At first, it looked like sixth-seeded Old Rochester Regional was going to set the tone early in their matchup against No. 11 Plymouth South. But by the game’s end, the Bulldogs had run out of answers and time, falling 9-4 in the first round of the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional tournament.
The biggest obstacle for the Bulldogs (12-7) after taking a 2-1 advantage in the first was slowing down Plymouth South (10-8). The Panthers were quick and efficient with moving the ball and their substitutions. That was largely a result of Plymouth South’s superior numbers, which made life difficult for the Bulldogs.
“Unfortunately, we got tired early. We’re not very deep,” ORR coach Justin Shay said. “We haven’t been deep all year long, and we’ve been able to rotate our guys in and out all year long. Plymouth South didn’t allow us, with the way they were changing, the way they were pushing the ball up the field, didn’t allow us to change our guys. And our offensive (midfielders) got tired very early. That showed on the offensive end of the field with them being able to hang onto the ball and give our defense a rest.”
With the Panthers controlling possession in their offensive zone for the majority of the game, ORR goalie Nate Kingwas tested often. The senior finished the match with 13 saves. But Plymouth South was able to get off too many shots from directly in front of the net, some of which came in too quickly for King react.
“We played a little bit of a zone today, as well as the end of the season, to allow the outside shots on Nate where he’s very, very good,” Shay said. “Unfortunately, we gave up too many closer shots, back to the slow legs and defenders not getting out on some of their shooters. And hats off to Plymouth South, they had some good shooters. They moved the ball well [and] they’re a well-coached team.”
In addition to Powers, Ryan Quinlan(one assist), Robert Salit, and William Tirrelleach scored a goal. ORR was able to rip off 12 shots on goal. But the Bulldogs struggled to get quality looks against Panthers goalie Paul Hasenfus, particularly in the second and third periods.
Old Rochester Regional baseball got its revenge against Wareham in the season finale on Sunday in large part thanks to Noah Maxwell’sperformance on the mound in the 3-0 win. Maxwell punched out 10 hitters on the day and only surrendered two hits in his complete game effort.
“He turned his curveball over well,” ORR coach Steve Carvalho said. “He was really a Bulldog on the mound. He challenged hitters in every at-bat. I was very proud of him.”
Maxwell also scored two runs and laced a double at the plate. Thomas Coucciwent 2-for-3 with an RBI, and John Farrellknocked in a run, as well.
Old Colony
While Old Colony baseball awaits the pairings for the MIAA Division 4 South sectional tournament and girls lacrosse has its game against No. 3 Cohasset on Wednesday, softball’s season has come to an end. But, the Cougars had a memorable year on the diamond offensively, with three players hitting over .500 on the season.
Te’Lynn Laytonhit .561 and led Old Colony with 34 RBI. Taylor Haskellhit an even .600, finishing second on the team with 39 hits and five doubles. Then there’s Hannah L’Heureux. She led the team in average (.710), hits (44), doubles (six), triples (five) home runs (three), and runs (40). She also finished second in RBIs with 30.
High School Sports Update
By Nick Friar