MIAA Softball: AHS Falls, But AC Wins

Arlington MA

24 June, 2021

12:01 PM

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Your Arlington Last Updated: 24 June 2021 Written by MIAA, BostonGlobe.com, Bob Sprague UPDATED, June 24: The Covid-delayed MIAA tournament is headed toward the finals, and Arlington softball teams have split. The AHS squad advanced, but could not get past Billerica in the quarterfinals, losing 3-1, on Wednesday, June 23. Meanwhile, in the North Division 2 quarterfinals, AC beat Burlington, 12-9, at Marvin Field. That means AC faces Danvers in the semifinals Thursday, June 24. Losing after initial wins were AHS girls' tennis, AHS boys' volleyball, Arlington Catholic baseball and AC boys' lacrosse. Three face top seeds. In the preliminary round of North Division 1, the No. 9 AHS softball squad (9-4) beat Newton South (5-10), 9-3, On Friday, June 18. In the first round, the team beat No. 8 Boston Latin School (10-6) at Monday, June 21, at Clemente Field. The score was 4-1. Billerica faced Arlington after beating Woburn, the Middlesex League champs, 4-3. 'Gutsy game' Matt O'Loughlin, coach of girls' softball, wrote June 24: "Great season from the team. We fell to a very good Billerica team, 3-1. "Janelle Lucente pitched a gutsy game. I couldn't be more proud of the leadership from our seniors, and the maturity of our younger players. "This was one of the most resilient teams I've ever coached. There was never a time where anyone gave up, or took their foot off the gas. Toughest day as a coach is saying goodbye to a great group of young people like this team." Of the Boston Latin game, O'Loughlin, wrote June 22: "We were able to get past a very good Boston Latin team, 4-1, in 9 innings. We faced a really good, college-level pitcher who was able to hold our bats silent until extra innings. "Our pitcher Jannelle Lucente (junior) pitched an incredible 6 and 2/3 innings, and Natalia Fotopoulos (freshman) picked up the win in extras. "Up 1-0 late in the game, Boston Latin loaded the bases and pushed a run home. The winning run attempted to score from second base, but was thrown out at the plate by center fielder and captain Claire Ewen. "Claire then led off the inning with a solo home run, and we were able to score a couple more to put it away. "Our seniors were incredible for us. They led us mentally and physically the whole day." Tennis, volleyball, baseball, lacrosse In the first round of Division 2 North, girls' tennis No. 8 Arlington (11-3) topped No. 9 Central Catholic (7-4), 5-0. No. 1 Newburyport (13-0) won in the quarterfinals on June 21, at Newburyport High School. The score was 3-2. Tennis coach Danielle Rakowsky commented June 22: "We had a hard-fought battle yesterday in the 90+ degree heat against Newburyport. It was a very hard-fought competitive match, and it came down to the last match as we were 2-2. It was a 2-3 loss. "We had an amazing season!" In Division 2 North boys' tennis, No. 4 Winchester beat No. 13 Arlington, 5-0. In the preliminary round of Division 1 North, boys' volleyball 17th-ranked Arlington, which had been 0-11, edged No. 16 Central Catholic, 3-2. The team lost to No. 1 Chelmsford (11-0) in the first round at June 21, at Chelmsford. The score was 3-1 In Division 3 North baseball, No. 16 Arlington Catholic slugged No. 17 Dracut (7-10), 11-3, at Arlington. BostonGlobe.com report that junior Chris Klein picked up his fifth win for the 16th-seeded Cougars (8-8) with five innings pitched, allowing two earned runs with nine strikeouts and two walks in the preliminary-round match-up. Pacing the AC offense were Klein (2 hits, 2 RBIs), senior Jared Russell (3 hits, 2 RBIs), junior Cole Maffeo (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and junior Niko Ceppi (2 hits, 2 RBIs). AC lost to No. 1 Austin Prep (19-1) on its field at 4 p.m. June 21. The score was 5-0. In the quarterfinals of Division 3 Central East of boys' lacrosse, No. 5 Arlington Catholic (7-7) edged No. 4 Lunenburg (5-6), 7-6, at Lunenburg. BostonGlobe.com reported that senior Adam Haytayan and sophomore Thomas Driscoll each netted three goals for the No. 5 Cougars. The team fell to top-ranked Dover-Sherborn (13-2) in the semifinals at June 21 in D-S turf. The score was 18-4. In the first round of Division 2 Central/East boys' lacrosse, No. 7 Walpole (7-6) overwhelmed No. 10 Arlington (2-11), 19-1. In the first round of Division 2 East girls' lacrosse, No. 7. Bedford (10-4-0) did the same to No. 10. Arlington Catholic (6-8-0), 17-1. AHS coach comments earlier Matt O'Loughlin, coach of girls' softball, wrote: "The infield played incredible defense all game." He noted these highlights: Janelle Lucente, a junior: (complete game) 7K, 2W, 2ER; Olivia DeMarco, a senior: 3-3, 2 triples and a stolen base; and Natallia Fotopoulos: 3-4, 3RBI and a stolen base. Because AHS played only league games this year because of Covid, his knowledge of Boston Latin is limited. "I do know that they had a lot of success in a tough DCL league," he wrote. "They have a strong starting pitcher that throws a lot of strikes, and knows how to work the ball in the zone. They also play solid defense. Winchester was a good team, and Boston Latin held them to one run in a 2-1 first-round win." Dec. 13, 2020: Arlington fall-sports standouts among those honored amid pandemic This news summary was published Saturday, June 19, 2021, and updated June 24. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.