Wakefield Spring Sports Recap

It wasn’t exactly the best of times for Wakefield High athletics this spring, but neither was it the worst of times.

With the notable exception of the boys lacrosse team, the Warriors were shut out of the MIAA’s postseason party, but every Wakefield squad battled hard all season and should be proud of the effort and dedication they displayed.

Head coach Eric Gobiel’s lacrosse team qualified for the MIAA Division 2 East Sectionals, but lost a heartbreaking 11-10 decision to Middlesex League rivals Burlington in the preliminary round despite four goals from Alec Brown. The Warriors (11-8) finish the season 0-8 in games decided by three goals or fewer, accounting for all their losses during the term. All of Wakefield’s wins came by six goals or more, proving that it truly was a case of feast or famine for the Warriors this season.

The squad’s signature wins on the year included a 19-1 whitewashing of the Malden back on April 7, and a 12-5 win over Division 1 playoff team Medford on April 20. Ryan Doherty led the Warriors against Malden with six scores and an assist, while Mike Dellano tallied four goals and three assists and Brown netted three and assisted on one. Goaltender Sam Bridges collected 10 saves during the rout.

It was a streaky season in terms of results for Wakefield this past campaign.

The Warriors went four and two to open the spring, but then dropped the next five of six before closing the regular season on a five game winning streak.

The girls side wasn’t quite as fortunate, missing the postseason with a 6-10 overall mark. 

While the Middlesex League brain trust may not be interested in absorbing the five schools of the Greater Boston League any time soon, Cara Luca and her Lady Warriors may well be of a different mind on the matter, as three of their wins came against their GBL neighbors to the south. Wakefield defeated Malden 15-6 on April 20. Junior Casey McAuliffe netted four in the contest, while juniors Alana DiNapoli, Samantha Morris and Paige Maguire each collected hat tricks for the Lady Warriors. Stephanie Wallace stopped 14 shots on the game as well.

Wakefield also beat Cambridge Rindge & Latin twice; by a 20-10 margin on May 9, and 15-8 on May 16. The team’s other three win came against Middlesex League foes Burlington (13-11, April 16), Watertown (17-16, April 18) and Melrose (12-9, April 28).

With exactly half the league qualifying for the postseason, the Middlesex League was one of the toughest baseball conferences in the state this season, and the stiff competition proved a bridge too far for the Wakefield baseball team, as it returned a 7-13 mark on the year and missed out on the playoffs. The highlights of the year were the season opening 6-5 win over Wilmington of the Cape Ann League, and the pair of thrilling overtime contests with ML baseball power Melrose.

Back on April 8, the Warriors opened the season with a nail-biting victory over the Wildcats on a Connor O’Brien walk-off single to right in the bottom of the seventh, after heading into the sixth trailing 4-0. Wilmington avenged the loss a week later with a 3-2 win over Wakefield at home. As for their border rivals, Melrose, the Warriors lost a 10-inning marathon back on May 3, as Red Raiders ace Ryan Hardy worked all 10 frames and fanned a like number of Warriors batsmen.

Wakefield would be avenged on May 23, as they handed Melrose a costly league defeat in eight innings, behind seven strong innings from Brandon DeLeire, who also scored the winning run.

Despite graduating Boston Herald All-Scholastic pitcher Nicole Mercurio, optimism was high for coach Richard Quattrocchi and his Lady Warriors squad heading into the 2011 campaign. With a solid group of returning players, the tournament and the Middlesex League were the immediate targets.

Things didn’t exactly shake out that way.

The Lady Warriors didn’t miss out on the postseason by much, and had they made just a few more key hits, the season could have gone a lot differently. Wakefield was just 1-6 in one-run games this year.

The lone one-run win came against ML powerhouse Reading, the school at which Quattrocchi spent some 15 seasons as an assistant coach. Wakefield dealt the seventh-ranked (Boston Globe) Rockets league title hopes a decisive blow with a 4-3 win in extra frames.

Laura Caton surrendered an early three-run bomb to Reading’s Meghan Kelly, but recovered to retire the next 21 batters she faced. Megan Leary sparked the comeback with three RBIs, and doubled home Taylor Purcell in the ninth to break the 3-3 tie and give Wakefield the signature win of its season.

After struggling to a 2-5 mark during the year, the Wakefield boys track team sent Stephen Robertson to compete at the MIAA All-State Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Bridgewater State University on June 4.

Robertson ran the 2-mile run and placed a respectable 12th with a time of 9:43.28.

The girls track team sent Patty Malone to the All States to compete in the 100 meter dash. Malone ran a 13.08 and finished in 21st place.

It wasn’t a great season for either of the Wakefield tennis teams, as the boys went 1-14 and the girls were 1-9.

The boys posted their win against Burlington with a 4-1 decision on May 13, while the girls defeated Woburn on May 3.