Here is a look at the fourth week of scheduled games for ORR spring athletics.
Baseball: The boys’ baseball team has seemed to hit their stride, as for the second consecutive week, the Bulldogs claimed victories in all three of their games. The boys started off their season with a worrying 0-2 record, but thanks to solid pitching and fantastic hitting, the boys have gone on an eight-game win streak to put them at the top of the SCC rankings. This week, the boys defeated Apponequet, 14-11, thanks to a strong relief pitching effort by junior Brendan Deverix and great offensive performances by Jordan Menard and Bryant Salkind, who each had four hits on the win. The Bulldogs went on to defeat Seekonk, 4-2, and Bourne, 11-3, to put their overall record at 8-2 and SCC record at a league-best 7-1.
Softball: The Lady Bulldogs had a great week, spoiled only by bad weather. On Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs faced Seekonk, and had a considerable 7-2 lead in the fourth inning before the game was stopped short due to weather conditions. Unfortunately, this did not count as a win for the Lady Bulldogs, who will have to either finish the game later in the season or replay it all together. However, the girls finished their week strong with a 13-0 shutout win over Bourne in a game that only lasted five innings. Pitcher Kaleigh Goulart only allowed two hits and struck out four to lead the Lady Bulldogs defensively, while freshman Olivia Labbe continues to make an impact, leading the ORR offense with three hits. The girls batted a season-high 16 hits on the game.
Boys’ and Girls’ Track: Neither the boys’ nor girls’ track teams had official meets this week, but the freshmen and sophomores of the team were allowed to shine in the annual SCC Freshman-Sophomore Meet held at ORR. Sophomore Emily Josephson easily won the two-mile in a one-on-one showdown against a Case runner, and freshman Graham Poirier placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, while classmate John Kvilhaug placed fourth in the 800-meter run. The track teams hope to remain undefeated when they return to action against Apponequet later this week.
Boys’ Tennis: The Bulldogs had a rough start to the week, suffering their first conference loss to Seekonk, 4-1. All ORR singles and doubles players were defeated except for Connor Blagden and Stephen Burke, who won 6-3, 6-3 at first doubles. Later in the week, however, the boys had a strong showing against Wareham, where they shut the Vikings out 5-0. Alex Bilodeau, Doug Blaise, and Lars Eklund won at first, second, and third singles, respectively, and Blagden teamed up with Ian Hibbert to claim first doubles while Maxx Wolski and Mason Mathieu won at second doubles.
Girls’ Tennis: After a tough conference loss against Apponequet last week, the Lady Bulldogs took some frustration out by winning both of their matches this week. Seekonk and Wareham both fell to ORR by perfect 5-0 scores. Julia Nojeim, Haley Dickerson, and K.K. Bindas won at first, second, and third singles, respectively, in both matches. Against Seekonk, Morgan Middleton and Triona Cuddy won at first doubles while Rachel Brown and Serena Jaskolka won at second doubles. Against Wareham, the doubles teams were mixed up, but with great results. At first doubles, Middleton was joined by Charlotte Levine to win 7-5, 6-4, and Brown was joined by freshman Sophie Church at second doubles to win 6-2, 6-1.
Boys’ Lacrosse: The Bulldogs won both of their games this week by large margins. The boys crushed the GNB Voc-Tech Bears 20-5 early in the week thanks to a great performance by Ethan Lizotte, who led the team with six goals. Freshmen Charlie Tirrell and Connor Severino each scored a hat trick for the Bulldogs as well in the win. Later in the week, the boys squeaked in a game against Fairhaven despite the weather that canceled several games, including softball. The weather did not affect the Bulldogs, as they easily defeated Fairhaven 11-2. Severino scored his second hat trick of the week to lead the Bulldogs, who had seven players score on the win.
Girls’ Lacrosse: The Lady Bulldogs had a so-so week, winning one game while losing the other, both against SCC rivals. The girls defeated GNB Voc-Tech 13-3, with Mikayla Demanche scoring six of the goals. The win was a record-setting one for the Lady Bulldogs, as it gave them their sixth win of the season, which is the most wins the team has had in its four-year span. Bailey Truesdale (three goals) and Sarah Ryan (two goals) also played well for ORR. The girls, however, could not keep up the momentum and ended up losing their next game against Fairhaven, 8-5.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of April 27.
Baseball: (8-2-0) (7-1-0); Softball: (1-7-0) (1-6-0); Boys’ Track (3-0-0) (3-0-0); Girls’ Track (3-0-0) (3-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (5-3-0) (4-1-0); Girls’ Tennis: (5-2-0) (4-1-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (5-3-0) (4-0-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (7-3-0) (2-3-0).
By Michael Kassabian