Sports
Weekly Melrose Sports Roundup: May 22-28
The regular season came to an end last week, and several Red Raider squads are headed to the postseason, while others weren't so fortunate. Here's a look at how the locals fared.
The spring season has been trying for .
With the incessant rain an ever-present nuisance, and the cloud cast by the emergence of photos showing Red Raider student athletes consuming alcohol and tobacco products—and the ensuing disciplinary actions—this spring has certainly been no walk in the park.
That being said, with several Melrose squads tournament bound, it’s time to put all that in the past for the time being and look to the future.
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It would seem the weather gods concur.
The forces of nature conspired to craft an absolutely perfect week for outdoor sports, and it was under pristine blue skies that the student athletes of Melrose High wrapped up the 2011 regular season.
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Baseball
The Melrose High baseball team faced the daunting challenge of top-ranked (Boston Globe) Lexington (20-0, 18-0 ML) on May 22, and despite a strong effort against the Minutemen’s ace Will Marcal (7-0), the Red Raiders fell 11-5. Marcal fired a complete game and fanned 12 Melrose batsmen.
The following day, neighboring Wakefield came to town and the result was thrilling. The last time the two teams faced each other, it took 10 innings to find a winner and Melrose prevailed behind a marathon complete game by moundsman Ryan Hardy. This time, it was Wakefield who pulled down an extra-innings victory, winning 4-3 in eight innings. Chris Fimiani and Jim Runge scored runs for the Red Raiders.
Melrose traveled to Lynn on May 24 to face St. Mary’s, and wound up on the wrong end of a 10-0 rout, and the following day, the Red Raiders welcomed Watertown to Pine Banks for the regular season finale. Runge doubled in the bottom of the eighth to plate Paul Ardizzoni with the winning run, as Melrose ended the term in style with a 10-9 win in extra frames.
The Red Raiders finish the year at 14-8 overall and 13-5 in the Middlesex League, and will await the announcement of seedings for the MIAA Division 1 North Sectionals, which are slated to be released on May 31 at 10 a.m.
Softball
On the softball diamond, the Lady Raiders took two of their last three games to end the season at 8-12 overall and 8-10 in the Middlesex League.
On May 23, Melrose nipped Wakefield 5-4 as Morgan Phipps took to the circle and came out the victor. Phipps aided her own cause with a bases-loaded triple as the Lady Raiders earned a senior day win. The Lady Raiders ended their season with a 3-2 win over Winchester on May 24, and lost against Burlington by an 11-5 margin on May 26.
Lacrosse
It’s been a tough year for the Melrose High boys lacrosse team, as its 4-12 final record would indicate. That being said, the Red Raiders ended on a high note with a tremendous 16-14 victory over Bishop Fenwick.
Nick Tuccinardi was named the Middlesex League Sportsman of the Year, a great honor for him personally, and for Melrose Athletics in general.
On the girls side of things, the Lady Raiders played just once last week—the season finale against Wakefield—and things didn’t go the way they would have liked. The Lady Warriors downed Melrose 24-10 and the Lady Raiders end the year at 4-15 overall.
Tennis
The boys tennis team faced Lexington on May 23 and lost 5-0, while the girls fell to the Minutemen by a 4-1 margin the same day.
The girls squad sealed their spot in the MIAA tournament with a 3-2 win over Wakefield back on May 16, and now await the release of pairings by the MIAA on June 1.
