The Revere High softball team enjoyed a highly-successful week, winning three of its four contests to qualify for the post- season state tournament for the second year in a row.
“The girls are playing very well in all aspects of the game,†said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello of his squad, which now stands at 10-7 on the season. “Our goals this season were to make the tourney and to improve on our 10-10 record of last year. We’ve accomplished the first one and now have three games left to achieve the second.’
Sabrina Palermo continued to do an outstanding job for the Lady Patriots in the pitching department. In a 5-1 win over Lynn English last Monday, Sabrina fanned 12 enemy batters. She also picked up a pair of “Ws†in triumphs over Beverly of 15-3 last Wednesday and 5-3 on Sunday in a make-up game.
Hitting stars for Revere in the victories were Julianna Cecere and Christina Stella in the English contest; Stephanie Gregorio in the first Beverly game with two hits and three RBI to earn the game ball; and Stella (3-for-4 with two ribbies) and Jacqui Noel (three hits) in the second Beverly tilt.
The lone setback for the Revere girls was a 6-5 defeat to Waltham on Senior Night in a contest that took a very bizarre twist. After spotting Waltham early leads of 3-0 and 6-2, the Lady Patriots battled back to get within 6-5 in the sixth frame. Revere had runners on base and the heart of their order (3-4-5 hitters) coming up,
However, the umpire then abruptly decided that the game could not go on because of the lack of lights in right field, which had not come on all night because of a malfunction.
“We came out flat to start the game,†said Ciccarello, noting that it was Revere’s second straight game and third in four days. “But we finally got our bats on the ball and had the momentum on our side when the ump decided to end it.â€
Cecere and Stella produced the RBIs for the Lady Patriots.
Ciccarello and his crew were set to conclude their regular season this week, starting Monday night at Salem. They play tomorrow (Thursday) at Peabody and host Medford Saturday morning at 10:00.
They then will await word of their seeding and first round opponent in the Division 1 North Sectional of the MIAA tournament which is expected to be announced in the middle of next week.
RHS baseball team rallies for 8-6 win
The Revere High baseball team overcame an early 3-0 deficit to post a well-deserved 8-6 triumph over Salem Monday.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the fifth frame, T.J. MacDonald belted what would prove to be a game-winning, two-run homer over the fence at Conigliaro Field to boost the Patriots into their first lead of the contest, 7-5. After Salem got a run back in the top of the sixth, Revere reinstated their two run margin with a marker in the bottom of the frame.
Mark Maloney, who came on for starter Tom Portrait to start the sixth, then set down Salem in order in the seventh to nail down the win.
“It was a really nice win for us,†said RHS head coach Nick Faggas. “We had some clutch hitting and strong pitching. Our seniors really made a solid contribution.â€
Maloney and Keanu Rodriguez both had two hits to pace the Revere offensive attack.
The Patriots were set to close out their season this week with games at East Boston yesterday (Tuesday) and home vs. Peabody tomorrow (Thursday). The Peabody contest will be highlighted by Senior Day festivities and a fundraising raffle with prizes of $500 cash, a 40†TV, and two Red Sox box seat tickets.
Tickets for the raffle drawing, which will be held after Thursday’s game, will be sold at the game or by calling Coach Faggas at 617-981-9993.
Patriot trackmen fall in finale to Peabody
The battle of unbeatens for supremacy in the Northeastern Conference saw Peabody come out ahead of the Revere High boys track team by a score of 95-36 last Tuesday.
First place finishers for Revere were Kristi Nushi in the mile run in 4:47.7; Bobby Rose with a long jump of 19-5; Omar Morales with a shotput throw of 44-5; and the 4 x 100 relay team.
Rose also earned three points for the Revere side with a second place finish in the 200 meter dash in 23.7.
Karim Sahila earned six points for the Patriots with a pair of second place efforts in the 110 high hurdles in 15.7 and the 400 low hurdles in 59.3. Joey Ritchie was another second place finisher with a triple jump of 40-2.5.
Third place points for Revere came from Tarik Maddrey in the 100 meter dash in a sprint of 11.6 and in the high jump with a leap of 5-8; Mirza Liskovica with a discus toss of 106-0; and Sery Morm with a javelin throw of 129-2.
The Patriots competed in the Northeastern Conference Meet Monday and number of Coach Jack Mosko’s crew will compete in the upcoming Division 1 State Meet.
The Peabody squad performed a classy gesture at their meet with the Patriots by making a presentation to Mosko in recognition of his 18 years as coach of the RHS boys track program, from which Mosko announced he will be stepping down after this season.
Boys tennis team defeats Winthrop
The Revere High boys tennis team defeated Winthrop, 3-2, last week, turning the tables on a Viking squad which had topped the Patriots in their previous meeting this season.
“This truly was a great victory for our team,†said RHS head coach Mike Flynn, “because it shows how hard the boys have been working and improving all season-long. We’ve had tournament-qualifying teams the past few years, but this was one of the most fulfilling coaching experiences that I’ve ever had.â€
The win was powered by the trio of Revere singles players. Mladen Pepic, playing at No. 1 singles, won his match in straight sets, both of which went to tiebreakers, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1), against a foe who had taken the measure of Mladen in their first encounter.
Ryan Tran at second singles gutted out a grueling three set match, 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-2, that lasted three hours and was the last match of the day to reach its conclusion.
“All of the other matches had finished, so it all came down’s to Ryan’s match,†said Flynn. “But he played hard and I was very proud of the way he bounced back in the third set to win it for us.â€
By contrast, Nick Mucci had a relatively easy time over his Winthrop rival with a straight set victory, 6-2-, 6-1.
Although the Patriots had dropped their previous matches last week to Lynn Classical and Salem, Flynn noted that all of his players turned in solid performances. The first doubles duo of Satyak Som and Danny Talic won their match against their Salem counterparts and the second doubles tandem of Brian Monroy and Talal Khan also played well.
The Patriots will close out their 2013 campaign tomorrow (Thursday), hosting Beverly.
Lady Patriot tennis team working hard
Although the Revere High girls tennis team came up short in its matches this past week, RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco lauded her squad for their work effort and commitment to improve.
“We have a young team that is continuing to learn and improve through playing experience,†said Maniscalco.
The Lady Patriots’ lone senior, second singles player Mariah Rivera, posted the only victory of the week, defeating her Lynn Classical counterpart last Monday in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
The Revere girls will conclude their 2013 season tomorrow (Thursday) at Salem.