Here is a look at the second week of scheduled games for Old Rochester Regional High School spring athletics.
Baseball: After losing quite a few talented seniors to graduation last year, including their top pitcher Andrew Ryan, many questions arose during the offseason as to whether or not the Bulldogs would be able to defend their SCC Championship title from last year. ORR silenced some of those critics this week, as they had two impressive wins in their opening games. The Bulldogs first defeated non-conference Bishop Stang 16-4 in their season opener thanks to strong performances by senior captains Austin Salkind and Jordan Menard. Each had three hits and recorded three runs. Senior pitcher James Leidhold opened his season on a good note, striking out four Spartans and allowing only five hits in the first five innings. The Bulldogs followed their season-opening victory with a monstrous 25-0 shutout over Wareham later in the week. Sophomore Sam Henrie earned his first varsity win and shut-out, recording six strikeouts. Hunter Parker and Bryant Salkind led offensively with four hits apiece. Wareham was never able to counter the constant pressure ORR applied throughout the game. With the wins, the boys remain at a perfect 2-0 record.
Softball: The Lady Bulldogs didn’t get their season off to the best start this week, losing in a tough 15-0 shutout against Bishop Stang. The girls managed to get two hits in the game thanks to Kaleigh Goulart and Maddie Lee, but the pace at which the Lady Spartans played was too quick and efficient for the Lady Bulldogs to fight back. However, the girls recovered from the season-opening loss with a fantastic 4-3 win over last year’s state champion GNB Voc-Tech. Goulart earned her first win of the season from the mound, while Lee, Hannah Guard, and Sophie Hubbard led ORR offensively. The girls then capped their week off with an impressive 19-6 win over Wareham to effectively put the loss to Bishop Stang behind them. The wins put the girls’ overall record at 2-1, with a perfect conference record of 2-0.
Boys’ Tennis: The boys’ tennis team suffered their first loss of the season this week to Barnstable, who is perennially one of the toughest teams in the state. In the 4-1 defeat, the lone bright spot was freshman Owen Sughrue, who won his match in a bizarre turn. After losing the first set 4-6, Sughrue battled back to win the second set in a decisive 6-1 fashion. The first singles player for Barnstable was so frustrated with Sughrue’s consistent play and victory in the second set that he snapped his racket and stormed off the court, giving Sughrue the victory. However, the boys followed up their loss with a 4-1 victory over non-conference Dartmouth. Alex Bilodeau (second singles), Sam Pasquill (third singles), Josh Lerman and Maxx Wolski (first doubles), and Stephen Burke and Jahn Pothier (second doubles) all won matches for the Bulldogs.
Girls’ Tennis: The Lady Bulldogs lost their lone match of the week in an exciting 3-2 showdown against non-conference Dartmouth. Despite the close loss, ORR got key wins from Julia Nojeim (first singles), and Olivia Bellefeuille (third singles). The loss did not affect the girls’ conference record, which remains at a perfect 2-0.
Boys’ Lacrosse: The boys’ lacrosse team also had a good week, winning both of their games by large margins. The boys first defeated conference rival Fairhaven 14-6 thanks to dominant performances by Landon Goguen and Ethan Lizotte, who scored four goals apiece. The boys then defeated non-conference New Bedford 7-1, with Goguen striking again, this time recording a hat trick. Other goals came from Thomas McIntyre, Henry McIntyre, Taylor Hatch, and Pat Saltmarsh. Goalie Gerald Lanagan is also to be commended, as he made 15 saves in net. The boys’ record advances to a perfect 3-0 with the victories.
Girls’ Lacrosse: This week, the girls’ lacrosse team played two Division 1 teams with mixed results. The Lady Bulldogs were handed their first loss of the season to non-conference Sandwich by a narrow margin. The loss was followed by a 9-9 tie against New Bedford. Freshman Maddie Cooney recorded a hat trick for ORR, with additional goals coming from Mikayla Demanche (2), Bailey Truesdale (2), Maggie Adams, and Leah Pryzbyzewski. The girls’ record currently stands at 1-1-1.
Below are the overall spring team records, followed by the conference records in wins, losses, and ties as of April 12.
Baseball: (2-0-0) (1-0-0); Softball: (2-1-0) (2-0-0); Boys’ Track: (0-0-0) (0-0-0); Girls’ Track: (0-0-0) (0-0-0); Boys’ Tennis: (2-1-0) (1-0-0); Girls’ Tennis: (2-1-0) (2-0-0); Boys’ Lacrosse: (3-0-0) (1-0-0); Girls’ Lacrosse: (1-1-1) (0-0-0).
By Michael Kassabian
