SOFTBALL
Manchester Essex 16, Ipswich 7: The Hornets (3-1) were red hot at the plate on Friday afternoon, with Anna Gardner (2-for-5, 4 RBI) leading the balanced offensive attack. Freshman Aliyah Doyon smashed her first career varsity homerun; Cordelia Riggs had a triple that drove in two runs; Penelope Riggs went 2-for-4 with a triple; Katie Crompton had two hits and two RBI; and Abby Aiello went 3-for-5. Hallie Bouchie also had a three hit day while Aiello picked up the win in the circle, going the final 5 1/3 innings while giving up just one earned.
Gloucester 10, Saugus 2: Senior captain Julia Carrancho (3 hits, 2 RBI, 3 runs) and sophomore catcher Olivia Madruga (3 hits, 3 RBI) each came just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle to help the Fishermen (5-0) continue to roll. Tasara Frontiero added two hits and two runs while Dylan Gaetano mashed an RBI double. Defensively, freshman pitcher Abby Noble tossed a complete game with 11 strikeouts. Gloucester has a busy slate this week with 4:30 p.m. starts at Winthrop (Monday), and home against Swampscott (Wednesday) and Georgetown (Friday).
Hamilton-Wenham 22, Rockport 4: The Vikings fell to 0-4 on the season with the tough loss on Friday afternoon.
BOYS TENNIS
Manchester Essex 3, Marblehead 2: The Hornets (4-0) won a barn burner of a match on Friday afternoon against a tough out-of-conference opponent, taking all three singles matches to squeeze out the narrow decision. First singles standout Jack Cummins, a senior, was the hero, losing the first set 2-6 before rallying for 6-4, 6-4 wins in the final two sets to put his team over the hump.
“The match was tied at 2-2 after (Marblehead) took the doubles, so both teams were watching every single point of Jack’s third set,” said Hornets coach Rob Bilsbury. “He played a really good player from Marblehead and just battled back. It was a huge win for us because that’s a very, very talented team and I’m really excited about how it all came together. There was some team bonding in there too, so it was good.”
Alex Montaresi won convincingly at No. 2 singles for Manchester (6-1, 6-2), while Charlie Langendorf came out on top as well in a competitive third singles match (7-6, 6-2). The Hornets play Rockport at home on Monday (4 p.m.).
GIRLS TENNIS
Swampscott 5, Gloucester 0: The Fishermen (2-2) saw their two-game winning streak come to a close against a strong Swampscott team on Friday. They’ll be back in action on Monday at home against Danvers.
Saint John Paul II 5, Manchester Essex 0: The Hornets were shut out in Saturday’s matinee, suffering their second loss in three matches to open the season. They’ll look to rebound on Monday at Rockport (4:30).
BASEBALL
Gloucester 1, Saugus 0: Nico Alves mashed a walk-off double in the seventh inning, scoring teammate Charlie Amero to help the Fishermen (4-0) remain unbeaten. Alves finished the afternoon 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the offense. Senior standout Giacomo Martell shined on the mound, striking out 11 and yielding just one walk in a complete game shutout. Martell also collected two hits on the day. Fishermen pitchers have now combined to allow just two earned runs in 28 innings to start the season. Gloucester is off until Wednesday when it travels to Swampscott (4:30 p.m.).
GIRLS LACROSSE
Danvers 13, Gloucester 5: Fishermen goalie Gabby Martell continued to shine in net, making 23 saves to help keep her team in it. Olivia Philbrook and Natasha DePaula each stepped up on defense as well.
“They both racked up some ground balls and caused turnovers,” said Gloucester coach Liz Luster, her team now 0-4 with a home clash against Swampscott looming on Monday.
Luster also highlighted the play of her midfield, who all “did a great job on draws and worked hard to transition the ball.”
BOYS LACROSSE
Manchester Essex 13, Hamilton-Wenham 3: Late on Thursday evening, Charlie Thurlow (assist) and Jack McCavanagh (2 assists) each netted a hat trick to power the Hornets to a convincing CAL win. Noah Cohen and Walker Valeo each added two goals while Luke Renzi, Carson Croft and Turner Valeo rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Goalie Connor Dickson added seven saves in net for Manchester, which is back in action on Tuesday at Lynnfield (4 p.m. start).
Danvers 16, Gloucester 2: The Fishermen weren’t able to muster up much offense against their Northeastern Conference foes, falling to 1-2 on the young season. Gloucester is back at it on Monday at Swampscott (4:30 p.m.).