Hornet lacrosse team celebrates a win against rival Hamilton Wenham 13-7.
(Photo Mark DiPasquale)
Softball:
On April 11, the Hornets softball team visited Hamilton Wenham. The Hornets trailed 8-3 going into the 5th inning, then had a huge inning scoring 8 runs. The Hornets held on to the lead the rest of the way winning it 14-11. Anna Gardner was 3-5 with an RBI. Anna had a single, double, and triple. Penelope Riggs was 2-4 with an RBI. Kyra Levasseur was 1-3 with an RBI. The game ended in exciting fashion. On a wild pitch, catcher Cami Friedrich flipped the ball to pitcher Abby Aiello to get the out on a very close play at the plate. Abby Aiello pitched the last five innings for the win.
On April 14, the Hornets took on a tough Pentucket team and lost 20-0. Anna Gardner and Abby Taron had hits on the day and quality at bats.
The Hornets had two tough games during the vacation week with Danvers and North Reading. The Hornets lost to Danvers 15-0. Kyra Levasseur, Abby Aiello, and Katie Crompton had hits on the day. Abby Aiello was able to reach base 3 times against the Falcons. On the following day, the Hornets lost to North Reading 17-2. Abby Aiello, Anna Gardner, Penelope Riggs, Sydney Hemme, and Cami Friedrich had hits on the day. Kyra Levasseur and Penelope Riggs each had an RBI. The Hornets now stand at 3-4 on the season.
Boys Lacrosse:
Game writeup @ St. Mary’s Lynn
The Manchester Essex boys lacrosse team traveled down the North Shore to St. Mary’s of Lynn for the second game of the weekend for an out of conference matchup. The game would be scoreless for about seven minutes of the first quarter before the visiting Hornets strike first by senior Jesse Oliver with a finish in tight. Manchester would score five straight and lead 5-0 after the first quarter. Oliver, Declan Kirk, Doug Pratt, and Quinn Brady would all score in the first half for the Hornets, where they would lead 10-1 at halftime.
Throughout the second half, the Hornets would gain multiple possessions off of draws from Kirk, Brady, and Junior Stephen Martin who went 3/4 on face-offs in the third and fourth quarters. Senior Wyatt Doyle would score his first two goals as a varsity member in transition play, while freshman Charlie Thurlow would add one of his own on the doorstep, also his first of the season. A strong defensive outing by freshman Aaron Crompton (1ct, 2gbs), Brodie Tolo (1gb) and Brennan Twombley would hold St. Mary’s scoreless all second half. First year Connor Dickson would also play the second half, tallying two stops in the outing. Final score was all Manchester Essex 15-1. 12 different players registered points during the win.
Game Scoring: Jesse Oliver - 4g, 2a, Quinn Brady - 3g, 1a, Wyatt Doyle - 2g, Alex Fraser - 1g,Declan Kirk - 1g, 4a, Doug Pratt - 1g, 2a, Charlie Thurlow - 1g, Chase Dickson - 1g, Carson Croft - 1g, 1a, Matt Russo - 1a, Cam Hubbard - 1a, Stephen Martin - 1a, Jack Dipasquale - 2 saves, 1 goal allowed and Connor Dickson - 2 saves, 0 goals allowed.
Hornets of Manchester Essex traveled to future CAL school in 2024, the Hawks of Essex Tech for a Friday morning April 21st game during Spring break week. Once again, it would be senior captain Declan Kirk to find the back of the net first for the visiting Hornets to put them up 1-0 early. Senior Sam Athanas would find the back of the net in transition off a feed from Jesse Oliver to cut the lead to 2. The Hornets
defense, led by Mark Pollock (3 Caused turnovers) Brennan Twombley, and Danny wood would hold Essex Tech scoreless in the first quarter. Oliver would register a goal in the second quarter, as well as Quinn Brady on a man up tally to put the Hornets up 4-1, before Essex Tech would fight back and score late in the first half to cut the lead for Manchester Essex to 4-2 heading into halftime.
Manchester Essex would outscore the home team Hawks 3-2 in the second half, thanks to goals by Declan Kirk, Quinn Brady, and Jesse Oliver, each tallying two goals apiece. Jack Dipasquale backboned the Hornets defense making 4 big saves in the second half to be just enough to secure another win on the road. With under two minutes remaining, Mac Edgerton and Jesse Oliver would battle for possession time and draw two penalties to allow time to expire with the ball in the Hornets possession. Final score was 7-3, albeit a low scoring game for the offense, the defense came to play exceptionally well and caused havoc for Essex Tech all game. Manchester Essex improves to 6-0 on the season, making 2023 one of the best starts in recent school history.
Game Scoring: Jesse Oliver - 2g, 1a, Quinn Brady - 2g, Declan Kirk - 2g, 1a, Sam Athanas - 1g, Mac Edgerton - 1a, Cam Hubbard - 1a and Jack Dipasquale - 7 saves, 3 goals allowed.
The Manchester Essex Hornets hosted CAL rival school Hamilton Wenham on a brisk Tuesday evening April 18th at Hyland field. Off to a quick start, Declan Kirk found the back of the net early in the first quarter to put the home team on the board first. Within minutes, Quinn Brady would tally one of his four on the day to extend the lead to two, before the visiting Generals would score one of their own in settled offense. Doug Pratt would also score for the Hornets in the first. The Hornets would win 13 face-offs in the first half, to allow possession time for the offense to put up 8 goals in the first half, to Hamilton Wenham’s 3.
Second half surge for the Hornets offense was halted when Hamilton Wenham would score a few of their own on key possession times, after the Hornets would go man down quite frequently in the third. As the game went on, both teams became more physical on loose balls, and the relentless ride from the Hornets attack lead by Jesse Oliver (5g), Alex Fraser (1g) and Mac Edgerton (1a) forced the Generals to turn the ball over causing many failed clear attempts. The Hornets regained control of ball possession time the fourth, and would eventually win 13-7 to run the clock out with ball possession. Hornets would improve to 5-0 on the year and remain perfect in the CAL.
Game Scoring: Jesse Oliver - 5g, Quinn Brady - 4g, Alex Fraser - 1g, Declan Kirk - 1g, Doug Pratt - 1g, Chase Dickson - 1g and Jack Dipasquale - 8 saves, 7 goals allowed
Boys Tennis:
The Manchester Essex boy's tennis team improved to 3-2 on the young season with wins over Rockport and Gloucester this past week. Rockport had come into the match against the Hornets undefeated and was looking to stay that way. The match was an extremely tight 4-1 win for the Hornets with points coming from Jack Cummins in a three-set battle with Cummins taking the final set 6-0. Second singles featured excellent some excellent footwork from Charlie Virden who took the match in straight sets (6-0, 6-3). The first doubles tandem of Jan Vytopil and Sander Breuker won their match in three sets, while second doubles with Finn Birkeland and Jack Lawler won handily in straight sets. The Hornets would next travel to Gloucester to take on the stout Fisherman side; however, Gloucester was without their 2 and 3 singles players in a match played right before the April vacation week. Nonetheless, Gloucester played the Hornets very tough in a 1-4 loss. Charlie Virden took his match handily as did both doubles teams. The match of the day came at third singles with Finn Straub winning in a three-set battle while first doubles won in three sets and second doubles won in straight sets. The Hornets have a busy week this week with matches against North Reading, Newburyport, Amesbury and Hamilton Wenham.
Sailing:
During the vacation week we held sailing practice every day which was directed at bringing the newest and youngest sailors up to speed. The coach jumped into the 420s with each of the individual sailors for a hands-on lesson in tacking, gybing, trimming, and easing sails, reading wind shifts and practical boat handling. On Thursday and Friday, we embarked on a cruise around Misery Island, after an initial attempt on Wednesday was curtailed by very strong winds. On our circumnavigations, we encountered boisterous winds between Misery and Bakers Islands, and an easy tour of the protected harbor between Big and Little Misery. All those who attended practice made huge strides in learning new skills as both crew and skipper. We have a busy schedule this coming week, with one-on-one meets against Beverly, Landmark and Wayland.
Baseball:
ME 10, Amesbury 9. We we’re able to find a way to keep the bats hot thanks to our great leadership and experienced roster. Zak Parot hit a go ahead 3 run home run and was the winning pitcher. Mike Deoreo 2-3 with 3 RBI’s. Troy flood was 2-4 with 2 RBI’s.
HW 14, ME 6. Mike Deoreo went 2-3. Zak Parot 1 for 2 with an RBI. Errors were a big killer for us this game but it’s something every team goes through. We won’t be able to get to that next level without making mistakes and this was just one of those games. I’m proud of our program and where we’re going!
BF 4, ME 2. Matteo Sarmanian pitched 4 innings no earned runs with 3 k’s Satchel Rubin and Zak Parot with RBI singles. We came up just short against Bishop Fenwick. Again, this was a game where we knew we would be tested and where we knew we had to play our best. Bishop Fenwick is a great program with a lot of talent. After Marblehead next Monday we look forward to getting into conference play where we look to get back on track for the remainder of the season!
