Huge Week for Medford Softball

The weather gods conspired to craft a picture-perfect final week of the spring season, as the student athletes of Medford High wrapped up what has been a very successful term across the board.

Nearly all the Mustang squads will be competing in the postseason, and the final week of the season saw action across all arenas of play, as teams jockeyed for postseason position.

Here’s the rundown from the fields, courts and diamonds of Mustang country.

The Mustangs (14-4) softball team has been on fire as of late, and last week saw the crowning achievement of their season so far, as the MHS girls added the title of “Giant Killers” to their growing list of accomplishments. 

After scoring a dramatic walk-off win over perennial powerhouse Arlington Catholic on May 24, by virtue of a Kasey Moran triple and a Jackie Pellecchia RBI single in the seventh, the Mustangs followed that up with more late inning dramatics the following day against the Minutemen.

Medford fell behind 6-1 early against the Boston Globe’s No. 1 team, the Mustangs pushed across nine runs in the fifth to go up 10-6, but Lexington retaliated with a seven spot and took a 13-12 lead into the top of the seventh.

Kristina Bove and Pellecchia both reached base to start the frame, setting the table for freshman standout Sarah Donnelly, who split the outfielders with a double that plated two for Medford, putting them ahead to stay. Rayann Staude shut down the Minutemen in the bottom half of the inning, striking out the final two batters of the game to record the win. 

The late-inning heroics weren’t quite through yet, as the Mustangs faced Winchester the following day, and won in their final at bat for the third straight game. This time, it was sophomore Cristina Sweeney who drew a walk-off base on balls with the bases loaded to give the Mustangs a 7-6 win. Medford would win back-to-back games against Cambridge (8-3) and North Reading (6-3) on May 27 and 28, and will now wrap up the regular season at Everett on Memorial Day.

The Mustangs baseball squad had a busy week as well, playing five games and winning three.

On May 23, the day after being eliminated from the Greater Boston League title hunt by Everett, the Mustangs (14-5, 4-4 GBL) wrapped up their league schedule with a 7-3 loss against Cambridge Rindge & Latin. The following day, Medford got back on the right side of the ledger and edged out Waltham 3-2 behind sophomore moundsman John Lavoie’s terrific outing. Lavoie—who earned just his second varsity win—went the distance for the Mustangs, allowing one earned run, while fanning a pair of Waltham batsmen. Pat Duffy went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Chris Salvati and Steve Scire both collected an RBI apiece. Nick Rocco also plated a run and Mike Pizzi reached base in all three trips to the plate. 

The Mustangs downed Stoneham on May 25 by a 4-3 margin, as Danny Gilchrist went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Duffy also went 2-for-4 and plated a run. Tommy Flores (3-for-5, RBI, run scored) and Salvati (2-for-5) made significant contributions as well. Gilchrist fired two innings of relief work, striking out four and picking up his seventh win. Next it was Whittier Tech, and Medford took down a 7-3 decision behind the arm of Chris Hayes, who fired a complete game to earn his first varsity win.

Medford lost 2-0 on May 28 against streaking Malden Catholic, and will wrap up its season tomorrow at the Holovak Tournament against Arlington.

Seeding for the MIAA Sectionals will be announced on Tuesday, and the Mustangs will be eagerly anticipating learning the identity of their first postseason opponent.

The Medford High girls lacrosse squad wrapped up another terrific campaign on May 23, as they downed a tough North Reading team 13-10. The Mustangs finish the regular season at 16-4, and Olivia Timmins finished the year squarely amongst the state’s offensive leaders with an eye-popping 92 goals and 28 assists. No. 10 Medford faces seventh-seeded Reading tomorrow in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 North Sectionals in Reading at 11am.

On the boys side of the equation, Medford picked up two wins in its final two games, and heads into the postseason with a bit of momentum.

On May 24 the Mustangs slipped past Arlington by a 5-4 scoreline as Jack Forcier scored a late game winner for Medford and goalie Cam Howard stopped 13 shots. The following day, the Mustangs ended the regular season with 9-7 win over Mystic Valley, and finish as GBL champs with an 11-9 mark.

The Mustangs will travel to face Brookline in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 East Sectionals on June 1 at 5pm.

Medford boys tennis played four matches last week, but failed to find the winning formula and came out on the wrong end of all four. On May 24 it was Malden Catholic who edged the Mustangs 3-2, and on May 26 Medford fell 4-1 against CRLS in a Greater Boston League tilt. Latin Academy took down a 4-1 win on May 27, while Malden Catholic beat the Mustangs 4-1 on May 28 in the two squads’ second meeting of the week.

The Medford girls wrapped up their season against Cambridge on May 25, and fell 3-2 against the Falcons.

While neither one of Medford’s tennis teams qualified for the postseason, they competed hard all year and have much reason to hold their heads high.