Sports May 11, 2012 - 15 Pelham~Windham Sports Number Seven Not Lucky for PHS Baseball by Marc Ayotte
If the Pythons fail to qualify for post season play, they certainly will have this past week to look back upon and wonder ‘what if?’ With a record of three wins against six losses, it stands to reason that most of your competition from that point forth will probably have a better record than you. Nonetheless, in order to prove yourself worthy of making the playoffs, victories against those opponents would be in order. And if not for the seventh inning in each of their last three games, the Pythons could have conceivably owned a 6-6 record and been in the thick of things versus being six games under .500 – on the outside looking in. On May 2, Portsmouth ventured into Pelham in a somewhat anti-climactic fashion. After the Clippers defeated Souhegan on April 27, for their 89th consecutive victory, the Pythons were licking their chops in anticipation of being the streak- stoppers on their home fi eld. Unfortunately, it was St. Thomas Aquinas, one game earlier that stole Pelham’s thunder when they defeated Portsmouth 5-4, after scoring all fi ve runs in the last inning. And instead of the Pythons ending the Clipper six year run at 91, Portsmouth capitalized on four Pelham errors and used a six run- seventh inning to defeat their hosts, 9-4, to start a new winning streak.
In the top of the third, Billy Hartman’s two RBI single propelled the Clippers to a 3-0 lead which they held going into the bottom of the fi fth. Pelham, on a Jake Vaiknoras RBI double followed by a sixth inning run producing single by Nick Roussel, cut the Portsmouth lead to 3-2. Unfortunately, Portsmouth proceeded to erupt for a half dozen runs in their half of the seventh and a two run response by the Pythons in the home half
Pelham catcher Evan Sage steals home, giving the Pythons a sixth inning 3-2 lead in a home game against Sanborn Regional
was simply not enough. Vaiknoras fi nished the game going 2 for 3 with two RBI, picking up half of Pelham’s hits on the day. Starting pitcher Nick Roussel suffered the loss despite pitching very well through the fi rst six innings. Two days later, Pelham made the short trek to Hollis-Brookline for a date with the then undefeated Cavaliers. Once again, the Pythons were snake bit in the seventh inning when H-B plated a run in their last at bat to win, 2-1. Pelham did get out to a 1-0 lead on a Devin DeCarteret RBI, on a fi elder’s choice in the second inning. The Python lead held up until the bottom of the fi fth when back to back Cavalier doubles
Windham Track Looking Strong at Midseason, Headed to Loucks Games in New York
knotted the score at one, chasing starter David Bronson off the hill. Hollis-Brookline clinched the win in ugly fashion, with the winning run scoring on a base on balls allowed by the Python bullpen. Bronson had a superb outing against the
division’s number two rated team, going 5.1 innings, scattering fi ve hits and allowing only one run. Offensively, Pelham was limited to four singles; one each from Pat McLean, Chris Gamble, Jake Vaiknoras and Alex Newton. A disappointed Coach Beauchesne said of his team’s effort; “they put everything they had into this game. They left it all on the fi eld-from sophomores to seniors”. The saga continued for Pelham when they
returned home for a Monday matinee with Sanborn Regional. The Pythons were looking to avenge a 6-1 loss to the Indians on their home turf back on April 13. But an all too familiar scenario re-emerged in the form of the dreaded seventh inning, self-infl icted snake bite, as the Pythons dropped their third straight game, 5-3. After Sanborn took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third, Pelham answered with a pair of their own in the home half to tie the score. An RBI double by Nick Roussel who eventually scored on an Evan Sage infi eld hit accounted for the two Pelham runs. The Pythons took the lead in the fi fth in exciting fashion. On the very next pitch after an attempted suicide squeeze failed to score Sage from third, the Python catcher stole home, for a 3-2 lead. All was right until the Indians came to the plate for their last at bat heroics. Sanborn implemented their own element of surprise when a successfully executed safety squeeze by Sam Whipple tied the score at three. A sacrifi ce fl y to center by John Sheidegger made it 4-3 and then a fi elding error (one of fi ve on the day committed by Pelham) aided in all the wheels falling off as the Pythons went down to another gut-wrenching defeat. Offensively for the Pythons, Sage and Devin DeCarteret (RBI) fi nished the game with two hits apiece, with Roussel’s double and Chris Gamble’s single rounding out the team total of six hits. Starting pitcher Justin Moran went six-plus innings and received the loss, as he was victimized by Python errors that yielded three unearned runs. Moran scattered six hits and fanned seven Indians before giving way to Pat McLean who gave up two hits in his one inning of relief.
Jaguar Girls Defeat Souhegan, Pembroke
by Chris White The Windham High girls’ tennis team won both of its matches last week to improve to 4-4 on the season. The Jaguars defeated Souhegan and Pembroke, earning each victory on the road. In its most recent match, Windham defeated Souhegan by the score of 7-2 on Monday, May 7. The Jaguars clinched the team win by winning fi ve out of six matches in singles play, and then took two wins in the doubles round. Singles winners for Windham included Loren Bostic (8-0) in the number one match, Rachel Ward (8-3) at number two, Basie Bostic (8-5) at number three, Tess Powell (8-5) at number four, and Kaitlyn Gallagher (8-4) at number six. In doubles competition, Loren Bostic and Ward won the fi rst match (8-6), asBasie Bostic and Powell won the second match (8-2). Meanwhile, Windham’s third doubles team of Deirdre Sanders and Vishwa Patel narrowly missed a victory in the third doubles game. Before playing Souhegan, the Jags topped
Windham freshman Kristen Tilley fi nishes a strong run in the 400 meters at the Salem Kiwanis Meet last Saturday
by Chris White It’s been an eventful fi rst half of the season for
Windham High’s outdoor track and fi eld teams. Many Jaguar athletes have qualifi ed for the Division II Championships, and after a number of strong performances this season, the Jaguars are looking ahead to competing at the Loucks Games in White Plains, NY, this weekend. The Loucks Games is a national caliber meet
drawing teams from New York, New Jersey, all of New England, and Canada. Windham representatives at the meet will include Patrick Fitzgerald, Ryan Cleary, Derek Gray, Brandon Dreyfuss, Kristen Tilley, Emma Boyd, and Kate Farrell.
Windham junior Ryan Cleary in the 300 hurdles at Hollis-Brookline
seconds). Other notable Windham performances included It’s a two day meet, which will take place
on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. “No team from Windham High School has gone to anything this big before and we’re proud to be the fi rst,” Windham coach Ryan O’Connor said. “We have a lot of talent in this school and we want to represent our school against the best competition on a big stage. It’ll be a great experience.” Before arriving at the Loucks Games, the
Jaguars opened the 2012 season at the Haverhill Invitational on Saturday, April 14. Gray took fi fth overall in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.59 seconds, while Tilley earned sixth in the 400 meter with a school record time of 1:03.93. The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team of Gray, CJay DiPrima, Kennie Padin, and Dreyfuss also took seventh place in a school record time of 44.98 seconds. Windham visited Hollis-Brookline for its second meet of the season, where Gray took fi rsts in the 100-meter dash (school record 11.1 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (23.2 seconds). Meanwhile, Dreyfuss took second place in the 100 meters (11.2 seconds) and in the 200 meters (24.2
Fitzgerald taking fi rst place in the 110 hurdles (16.7 seconds) and long jump (19 feet 4 3/4 inches), Adonic Lam taking fourth in the long jump, Farrell taking second in the 1600 meters (5:43.3), Cleary taking fi rst in the 300 hurdles (school record 46.7 seconds), Kenny Dastous taking fi rst in the high jump (5 feet 5 inches), Angela Bleeker taking fi rst in the discus (78 feet 4 inches), and Marcela Trocha taking fi rst in the javelin (86 feet 6 inches). From there, the Jaguars went on to compete at the Salem Kiwanis Freshman-Sophomore Meet on Saturday, May 5. Tim Raymond took second place with a school record throw in the discus, while also making it to the fi nals of the 200-meter dash. Raymond also ran a leg on the boys’ sixth-place 4x200-meter relay team with John Hennessey, Nick Khoury, and Greg Samsel. Dreyfuss also achieved a personal record of 12.02 seconds to take sixth place in a very talented 100-meter dash fi eld. Meanwhile, the boys’ 4x800-meter relay took sixth overall with a school record time of 9:47.14. The 4x800 team included Alex Brissette, Kyle Carbonneau, Brandon Bielinski, and Nick Whitehead. The highlight of the meet came from the girls’ 4x400 relay team of Mary Aylaian, Tilley, CeliaTasho, and Rachel Lanouette. After battling all race with Pinkerton’s 4x400 team, Windham ending up beating the Astros for fourth overall in a school record time. “We had some nice performances in a meet that features just freshman and sophomores,” O’Connor said. “It was very fun and exciting watching everyone compete. The future looks bright based off of what happened.”
Pembroke, 6-3, on Monday, April 30. Windham took four wins in singles match play, and then clinched the overall victory with two wins in the doubles competition.
Earning singles victories for the Jaguars were Loren Bostic (8-1) at number one, Ward (8-2) at number two, Basie Bostic (8-3) at number three, and Powell (8-4) at number four. Windham doubles winners included the number one tandem of Loren Bostic and Ward, plus the number two team of Basie Bostic and Powell. After visiting Hollis-Brookline on Thursday, May 10, the Jaguars are scheduled to return to action
Windham’s Rachel Ward returns a serve back to her opponent
at home on Saturday, May 12 at noon. They will play ConVal in a game that was rescheduled because of rain earlier this season. The Jags are scheduled to follow that match by hosting Oyster River on Tuesday, May 15 at 4 p.m.
Mindy
ARNNE (Animal Rescue Network of N.E.)
Pet Adoption Day and Yard Sale
Saturday, May 19th
First Congregational Church, Pelham 11-2pm
To see a complete listing of our available dogs, please visit
www.arnne.org.
603-233-4801 Photos courtesy of Sea Jay Photography. Thank you to Beaver Valley Farm, Pelham for continued support Royal Pets FULL TIME
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Accepting Registrations
Staff photo by Marc Ayotte
Staff photo by Chris White
courtesy photo
Staff photo by Chris White
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