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Lakers baseball off to hot start

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There’s not really a much better way the Silver Lake high baseball team could have started their season, especially after graduating a talented senior class last year.

No, they are not on their way to an undefeated season anymore, but they still have one of the best records in the state.

Beginning the year with seven wins in a row, the Lakers took their first loss of the year Monday, April 24; they fell 6-3 to the Hanover Indians.

Regardless, the Lakers have plenty of reason to be confident this season. After all, their record speaks for itself.

For starters, their starting pitching core is strong. As expected, junior Dan Collins has emerged as the team’s ace.

He won each of his first three starts. Each time, he hurled a complete game and in the process, struck out a total of 33 batters.

Complementing him is a freshman southpaw, Nolan Hughes, who has picked up wins in both of his career varsity outings. He tossed complete games in both of those outings and in his most recent win he struck out eight batters. Senior Trevor Dennett gives the Lakers another particularly strong arm in their rotation; he threw a two-hitter against Duxbury on April 14.

At the plate, three-year varsity starter Josh Harvey has consistently been one of the team’s top bats, showing off extra-base power.

Speaking of which, their senior center-fielder, Aidan O’Neill, blasted a home run earlier in the season.

Junior shortstop Mike Quigley, who had an RBI in the team’s win over Bridgewater-Raynham last week, is another key piece of the team’s lineup.

The same could be said for Collins when he is in the lineup, manning third base and junior outfielder Alex Bejarano, who began the year hitting .471 (8-for-17).

The Lakers next game is this Friday, Apr. 28, at home against Scituate High School (4:00 p.m.).

Lakers Baseball wins pitcher’s showdown

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Many people will pay more attention to what a team can do at the plate; in reality though, the offense does not need to work as hard or be as successful if the team receives a strong outing on the mound. In fact, if a team does not receive a strong outing from their pitcher, they might not be able to contend at all — no matter how much talent they have on offense.

For the Silver Lake High School baseball team, that pitching has been a major key to their success this season. On Tuesday, Apr. 11, the Lakers got locked up in a pitchers’ duel alongside the Plymouth South Panthers — and the Lakers pitching proved supreme. Taking it to extra innings on the road, they were able to come away with a 1-0 win at Forges Field. The win improved the Lakers to 3-0 on the season.

Dan Collins was sharp throughout, pitching a complete game and earning the win, which made his record 2-0. The starter tossed eight scoreless innings, struck out 15 batters and held the Panthers to just two hits.

The Lakers also could not do much offensively but once the final inning–the eighth inning–rolled around, they were able to do something.

Mike Quigley got on base via a walk and he ended up scoring the game-winning run. Aidan O’Neill smacked the game-winning hit up the middle to give the Lakers their 1-0 lead.

For most of the contest though, the Lakers offense was silent. They had a strong to score off with two men on base in the third inning with one man down, but a pair of strikeouts halted that effort.

Collins did not even allow a hit until there was one out in the fifth inning. He then intentionally walked a batter and followed that up with a strikeout to finish the inning.

The Lakers next home game is Monday, Apr. 24 against Hanover.

SL Softball looks toward another strong season

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When you’re one of the top programs around, it’s hard to get much better.

With that in mind, it would be tough for the Silver Lake High softball team to improve upon last year’s team after winning out their regular season and making a deep playoff run. After all, they did go 25-1, win a Patriot League title, and make it to the Division 1 South Sectional finals. Albeit that may be a challenge to duplicate that sort of year. However, there is no reason why they could not have yet again another successful season.

Of course, the team is without last year’s Gatorade player of the year, Maddy Barone, and they likely do not have one player who can directly fill that void. But hopes are high for pitcher Jill Richards, who will likely be a workhorse starter for the team this season. As a sophomore and a junior, Richards threw six scoreless outings which is important because starting pitchers in softball are used more frequently and for much longer outings than baseball pitchers. To put it this way, Barone went 23-1 with a 0.47 ERA and 215 strikeouts last season.

Looking up and down the lineup, the Lakers have what it takes yet again to produce some runs. They return three (senior) Patriot League All-Stars: catcher Emily Critch, shortstop Caroline Videtto and center fielder Kelly Danahy. Last year, however, Danahy played second base.

Speaking of experienced players, senior  Anna Battista is back on varsity for the fourth straight year and she will be the team’s everyday right fielder.

The Lakers have a versatile team this season. Senior Alex Ruprecht, juniors Brenna Walsh and Coyle Shropshire, plus sophomores Hannah Mitchell, Amanda Harris and Izzy Ruprecht are all capable of playing more than one position. And junior Michaela Nista and freshman Ali Sylvester will also make meaningful contributions to the team all season long.

The Lakers next game is Monday, Apr. 17 against Bridgewater-Raynham at noontime on the road.

Lakers Girls’ Lacrosse team brings experience

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There is nothing fun about losing, but the past couple losing seasons the Silver Lake girls’ lacrosse team has endured could very well lead them to success this time around.

Even as they missed out on the playoffs last season, the Lakers were competitive, finishing their year at 8-12. In fact, it was their best record yet and a major upgrade over 2015 when they won just two games.

As last year progressed, the Lakers got hot. Albeit their first half underwhelmed, starting the year at 2-7, they went 6-5 in their final 11 which is an indication their team grew as the year progressed. And it is not like most of the players who gained that experience and progressed are gone either; the Lakers only lost two players to graduation: Emily Hanson on the attack and goalkeeper Colby Nolan. While both were valuable contributors, the Lakers are fortunate that most of their team returned.

Allowing just 8.6 goals per contest last season, defense is expected to be the Lakers’ strength and it will be up to seniors Jess Howard, Danielle Levin, Mikaela Wilson, Sophia Quinn and Tess Grieber to limit the opposition’s attack this season.

On the attack, the Lakers seniors Leah Mason and Nina Whidden, who were Patriot League All-Stars last year, and Cameron Daly to pour in goals this season. After all, the trip combined for 65 scores last season which was more than 40 percent of the team’s offensive production.

With this sort of experience coming back and the success they enjoyed for much of last year, the Lakers look as though they are built for postseason contention. In order for a team playing a 20 game schedule to make it to the playoffs, they would need 10 wins.

The Lakers next home game is Tuesday, Apr. 11 against the Hanover Indians, who went 11-6 last season.

Silver Lake Boys’ Lacrosse on the rise

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After last year, there is really only one direction the Silver Lake boys’ lacrosse team can move.

The young squad hit a learning curve last year on their way to a 1-17 finish where the lone bright spot was a 12-4 win against a Milton in their final game of the season. Milton did not win a game last season.

Fortunately for the Lakers, however, they had a rather small senior class last year and only lost three starters to graduation. Unfortunately for them last year, two of those regulars were hurt for most of the season. On the bright side now though, it means their squad built up experience last season and is used to competing at the varsity level.

This year, the team will most likely be led by senior Drew Neal, who was the team’s leading scorer last season and their lone Patriot League All-Star.

Looking deeper at the attack, senior Nolan McDonald should be another major asset to the team, like he was last year. The same could be said for junior Owen Nally, who netted three goals in the team’s win over Milton last season.

Sophomore Preston Nichols, who emerged as the team’s goalkeeper early in the year last season is expected to resume his duties in net once again this season.

Of course, while this sort of experience will help the Lakers, it will not cure all of their problems. They still dropped 17 games in a row last year and struggled at times, but they did finish out the 2016 season strong. In addition to that win over Milton, their second to last game was a tight 9-8 loss to Abington where the Lakers were competitive throughout the contest.

Playing a tough Patriot League schedule does the Lakers no favors, but it does afford them the opportunity to compete against quality competition nearly every single game.

The Lakers won their  season opener against North Quincy/Quincy in a non-league matchup on Monday, April 3 with a score of 11 – 3.  In their first home game, Monday, April 10,  Lakers will face Oliver Ames, who went 10-10 last year.

Baseball team ready to compete

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This could be just as good a year as any for the Silver Lake baseball team.

Fresh off a 21-6 season where they won first Division 1 South Sectional championship, the Lakers roster was not wiped out by graduation, which is always a positive indication.

Specifically, they will have a strong presence on the mound with Dan Collins, a junior, Trevor Dennett, a senior, and Alex Heffernan, a sophomore, back on the bump, anchoring their starting rotation.

“They all won big games for us last year, so their experience will be nice to have,” Lakers head coach Kenny Tocci said.

When he is not on the mound Collins, who was a Patriot League All-Star last year, is also a valuable third baseman.

Aidan O’Neill, a senior center fielder, enters his third year as a varsity starter, as does junior catcher Josh Harvey is now a three-year starter. Junior shortstop Steven Quigley is back at shortstop once again this year. Along with Collins, the trio should be a strong part of the Lakers lineup.

Another asset this Lakers team brings is their flexibility and willingness to do what is best for the team.

“We also have many guys who can play multiple positions and their versatility will help with making in game moves,” Tocci said.

Checking out his team’s schedule, Tocci said there was not one game that stood out as more important to win than another.

“Every game is a big game because we only have so many to play,” he said. “The most important is the game in hand. We don’t overlook anyone because our league is too good to do so and if we disrespect anyone by looking past them, that’s when bad things happen. Sounds cliché, but that’s truly our approach. No one game, no matter who it is against, means more than another. They all matter; that’s why we play them.”

While the Lakers have a talented squad, their main focus will just be improving each and every day.

“If we do that good things will happen,” Tocci said. “Proof is in how we’ve performed in that we have won the Patriot League five years in a row with the mentally of just focus on getting better each day, focus on one game at a time and in those games try and win one inning at a time and we will be fine.”

The Lakers begin their season on Tuesday, Apr. 4 against East Bridgewater.

Halifax’s Stewart helps NDA Hockey to State Title

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This has become a regular thing for the Notre Dame Academy (Hingham, Mass.) girls’ hockey team, and one local was a major part of their success.

The Cougars finished their season 23-0-1 and on Sunday, Mar. 19, they topped Canton High, 5-2, in the Division 2 State Championship at TD Garden. The team is led by their three junior captains on defense, including Halifax’s Meredith Stewart.

“It’s amazing,” Stewart said of the win. “I didn’t even think it was real until the final buzzer sounded. It’s just amazing to be able to come here two years in a row and win it with your teammates.”

For the Cougars, not only was the win significant in that they proved themselves as the top school in their division, but they also defended last year’s state title–their first in school history.

Albeit the Cougars returned a talented squad this season, one thing really stood out: they did not have any seniors on their roster. As a result, it led to some players having to step up and lead the squad at a younger age, including Stewart.

“We had good role models last year,” she said. “Our captains last year kind of paved the way for us. We just relied on each other and encouraged each other all year. It worked out well.”

Stewart was a fixture on a Cougars defense that allowed a mere 27 goals in 24 games this season. Statistically speaking, they were arguably the state’s top defense this season. So what made them so special?

“We have some experience back there and worked really hard,” she said. “We encouraged one another, believed in each other which got ourselves through those games.”

While it is still about a year away, perhaps the Cougars could win a third straight title next season. After all, they had no seniors on this year’s squad, so they could retain their entire team and gain talent from an incoming freshman class.

Of course, there are no guarantees as there is always the potential for transfers, but the Cougars should be in contention once again next season.

Halifax’s Grindle making a major impact on Bridgewater State softball

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Usually, it takes awhile before freshmen make any sort of significant contributions to a team, whether it be in high school or college athletics. This is especially the case when there are six seniors and four juniors on the team, but that has been anything but the case for one Halifax native playing college softball locally.

On the Bridgewater State softball team, Halifax’ Shannon Grindell has not wasted any time adjusting to the rigors of college athletics. The freshman, who plays shortstop and third base, is emerging as one of her team’s top players.

In the first week of her collegiate career, she played in ten games and hit .324 with two doubles and 10 RBI. She even led the team with a .471 slugging percentage.

What has made her career in the making even more impressive is that she hit a homerun in her first career at-bat for the Bears against Mount Mary on March 5.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference noticed her strong start to her career and named her their Softball Rookie of the Week on Monday, Mar. 13.

To start the week, Grindell had hits in seven of her 10 games and had a combined four hits in her past two games.

Grindell also had a memorable high school career at Silver Lake, from which she graduated in 2016. Some may remember she hit a walkoff homerun in the 11th inning of the Division 1 South sectional finals her junior year against King Philip in 2015.

The Bears were 4-6 on the season to start the season and spent the first week of the season playing doubleheaders in Naples and Fort Myers, Florida before they came back up north to start league play against UMass Boston on Thursday, Mar. 23. Thursday’s doubleheader against UMass Boston was also the Bears first home games.

Former Laker basketball players shine in college

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Bouchard healthy, going strong

Injuries kept him off the basketball court, but they could not stop him from coming back strong.

After missing two seasons of his college basketball career, UMass Dartmouth guard Tucker Bouchard, a junior, worked his way back onto the basketball court this season for once again another strong campaign.

Seeing the court for the first time since the 2013-2014 season, Bouchard did not see the minutes he did as a freshman when he averaged 15.4 points per game, but was still a valuable contributor nonetheless.

Off the bench, he played a significant role for the Division 3 squad, averaging 20.8 minutes per game on the floor. He made the most of that time, averaging 8.8 points per contest with a 46.9 field goal percentage and a 38.1 percent 3-point rate.

Despite not attending Silver Lake, the former Laker still holds a special place in team history. Homeschooled for his childhood education by his parents, Bouchard was able to play for the Lakers basketball team and in doing so, scored 1031 points in his high school career. At the same time he was making history for the Lakers, he was also earning college credits at Quincy College.

Bouchard’s younger brother, Tanner, who also scored 1,000 career points as Laker, also played basketball at UMass Dartmouth as a freshman and he too was a guard, who saw time off the bench.

Bouchard still has another year of eligibility remaining.

Knight stars as a freshman

As a freshman at Massasoit Community College, another Lakers hoops alum, Monica Knight, had a bright year for the girls’ basketball team.

The 5-foot-10 center and forward started in 19 of the 22 games she played in. During those games, she averaged 12.4 points per game while hitting 44.8 percent of her shots. Putting up 12.4 rebounds per contest, Knight averaged more than a double-double per contest.

With her strong performance for the junior college program, Knight could receive interest to continue her career past next season.

Laker basketball players recognized by Patriot League

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When teams experience success in a season, then odds are they are going to be recognized for it in some way or another. Sure, not every team is destined for the championship each and every season — and some never make it — but it does not discount the work the team puts in on a daily basis. Not to mention it does not take away from positive character traits off the court.

Every year, the Patriot League does their best to recognize a few of these sorts of student-athletes who excel at their sport, away from their sport and in life. Recently, the league announced it’s All-Star roster and list of awards for both the Keenan Division and Fisher Division in both boys’ and girls’ basketball. Here is a look at which Lakers received league wide recognition.

Senior forward Cam Keefe earned the nod for the Keenan Division boys’ basketball All-Star team in his final season with the Lakers. The captain was a key component in his team’s high-powered offense and helped lead them to a playoff appearance.

In contrast, the Lakers girls’ basketball team had one of their youngest players earn a spot on their list. For them, freshman guard/forward Holly Reeder-Morning earned the nod, an indication of heir bright future with the rebuilding squad.

The girls’ hoops team also received the Patriot League Keenan Division sportsmanship award.

As for individual sportsmanship awards, junior forward Emily Hapgood earned the award for the girls squad while Cy Kenku was recognized for the same honor on the boys side for the Lakers

Junior forward Sydney Kehoe won the girls scholar athlete award for the Lakers while senior center Jack Bettle earned the scholar athlete award for his team.

Each team in the division had at least one All-Star while every team had a one scholar athlete and a sportsmanship award winner. The Whitman-Hanson boys’ team, who won the Division 2 South Sectional playoff bracket, had the most league All-Stars (four).