Red Raiders Sports: Spring Season in Review

Now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled from the 2011 spring sports season, the time seems appropriate to take a look back at what was an eventful campaign for Melrose High athletics.

Several Red Raider squads qualified for postseason play, and although none of them were able to make all that much noise, the spring term can hardly be viewed in any other light than a positive one in terms of on-field performance.

The spring began rather inauspiciously for the MHS athletics department, as it was revealed in early May—just a month into the season—that 11 Melrose High student athletes had been identified in Facebook photos that depicted them drinking alcohol and using tobacco products. The news came after a similar incident during the 2010 season. The unnamed student athletes faced multiple game suspensions and the loss of any athletic captaincies as a consequence of their actions.

That being said, credit is due to both the spring coaches and the MHS athletics department for not allowing the incident to snowball, and persevering through the remainder of the schedule.

 Baseball reaches quarterfinals

Perhaps the most successful Melrose team of the spring was the baseball team, which finished the year at 15-9 overall and 13-5 in the brutally tough Middlesex League—good enough for third place. The Red Raiders qualified for the MIAA Division 2 North Sectionals and won a first round matchup against Arlington, 5-3, before falling to North Andover in the quarterfinals.

The term opened on a high note back on April 6, with revenge the order of the day, as Melrose faced Swampscott—the squad that knocked them out of playoff contention the year before.

The Red Raiders dispatched Big Blue with ease, running out to a 12-6 win on opening day behind five solid innings from Ryan Hardy and a long three-run home run from Conor Tryder.

Melrose would ride the momentum from its win in the opener and grab a pair of Middlesex League wins over Belmont and Burlington, before suffering its first loss of the year against border rivals Malden on April 16, by a 5-3 margin.

Four more consecutive ML victories followed the setback against the Golden Tornadoes, the last of which was surely one of the season’s signature wins.

On April 26, the Red Raiders found themselves deadlocked 3-3 on the road against the potent Rockets of Reading as the contest entered the top half of the seventh inning. Dan Riordan stepped into the box and promptly swatted the ball over the left field fence, giving Melrose a lead they would not relinquish, and a 4-3 win. In true baseball fashion, Riordan had made the final out of the bottom of the sixth, denying Reading the go-ahead run with a pinpoint throw to the catcher. Hardy went the distance, pitching seven strong frames to collect the win.

Melrose would win the next two of three, with the lone loss coming against league table toppers Lexington, who navigated the entire regular season without a loss.

That’s when things went a little off track for the Red Raiders.

Melrose would lose seven of its last 12 games, and surrender second place to Reading in the process, and nearly limped into the postseason on a four game skid. Only a narrow 10-9 win over league foes Watertown prevented that from being the case.

In the first round of the Division 2 North tournament, eighth-seeded Melrose drew number nine Arlington, and came out ahead at Pine Banks Park. Junior Brett Barbati led the offense as Melrose took a 5-3 victory. Barbati went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, while Chris Burton collected a pair of RBIs. Hardy picked up the win for the Red Raiders pitching six strong innings, and senior Andy Scocca came on to work the seventh for the save.

Melrose lost in the quarterfinals to eventual Division 2 North champs North Andover 10-3 on June 6.

While the Melrose softball team may have missed out on the playoffs this spring, it was a solid season for the Lady Raiders nonetheless, and they should all be proud of the character they displayed throughout.

After winning just two of their first eight, the Lady Raiders embarked upon a three game winning streak, toppling Watertown, Wakefield and Belmont—all on the road—between April 29 and May 3, but followed that with a five game skid. The Lady Raiders took care of ML rivals Watertown 10-1 on May 19, and came back to down border rivals Wakefield 5-4 on May 23. Morgan Phipps picked up the win from the circle and aided her own cause with a bases-loaded triple.

Melrose would defeat Winchester 3-2 on May 24, and finish the season with an 11-5 loss against Burlington on May 26.

 Boys, Girls Lacrosse Improving

Out on the lacrosse field, the MHS boys squad showed some improvement this year and despite missing out on the postseason, will enter next year with much reason for optimism.

Head coach Matt James’ first season at the helm saw the Red Raiders continue to progress as a team in the program’s third year of existence. Melrose finished at 3-12 overall and 0-9 in the Middlesex League, and received significant contributions from a number of players. 

C.J. Hanson led the Red Raiders in scoring this year with 21 goals and nine assists, while Cam McGuire bagged 11 goals and 12 assists. Connor Mason (15 goals) and Rich Taglieri (nine assists) also played key roles for Melrose this spring. Paul Hanson earned the boys lacrosse team’s Groundhog Award, as a leader on and off the field, while C.J. McCormack was awarded the Friends of Melrose Lacrosse Scholarship. Nick Tuccinardi garnered the Middlesex League’s Sportsman of the Year Award.

Melrose picked up two of its three wins against Bishop Fenwick of the Catholic Central League, but it was the second of these—the final game of the season—that was by far the most memorable contest of the spring for MHS.

On May 25, the Red Raiders nipped the Crusaders 16-14 behind six goals—including four in the fourth quarter—from C.J. Hanson, whose play in the final frame sealed the exciting win in the season finale.

The Melrose girls lacrosse team finished the spring at 4-15, and collected signature wins over Cambridge Rindge & Latin (23-4, May 11) and league rivals Watertown (17-15, May 13) along the way.

Girls Tennis Reaches Quarterfinals

It was a great year for Melrose High’s girls tennis team, as they made a run to the quarterfinals of the Division 2 North Sectionals, equalling the furthest they have ever made it under head coach Deb Deacon. The No. 13 Lady Raiders were ousted by Concord-Carlisle, 5-0, after defeating fourth-seeded Lynn Classical in the opening round by a score of 4-1. 

Melrose finished the year at 11-9.

The boys squad went 3-11 this season, with wins against Stoneham and twice against Watertown.

The MHS girls track team went 4-3, with wins over Winchester, Stoneham, Watertown and Wakefield, while the boys were 2-4, and posted victories against Belmont and Watertown.