Here is a look at the tenth and final week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.
Baseball: Coming off of an exciting 3-2 win over Dedham, the No. 3 seeded Bulldogs looked to the semifinals of the Division 3 South state tournament to continue their excellent postseason run. However, the boys were eliminated from the tournament this week, effectively ending their season thanks to a 13-7 loss to No. 2 seed East Bridgewater. Though pitchers James Leidhold and Brendan Deverix made a strong effort from the mound, the East Bridgewater batters were too strong to be contained, and the Bulldogs’ offense, headed by Sam Henrie (2-for-3, steal, run) and Bryant Salkind (2-for-4, RBI, double) was simply not able to keep pace. The Bulldogs end their season with an 18-4 season and a SCC championship. They graduate eight seniors.
Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team, the No. 2 seed in the Division 3 South state tournament, was eliminated this week in the state semifinals. After coming off of a strong 5-0 showing over Sturgis East and a 4-1 win over Martha’s Vineyard, the boys faced off against No. 1 seed Dover Sherborn and unfortunately came out on the short end, suffering a 3-2 loss. Though ORR got wins from Alex Bilodeau (second singles) and Sam Pasquill (third singles), Dover Sherborn’s doubles teams and their first singles’ player were simply too tough to beat, resulting in the crushing loss for the Bulldogs. However, the boys finished their season with a 21-2 record, and they clinched their second straight SCC championship by a wide margin. The team graduates senior captain Stephen Burke, who played on the second doubles team for the Bulldogs.
Girls’ Tennis: Dover Sherborn’s tennis program proved to be strong across the board this week, as the No. 2 seeded Raiders knocked the No. 7 seeded ORR Lady Bulldogs out of the Division 3 South tournament with a score of 3-2. Old Rochester got wins from senior star Julia Nojeim (first singles) and Olivia Bellefeuille (third singles), but could not secure that needed third match to come out on top. The team finishes their season with a 14-6 record, and graduate Nojeim, whose presence and reliability will surely be missed come next spring.
Track: The lone track athlete still competing was unsurprisingly senior Kevin Saccone, who this week competed in the prestigious New England Championship Meet in Saco, Maine. Saccone had a fantastic day, placing second in the long jump and sixth in the 110-meter hurdles to finish off an impressive high-school track career. Both of Saccone’s results (22’9” in the long jump, 14.4 seconds in the hurdles), were personal bests, and they also broke both of the school records that he already held.
Boys’ Lacrosse: The Bulldogs were also unfortunately knocked out of the Division 3 South tournament this week. After defeating Archbishop Williams earlier this week, the boys faced off against top-seeded Cohasset, who handed the Bulldogs their first and last loss of the postseason in a 15-3 fashion. Cohasset, who has had their varsity lacrosse program in place for several years, was simply too quick and strong to halt, and though the Bulldogs got a little offensive help from scorers Ethan Lizotte (two goals) and Taylor Hatch, it would not prove to be enough, as heading into the fourth quarter, the boys were down by a 13-1 margin. The boys finish their season with a co-SCC championship, a 19-3 record, and a historic playoff run for the fifth-year lacrosse program at ORR.
Girls’ Lacrosse: The No. 4 seeded Lady Bulldogs were also eliminated from the state tournament this week with a tough 19-4 loss to top-seeded Norwell. For a moment, things were looking up for the girls, as they had a 2-1 lead early in the first quarter. From there, however, Norwell unleashed a vicious offensive attack that resulted in seventeen unanswered goals. The ease at which Norwell played was frustrating for ORR, as the clean passes and lack of turnovers provided very few opportunities for the Lady Bulldogs to change the momentum of the game. Despite the loss, the girls had an excellent season, securing a tri-SCC championship with Apponequet and Fairhaven, having three seniors reach the 100 goal mark (Bailey Truesdale, Chloe Riley, and Mikayla Demanche), and finishing off their spring with a strong 14-6-1 record.
Below are the final overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties.
Baseball: (18-4-0) (14-2-0); Softball: (8-10-0) (8-8-0); Boys’ Track: (6-2-0) (6-2-0); Girls’ Track: (8-0-0) (8-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (21-2-0) (14-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (14-6-0) (13-3-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (19-3-0) (7-1-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (14-6-1) (7-3-0).
By Michael Kassabian
