Here is a look at the fifth week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.
Baseball: The boys’ baseball team continued their perfect season this week by adding three more wins to advance their record to 10-0. The Bulldogs started their week off with a 6-0 shutout over Apponequet, thanks largely in part to pitcher Sam Henrie, who struck out six and allowed only three hits in six innings to clinch the win for ORR. Offensively, brothers Austin and Bryant Salkind delivered, with Bryant hitting two singles and recording two RBIs, while Austin scored two runs as well as an RBI double. The Bulldogs then played in their most exciting game of the week, where they came out on top over GNB Voc-Tech in a 6-4 thriller. The game went into extra innings, where Jordan Menard helped to break a 3-3 tie by outracing the throw home on a sacrifice fly by John Breault. From there, the Bulldogs managed to hold on thanks to performances at the plate by the Salkind brothers, Henrie, and Brent Rezendes and James Leidhold. The boys closed their week out with a huge 16-0 blowout over Wareham.
Softball: The Lady Bulldogs had a fantastic week, defeating three conference rivals in games to put their overall record at a steady 6-4. The girls first defeated Apponequet 11-5 by recording an astonishing 17-hit game, including 7 straight in the seventh inning. Leading the way were Maddie Lee, Hannah Guard, Kaleigh Goulart, and Olivia Labbe, who all had three hits apiece. Labbe proved to be the hero of the girls’ next game against GNB Voc-Tech. In the bottom of the fifth, Labbe smashed a three-run homer to gain some offensive momentum for ORR, who would later win with a score of 8-2. Finally, the girls finished their week with a 13-1 victory over Wareham. Goulart was the star of the game, going 4-4 from the plate while also earning her sixth win of the season from the pitcher’s mound by only allowing two hits in her five innings of play. Other notable performances for the Lady Bulldogs came from Michaela Guard and Courtney Dextradeur, who both went 2-4 in the win.
Boys’ Track: It was a very big week for the ORR track teams, with many athletes competing in three different meets over the course of the week. After a blowout win over Bourne, the boys’ track team split a tough tri-meet with two SCC competitors, with the Bulldogs defeating Wareham 110-24, but suffering their first loss of the season to Dighton-Rehoboth, 78.5-57.5. Kevin Saccone won four events in both meets, claiming titles in the 200-meter, 400-meter, long jump, and triple jump. Ben Rounseville also had a great day, winning the 400-hurdles, while Jacob Blezard captured the win in the shot-put. Though the Bulldogs suffered their first loss, they were able to shake it off through some individual successes later, as many athletes either competed in the State Freshman/Sophomore Meet or in the Sunset Invitational. In the freshman/sophomore meet, sophomore Eli Spevack shined, winning the 400-hurdles in 59.2 seconds, his first time under the 60-second barrier. At the Sunset Meet, Saccone set new meet records en route to wins in the long jump and the 110-hurdles.
Girls’ Track: Likewise, the girls’ track team also had some impressive performances both on the team and by individuals. The girls easily defeated Bourne, Wareham, and Dighton-Rehoboth this week, with scores of 135-1, 97-39, and 84.5-51.5, respectively. In the freshman/sophomore meet, Madisen Martin placed sixth in the 800-meter, and freshman Rachel Demmer placed sixth in the 400-hurdles. At the Sunset Meet, the Lady Bulldogs had a plethora of good performances, especially in the 800-meter, where the tandem of Nina Bourgeois and Shannon O’Malley finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, in a talented field. Nicole Mattson also ran well, placing second in the 400-meter dash, while Zoe Smith won the 100-meter hurdles and high jump. Other places came from Lauren Ovian (fifth, 200-meter) and Maddie Meyer (third, mile).
Boys’ Tennis: The Bulldogs remained undefeated in the SCC this week with big wins over Fairhaven (5-0), Apponequet (5-0), and Seekonk (5-0). The boys did not lose a match at all this week, shutting out all three teams with wins across the board. Big wins came from Owen Sughrue at first singles in the first two matches, while against Seekonk, Alex Bilodeau took over the top spot and easily won in two sets. The boys’ record now stands at 10-1 overall with a perfect 9-0 in the SCC.
Girls’ Tennis: The girls’ tennis team had a rough start to their week, losing their second conference match of the season to last-year’s SCC champion, Apponequet, in a hard-fought 4-1 battle. Despite a strong effort in all matches, only Julia Nojeim was able to come up successful, winning in a 10-3 tiebreaker. Though the loss was a disappointment, the girls managed to bounce back with a strong 4-1 win over Seekonk. Individual wins for the Lady Bulldogs came from Nojeim, Morgan Middleton, KK Bindas and Alexis Parker, and Emma Collings and Sophie Church.
Boys’ Lacrosse: In their lone game of the week, the boys’ lacrosse team defeated Fairhaven 17-6 to remain undefeated for the season. Thanks to huge offensive efforts by Landon Goguen (five goals), Ethan Lizotte (four goals), and Thomas McIntyre (three goals), the Bulldogs managed to overpower a tough SCC competitor in Fairhaven. Other goals for the Bulldogs came from Ryan Manning, Kyler Berry, Charlie Tirrell, Taylor Hatch, and Pat Saltmarsh. The boys’ record now stands at 8-0 overall with a perfect 3-0 in the conference.
Girls’ Lacrosse: This week, the Lady Bulldogs proved that they will not only excel this season, but for many seasons to come, as some of the team’s underclassmen came up big to help the girls earn three victories. One of those freshmen was Maddie Cooney, who scored a whopping six goals to lead the girls to their first victory of the week against Sandwich, 14-9. With her impressive showing, Cooney leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring for the entire season, an impressive feat for a freshman. The girls later survived a fourth-quarter scare against Fairhaven, where the Lady Blue Devils made a comeback in the final few minutes to cut down a four-goal lead by ORR. Luckily, the Lady Bulldogs held on to win the game 8-7. Finally, the girls closed out their week with a strong 11-9 victory over non-conference New Bedford.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of May 3.
Baseball: (10-0-0) (9-0-0); Softball: (6-4-0) (6-3-0); Boys’ Track: (3-1-0) (3-1-0); Girls’ Track: (4-0-0) (4-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (10-1-0) (9-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (7-3-0) (7-2-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (8-0-0) (3-0-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (9-1-1) (4-0-0).
By Michael Kassabian
