The MIAA playoffs picked up their pace Friday with 118 tournament games spread across the Commonwealth, in addition to three track championships.
There’s no better place to start than the first day of the Division 3, 4, and 6 track meets:
- With an exhaustive sprint, Plymouth South freshman Alexa Lasnicki clears a major hurdle: Division 3 title
- Melding physical and mental readiness, Pembroke’s Luke Lamar wins 400 hurdles at Division 4 track championship
- Randolph’s Jayda Adora Bleus had nearly given up on her goal. Then she ran the race of her life at the Division 6 meet.
Next stop, Friday night’s roundups, featuring recaps of more than 70 games:
- Baseball: Lincoln-Sudbury’s 6-foot-6-inch starter Simon Fletcher finds his groove in one-hit shutout of Peabody
- Softball: Triton walks off Ursuline on Izze Turner’s RBI single, coupled with Emma Penniman’s shutout
- Boys’ lacrosse: St. Mary’s has been learning to win, and Friday’s playoff victory was evidence of their progress
- Girls’ lacrosse: With balanced scoring and 15 saves from Meg Peterson, Bishop Feehan girls’ lacrosse slips past Peabody
- Boys’ volleyball: A high 5 for Winchester seniors in Division 1 volleyball comeback against Methuen
- Tennis: Kian Keyhan nets third-set clincher as Andover boys’ tennis ousts Arlington in Division 1
1. Milestones
Scituate senior Kate Stone notched her 150th career goal and 200th career point while recording a hat trick in a 10-8 Division 2 girls’ lacrosse first-round win over Algonquin.
Methuen junior goalie Meghan Terry made 16 saves in a 17-9 Division 2 prelim win over Hopkinton, including the 300th of her career.
Greater Lowell senior Emma Finch finished her senior season with 54 goals, and she will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in goals with 153.
2. Upset central
The highest-ranked teams to be eliminated Friday were Oxford softball — ranked No. 12 in Division 4, the Pirates fell, 5-4 to No. 21 Lynnfield — and Wesborough girls’ lacrosse, also ranked 12th in Division 2, which lost, 8-7, to No. 21 Northampton.
Other seeds in the teens that were toppled: No. 13 Norton boys’ volleyball, which fell, 3-2, to No. 20 Lynn Classical in the Division 2 first round; No. 13 Notre Dame (Worcester), which suffered an 8-6 loss to No. 20 Monty Tech in the Division 3 first round; No. 14 Sturgis East girl’s tennis, which lost, 3-2, to No. 19 Palmer, and No. 15 Arlington boys’ tennis, which fell, 3-2, to No. 18 Andover.
The largest upset of the day, by difference in seedings, was No. 39 Greater Lawrence softball taking down No. 26 North Reading, 7-3, in the Division 3 preliminary round.
3. Walkoff wins
Boy, were there some dramatic ones.
It doesn’t get much more intense than a 0-0 game in the bottom of the seventh, but that’s what No. 23 Triton faced against No. 42 Ursuline in the Division 3 softball preliminary round. Ava Johnson was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, and with two outs raced home on Izze Turner’s single up the middle for a 1-0 walkoff win.
Giving that finish a run for its money, No. 31 Sturgis East softball trailed, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded when Sam Orcutt, who had homered earlier for the team’s first run, launched a grand slam for a 5-2 walkoff win over No. 34 Mystic Valley in the preliminary round of the Division 5 tournament.
No. 25 Tantasqua baseball survived an upset bid from No. 40 Lowell Catholic when Brandon Phillips managed an RBI infield single in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 Division 3 preliminary-round win.
In the Division 3 softball tournament, No. 31 Blackstone Valley’s Julia Trujillo tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the ninth, then came around to score the winning run on Payton Smith’s walkoff single, completing a 3-2 preliminary-round victory.
This one wasn’t technically a walk off, and maybe we need a new category for these types of games, but No. 33 Martha’s Vineyard baseball won an epic 12-inning Division 3 preliminary-round matchup, 4-3, over No. 32 Ashland on Eli Bryant’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th.
4. Three stars
Mackenzy Ponte, Westport — The senior, in her sixth year on varsity and fifth as the Wildcats’ starter, struck out 10 in a five-inning no-hitter to beat English High, 23-0, in the Division 5 preliminary round.
Dakota Vaudreuil, Bartlett — The senior struck out 17 in a five inning no-hitter to defeat Kennedy Academy, 24-0 in the preliminary round of the Division 5 softball tournament.
Bella Mara, St. Paul — The senior did it all, striking out eight without allowing a run and going 3 for 3 with a double and two home runs in a 10-3 first-round win for the No. 7 Knights.
5. Going, going gone
We mentioned Mara’s two home runs for St. Paul, and Orcutt’s walkoff grand slam for Sturgis East, but there was plenty of notable power displays across the Bay State.
Wakefield’s Jackie Sullivan blasted a grand slam, Hudson got back-to-back blasts from Lauren O’Malley and Taylor Attaway, Lynnfield got homers from Olivia Kelter and Morgan Hubbard, and Westport’s Lauryn Souza and Upper Cape’s Jaelynn Harraden both raced to inside-the-park round-trippers.
Also homering were Wakefield’s Chloe Seto, Chelmsford’s Jenna Nigro, Winchester’s Brett Daniels, and Sutton’s Kaila Wheeler.
6. Daily lacrosse leaderboard
Goals
Bella Young, North Middlesex, 8
Mac Cole, Pentucket, 7
Sal Brogna, St. Mary’s, 6
Kiera Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 6
Mason Gadbois, Essex Tech, 6
Lillian Gikas, Tyngsborough, 6
Addie Hajj, North Reading, 6
John Powers, Lynnfield, 6
Finn Racki, St. Mary’s, 6
Kelan Cardinal, Lynnfield, 5
Casey Collins, Essex Tech, 5
Alexis Deschenes, Tyngsborough, 5
Kate Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 5
Cassie Gallagher, Billerica, 5
Daniel Hanafin, Foxborough, 5
Nate Stys, Pentucket, 5
Points
Young, North Middlesex, 9
Gadbois, Essex Tech, 8
Gikas, Tyngsborough, 8
Timothy Tavares, Essex Tech, 8
Cole, Pentucket, 7
Alexis Deschenes, Tyngsborough, 7
Ki. Fitzpatrick, Methuen, 7
Gallagher, Billerica, 7
Nolan Jennings, Burlington, 7
Stys, Pentucket, 7
Cardinal, Lynnfield, 6
Nevin Maher, Essex Tech, 6
Powers, Lynnfield, 6
Michael Torrisi, Pentucket, 6
7. Daily strikeout leaderboard
Dakota Vaudreuil, Bartlett, 17
Emma Penniman, Triton, 16
Tessa Francis, Marblehead, 11
Mackenzy Ponte, Westport, 10
Sophie Baker, Medfield, 9
Molly Abdella, Tahanto, 8
Bella Mara, St. Paul, 8
8. Coaching carousel
Mike Scammon has doubled his duties at North Andover, where he will take over as the girls’ volleyball coach in the fall. Scammon has served as the Scarlet Knights’ boys’ volleyball coach for the past five seasons, winning a Merrimack Valley Conference title in 2021, when he was named MVC Coach of the Year. The Methuen native and teacher at Methuen High also serves as the program director for the New England Storm volleyball club.
NEW GIRLS VOLLEYBALL COACH
Excited to announce Mike Scammon as our new Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach! @north_andover @KnightsNaaa @BostonHeraldHS @BGlobeSports @T_Mulherin @camkerry7 @DWillisET @MVcreature @EvanApplebaum2 @MrYoungNAHS @JamiePote @BurtTalksSports… pic.twitter.com/ZEbDDX07C2
— Scarlet Knights (@NA_Athletics) May 30, 2025
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
| May 25, 2025
Stephen A. responds to LeBron’s NBA coverage criticism | First Take