| National League CardinalsDefeat Braves In Dramatic Come From Behind Victory |
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| The Cardinals Henry Hall after a hit in the game against the Braves |
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6-14-09, Weston,- The National League Cardinals beat the Braves 10-9 in a fifth and six inning come from behind rally, to knock the Braves out of second place in the National League championship race.
"I thought we played amazing, best game of the season." said Cardinal Max Barsamian. "We came back and scored six runs in one inning so I think we did great."
The Braves got on the board first with an offensive surge starting with lead-off batter Jack Fleckner's line drive to center. Fleckner took second then Brendan McInerney got a base hit and then took second, putting runners on second and third. Colton Whorf smacked a single to right, scoring Fleckner and McInerney, then stole second. With one out, Will Christiansen hit a grounder to second, scoring Whorf, but took the out at first. Matt Paul hit a single and Mark DeBenedictis hit a grounder to short, putting runners on first and third. Paul would cross the plate on a wild pitch and the Braves would end the top of the first up 4-0.
The Braves would extend their lead in the top of the third when lead-off batter Reese Nickerson got hit with a pitch and took first. With two outs, Colton Whorf hit a grounder to third that was bobbled, which allowed Nickerson to take third and sent Whorf safely to first. Nick Revers hit an RBI single, scoring Nickerson and Will Christiansen came up big with a snare to right, that scored Whorf. Matt Paul hit an RBI single that scored Revers and the Braves ended the top of the third up 7-0.
The Cardinals would battle back in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Max Barsamian took first on a walk, Henry Hall hit a single to left and Andrew Hall drew a walk, to load the bases. Marshall Clemens stepped up to the plate and hit a double to right that scored Barsamian and Henry Hall. Cardinal Jason Schwartz took first on a walk and the Braves made a pitching change from Colton Whorf to Jake Flecker. Cardinal Andrew Hall would cross the plate on a wild pitch before ending the inning with the Braves up 7-3.
The Braves would score two more runs in the top of the fifth on a Brendan McInerney RBI triple to left, then McInerney would cross the plate on a wild pitch to give the Braves a 9-3 lead.
"I thought the game was over," said Cardinal Henry Hall. "I was thinking we needed to come back or else it is over."
In the bottom of the fifth the Cardinals would come back thanks to some hot bats. Garrett Howell would lead-off with a line drive double to center, then Max Barsamian hit a single to center putting runners on first and third. The Hall brothers would then combine for an RBI single and an RBI double, making the score 9-5, Braves. Marshall Clemens would connect for his second double, scoring Henry Hall and Jason Schwartz hit a double through the hole at short to score Andrew Hall and Clemens and bring the Cardinals within one. The Braves would make a pitching change to Charlie Moore, and Schwartz would take third and home on wild pitches to tie the game at 9 and end the inning.
"We made a good comeback and scored six runs thanks to a bunch of hits from everyone," said Jason Schwartz.
In the bottom of the sixth, it looked like the game would go into extra innings thanks to a couple of outstanding defensive plays by Braves center fielder Matt Paul. With two outs and runners on first and second, Cardinal Marshall Clemens hit a snare to right to put the winning Cardinal run across the plate and ended to game with a dramatic 10-9 Cardinal victory.
"It feels pretty good," said Andrew Hall. "We battled back to win."
"It was a great game," said Braves Head Coach. "Tonite the Cardinals played their hearts out and held in there and came back and beat us in the bottom of the sixth. Our kids built a lot of character this year."
He added, "They all improved, had fun and they are all winners."
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| Previous Headline From 6-1-09 |
| Wildcat Girls Varsity Lacrosse Wins in Semi-Final,Then Takes Second Place In Division Final |
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| Wildcat Girls Varsity Lacrosse team before the North Region final game against North Andover |
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6-4-09, Weston- Last Tuesday, the Wildcat Girls Varsity lacrosse team defeated their opponent, Pentucket in the MIAA Division 2 North semi-finals, 18-12. In the decisive win, the Wildcats characteristically handled the game as a team.
"Im really glad that this was a total team effort," said Head Coach Kelly Trahon. "I'm really proud of my attack. We had eight different goal scorers and it was great to see that. It was an all-around great team win."
The Wildcat's went into half time up 9-6 then came out blazing in the second half, scoring six unanswered goals to set the tone for the solid Wildcat victory.
"We all put out 100 percent effort, if not more," said Freshman Emma Dagres. "And by working together as a team we were able to come up with the win."
"We also have great senior leadership on this team," said Senior Co-Captian Cyana Chilton. "So it's important that the underclassmen step up, and on our team we have a great balance of everyone producing. It's not just a few people doing the work."
Wildcat Emma Dagres had four goals, Junior Abby D'Angelo contributed three goals and Sophomore Lindsay McCabe, Junior Katie Daly, Senior Co-Captain Kelsey Nickerson, Junior Julia Marvel and Freshman Julia Meehan contributed two goals each and Senior Alison Bennett had one goal.
"We are so excited that we are in the state finals and it is a huge accomplihment for our team," said Emma Dagres.
Two days later, on Thursday, the girls traveled to North Andover, to play in the state finals against a team they lost to last season in the same division final game.
"We are looking forward to the chance to play North Andover," said Coach Trahon. "We lost in over-time last year so there is some rivalry there. I don't think I have to pump the girls up for it."
Weston got on the board first, on Emma Dagres' first of three goals at 21:06. Less than two minutes later, North Andover Senior Jen Pino tied the game, then Senior Kaitlyn Kleinendorst put North Andover ahead 2-1 at 14:47 on a penalty shot.
The Wildcats played tough defense, closing out North Andover's offensive attack but couldn't capitalize on their offensive posessions.
"Defense definitely did their job," said Emma Dagres. "During the transition I think that we moved too quickly and weren't waiting for open passes and they capitalized on our mistakes."
North Andover would strike again, after the Wildcats failed to score on two penalty shots, when North Andover Senior Brianna Connolly snuck past a Weston defender at 2:51. North Andover's Junior Jenna Armstrong would score at 2:21, giving her team a 4-1 lead with two minutes to play in the half. The Wildcat's Emma Dagres would come up with her second goal at 1:27 to cut the lead in half then North Andover's Pino scored on a penalty shot with 4 seconds left, sending her team to half-time with a 5-2 lead.
"Coach was telling us that we needed to capitalize on their mistakes, and to protect our sticks," said Dagres. "We needed to utilize our confidence and our heart in order to win."
In the opening minutes of the second half, the Wildcats showed that heart when Dagres took a mid-field pass from Kelsey Nickerson, on a man down opportunity, and scored her third goal, making the score 5-3. Two minutes later, Nickerson would grab the rebound on a North Andover penalty shot, and bring the Wildcats within one goal at 22:55. It was then that North Andover went on to score three unanswered goals, six total.
"It was pretty even and I'm not quite sure what happened, maybe we lost confidence, and they scored like six goals in a row," Dagres said.
At 9:17, the Wildcats Nickerson scored her second goal on a penalty shot, making the score 8-5, North Andover. North Andover's Jen Pino went on to score three more unanswered goals, closing out the game at 11-5.
"Coach said it was a game of heart today because both teams had similar skills," Dagres said. "She said she was really proud of us overall."
"I'm really proud of what the girls accomplished this season with a 14-7 record, finishing second in the DCL small league behind Concord-Carlisle and making it to the Division II North Sectional Finals," said Coach Trahon. "This is actually our third time in 4 years making it to the Division II North Sectional Finals, which I think is pretty impressive. I'm especially proud of my seniors, they are a great group of girls and I'm really going to miss them next year. "
Wildcat Weekly would like to congratulate the five graduating seniors: Katherine Hsia, Whitney Trook, Alison Bennett, Kelsey Nickerson and Cyana Chilton for a job well done, and to thank them for all they have done to contribute to the winning tradition of Wildcats Girls Varsity Lacrosse. Thank you to the coaching staff and the entire team for a great season.
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