did very well, especially for their first time together,” said Flynn.

The Patriots, who now are 3-3 on the season, were set to meet Marblehead yesterday (Tuesday), journey to former GBL foe Medford today, and trek to Peabody tomorrow.

Girls tennis team drops close match 

The Revere High girls tennis team dropped a tight 3-2 match to Salem and came out on the short end of a 4-1 decision to Lynn English last week.

Sara Grujic was a winner at second singles in the Salem match, taking a three set battle, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. “Sara played very well,” said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco. “It was nice to see her come back so strong in that third set after losing the second.”

The first doubles pair of Sam Harris and Mariah Rivera (who was subbing for Venous Hamza, who is injured) also prevailed in a tough, three set encounter, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

Captain Cristina DiFabio, playing at No. 1 singles, dropped her match, 2-6, 3-6 and Mounia El-Arar fell by a 2-6, 2-6 score. The second doubles tandem of Nancy Nguyen and

Meiling Theng came out on the short end of a 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 three-set match.

“This was a long, hard fought match with Salem,” said Maniscalco, noting that the teams battled it out for almost four hours before it was settled.

In the encounter with Lynn English, Grujic was the lone victor for the Lady Patriots in her number two spot, winning in straight sets, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0. El-Arar’s match was well contested, with Mounia coming back nicely from a 1-6 first set to make it 5-7 in the second set.

Maniscalco and her crew are at Swampscott Wednesday and trek to Saugus Monday and to Lynn Classical next Wednesday.