Lexington High School scored at universal point to edge Four Rivers Charter School, 10-9, in the semifinals of the girls’ State Ultimate Tournament at the Oxbow in Northampton over the weekend.
The Otters rebounded in the third-place match to defeat Northampton High School, 15-4, and settle for third place in the state. The Four Rivers boys’ team placed No. 4 in the state.
The Four Rivers girls had rolled through the weekend until Lexington. Four Rivers played four pool-play games on Saturday and defeated Arlington High School (13-0), Amherst Regional High School JV (13-3), Somerville High School (13-2) and Longmeadow High School (13-1). In the Sunday quarterfinals, Four Rivers defeated Lincoln-Sudbury High School (15-3), moving the Otters onward to face Lexington in the semifinals. Four Rivers jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Lexington clawed back and finally tied the match at 9-9, sending it to universal point. Both teams struggled with turnovers as they looked for the winner, but Lexington finally worked the disc up the field and scored. Lexington went on to defeat Amherst varsity in the finals.
“That semifinal game was hard,” Four Rivers coach Dov Plotkin said. “It was disappointing to lose when it was so close.”
The two seniors on the squad — Abby Schlinger and Juliet Margola — each played well on the weekend. Schlinger played well all over the field and caught several points in the third-place match. Margola was solid playing person-to-person defense in the third-place match.
Eighth-grader Ashley Schlinger moved up from junior varsity and played well on the weekend with great defense and also laid out to make some nice catches. Lyra Macek was the main receiver on the team and finished with 22 scoring catches on the weekend. The team also had a circus catch for a point against Lexington as Alexis Dimitriou tipped a high throw that landed in the hands of Maddie Tombs.
• On the boys’ side, Four Rivers lost to Masconomet High School, 15-5, in the third-place match Sunday to settle for fourth place.
Four Rivers also dropped a 15-11 decision to Lexington in the semifinals.
“We were a little depleted due to injuries and I thought we were mentally and physically fatigued,” Four Rivers coach Terry Plotkin said.
Four Rivers beat Newton North High School, 15-6, in the Sunday quarterfinals. On Saturday, Four Rivers beat both Northampton (15-1) and Longmeadow (15-6) in pool play.
Jonah Goldstein played great on the weekend, including making several nice diving catches in the end zone, according to Plotkin. Josh Gibson played well both on defense and offense all weekend, and Mac Almeida was strong on defense and also had many assists.
Salem 16, Athol 1 (Game 1)
Salem 8, Athol 3 (Game 2) — Athol High School suffered a pair of losses to Salem High School Saturday in an independent baseball doubleheader at Salem State University.
Athol lost to Salem, 16-1, in the first game of the day and dropped an 8-3 decision in the second game. The Red Raiders are now 8-10 overall but are still in good shape to qualify for the postseason. If Athol can win one of its final two Hampshire League East Division games it will clinch at least a tie for second place in the league and secure a postseason spot. Athol hosts Mohawk Trail Regional High School Tuesday afternoon at 3:30.
In the opener, Bobby Jellison had four hits and four RBIs to help Salem to the lopsided victory in a six-inning affair.
Athol had just two hits in the loss, one single apiece from Robbie Nelson and Dakota Williams, and Williams drove in the lone run. Noah Pottinger struck out one and allowed four walks and seven hits in three innings to suffer the loss.
In the second game, Salem scored five times in the fourth to pull away for the 8-3 win. Troy Zipper had two hits and two RBIs in the win, while Jayco Pena had one hit and two RBIs. Joey Baez earned the win in relief, striking out five and walking one.
James Laford had two hits and one RBI for Athol, which trailed 3-2 after three innings. Nick Bousquet had one hit and one RBI in the loss. Laford suffered the loss, striking out two and walking two.