Tryouts are already underway.
Even though the weather has refused to cooperate for the most part, our local spring teams are already back on the fields/diamonds/tracks gearing up for the new season. We have actual varsity lacrosse games starting as early as this upcoming weekend, with baseball, softball, track and tennis kicking off early-to-late next week.
It’s about to get real busy real fast.
So on the dawn of a new season, here are five spring storylines that we’re particularly interested in following over the next few months. Please note, these are in no order whatsoever.
1. Who’s taking over in the circle?
Across my five years on the beat, softball has been our premiere spring sport.
And that’s been mainly due to the elite pitchers that our five CAL schools have produced.
But this spring, two of those schools will have to replace legends in the circle.
At Triton, three-time Daily News MVP Emma Penniman and her 779 career strikeouts and 1.97 ERA have graduated out. Then it’s a similar story with Pentucket losing Molly LeBel, a four-year starter and three-time Daily News All-Star who finished with 774 career strikeouts and might be the best pitcher in program history.
How do you replace that?
Well, at Pentucket there is plenty of excitement around junior Ciara Pennie. Many believed she could have started at a lot of schools across the state a year ago if not for being behind LeBel, but she still served as a the team’s catcher and got that experience. I’m not sure there’s a leading candidtate at Triton, but whoever takes over should have a veteran catcher helping them out between Ava Johnson and Virginia Thompson.
2. Early boys lacrosse favorite: Pentucket
Three years ago, Pentucket boys lacrosse went undefeated in the CAL.
Could that happen again this spring?
Lofty expectations to put on a team, sure. But the Panthers won 13 games and made the Division 4 Round of 16 a year ago when they only had one senior on the roster. Everyone else is expected to be back.
That includes the program’s three Daily News All-Star from a year ago in top scorers Mac Cole (72g, 10a last year) and Nate Stys (56g, 19a), as well as do-it-all athlete Aiden Napolitano (29g, 12a). Also slated to return on the offensive end is Michael Torrisi (17g, 36), Senan Lucey (30g, 8a), Timmy Costantino (13g, 1a) and Henry Gagnon (9g, 1a), and defensive leaders Owen Ferrant and Jacob Haynes should join Napolitano in protecting second-year starting goalie Louie Martiniello.
And there are so many other expected returners who could have taken huge leaps forward this offseason.
It could end up being a special year in West Newbury.
Their biggest competition, of course, will be Newburyport.
3. Newburyport girls tennis model of consistency
It’s a program that’s made four straight trips to at least a state quarterfinal.
That of course started with back-to-back Division 3 State Championships in 2022 and ‘23, fueled by three-time Daily News MVP Caroline Schulson — who finished her high school career a perfect 63-0 in matches. It then continued with a semifinal run in ‘24 — which ended in controversial fashion when the deciding fifth match mistakenly ended with a 10-point tiebreaker being played instead of a full third set — and continued with last year’s push back to the Elite 8.
So will it be a fifth straight run this year?
Schulson has long since graduated out, and is now a junior playing for Quinnipiac. Her replacement at No. 1 singles, Harper Bradshaw, has also graduated out after two years in the role and being named our Daily News MVP last spring.
But the Clippers still should return plenty of talent to keep them near the top of a competitive CAL. That includes Elsie DeGrano and Gretchen Boelke, who were the team’s Nos. 2 and 3 singles players a year ago, as well as doubles players Sadie Reardon, Kate Mellet and Leah Enes.
4. Who has the best pitching rotation?
Man, we’re going to see some gems on the mound this year!
The answer to this question, though, I think will be three-team race between Georgetown, Newburyport and Pentucket.
Just look at what each should be bringing back:
Georgetown projects to have a dominant 1-2 punch on the bump between Ty Southall — our reigning Daily News MVP — and fellow All-Star senior Ollie Thibeault. Southall posted a 6-2 record last spring with a 0.70 ERA (5 ER in 50.0 IP) and 53 strikeouts, while Thibeault had a 3-3 record and a 1.84 ERA with 49 punchouts in 53.1 IP.
Meanwhile at Newburport, senior Sean Estabrook has a combined 0.93 ERA over the past two years, allowing just five earned runs across 38.1 IP. Then the Clippers should also welcome back Daily News All-Star righty Jack Oreal, who had a 3-2 record with a 2.46 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31.1 IP last year. And rounding out the “Big 3” will be Sam Luekens, who as a freshman last spring went 1-1 with a 1.60 ERA and 23 Ks in 26.1 IP.
Finally, Pentucket also projects to have a dominant duo between Patrick Stewart and Luke Pergola. Both workhorses a year ago, Stewart finished with a 1.69 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 49.2 IP, while Pergola went 5-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 54 punchouts in 56.1 IP.
5. Sky is literally the limit for Holden Choma
What does Holden Choma have in store for us this spring?
A breakout sophomore season a year ago saw him named a Daily News Outdoor Track All-Star, as the elite Pentucket high jumper cleared 6-foot-6 to place second all-time in school history. Then over the summer, he was able to clear 6-6.75 to qualify for the USATF National Junior Olympics. Choma then jumped 6-4 early on this winter before not really competing again the rest of the season, so hopefully he’s healthy.
But if it’s all systems go, watch out.
Still just a junior, how high Choma can fly will be exciting to watch this spring. He of course is trying to catch Pentucket’s all-time high jump king Andy Hirsch, who leaped a ridiculous 7-0.25 to win the 1987 State Championship.