A flurry of athletic achievements marked a recent Friday across the Seacoast, with numerous high school teams securing impressive victories and individual players hitting significant milestones.
**Girls Lacrosse Highlighted by Milestone Goal**
In Derry, the Portsmouth High School girls’ lacrosse team dominated Pinkerton with a resounding 20-1 victory in a Division I showdown. Junior Raegan Lawton was the star of the match, netting five goals, including the momentous 100th of her career. The win pushed the Clippers’ undefeated streak to 12-0 with only three regular-season games remaining. Fellow teammates Lily Patterson contributed four goals and two assists, Emery Lawton added three goals, Liv Russo tallied two goals and two assists, and Breleigh Vischer secured two goals and one assist. Additional scoring came from Georgia Bouvier (goal, two assists), Ginger Vinciguerra (goal), Elliott Blenkinsop (goal), and Molly Malinowski (goal). Goalie Sage Bussiere made three saves for Portsmouth.
Elsewhere on the girls’ lacrosse fields, Class B York (4-5) fell to Class A Cape Elizabeth (Maine) 9-4, despite two goals from Evie Martin and single scores from Lucy Taylor and Camdyn Lambert. York goalie Piper Schambach impressively recorded 10 saves. In Kittery, Traip Academy faced a tough 7-6 triple-overtime loss to Wells in a Class C contest. Keira Durgin led Traip with three goals, while Sam Latchae, Shea Johnson, and Lucy Gingras each added one. Traip’s Maddy Guay had 16 saves.
**Boys Lacrosse Sees Strong Outings**
Dover’s boys’ lacrosse team secured a dominant 12-2 Division I win over Merrimack. Cooper Ketcham led the charge with four goals and three assists, supported by Sylas Brown with three goals and three assists. Parker Ketcham added two goals and three assists, Logan Carter contributed two goals, and Porter Gray scored one. Danny Bretz, Dover’s goalie, made 10 saves.
Oyster River triumphed over Hanover 9-7 in a Division II matchup, with Demitrius Tsakiris scoring three goals. Jeff Keyes and Alex Moody each had two goals and one assist. Jadyn Smart contributed a goal and an assist, Blake Callander scored one, and Parker Ouellette had an assist. Grant Norris made 10 saves for Oyster River. St. Thomas Aquinas delivered a powerful 24-10 victory against Spaulding in Division II. Ryan Resch and Colby Tasker each scored six goals. Luke Daly had four goals and two assists, while Mike Flood (three goals, two assists), Ryan Jones (two goals), Grady Estes (goal, four assists), Owen Clark (goal), and Cooper Copeland (goal) also contributed. For Spaulding, Logan Hickman scored four goals, Rowan Hughes and Aeden Walsh each had three, and Max Drena provided two assists. Marshwood defeated Mt. Ararat 13-7 in Class B, with Hayden Demeroto scoring five goals and Chad Anderson adding four goals and an assist. Damien Gilmore contributed two goals, Rogan Boisvert had a goal and an assist, Drake Anderson scored one, and Liam Haggerty had an assist.
**Softball Teams Display Offensive Power**
Portsmouth’s softball team celebrated Senior Night with an 8-3 Division I win over Timberlane. Kora Douglass had three hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored, while Laura Milks contributed three hits and an RBI. Abby Craig collected two hits and an RBI for the Clippers, who honored seniors Milks, Sara Sokolnicki, and Emi Greco. Exeter secured a 7-3 Division I victory against Dover. Jill Ryan closed out the game to preserve the win, which saw Exeter score three runs in the first inning and four in the fifth. Ryan had an RBI single in the first, followed by a two-run single from Alexa Papakonstantis. In the fifth, Ava Minghella had an RBI single, and Maddy Mann hit a three-run double. Ryan and Lana Ruffner both had two hits. Winnacunnet defeated Windham 6-2 in Division I. Maeva Shapiro hit a three-run homer, and Colette Le added a solo homer and an RBI double. Lucy Gelbstein had two hits and scored a run, and Arden Langmaid had one hit and two runs. Celina King recorded a hit and a walk.
Oyster River’s softball team continued their strong season with a 16-4 Division II win over John Stark, improving their record to 15-1. Aubrey DeJesus and Kate Michaud both hit home runs on the first pitch they saw in the first inning. The Bobcats tallied 16 hits, including seven for extra bases. DeJesus, Michaud, Payton Drapeau, Morgan Trela, Laura Boughton, and Lorelye LeClair each had two hits. Aliza Parks hit a double with three RBIs, Abby Carpenter had an RBI single, and Gracy Spirito’s two-run homer ended the game in the sixth. Sam Bishop allowed six hits and two earned runs over five innings, striking out eight. Belmont defeated Somersworth 10-2 in Division III, with Emma Bober, Kylie Pettengill, and Sophia Malo each getting one hit for Somersworth, and Bober adding an RBI. Portsmouth Christian Academy (10-4) earned a 4-1 Division IV win over Franklin, thanks to Lexi Jordan’s 14 strikeouts and one run allowed over seven innings. Zuri Petlick walked three times, and Shanell Gray had an RBI single. Pittsfield shut out Newmarket 2-0 in Division IV, with Ava Zundell providing Newmarket’s only hit. Brielle Duffy pitched a complete game, allowing no earned runs and striking out seven. York dominated Old Orchard Beach 16-1 in a Class B vs. Class C matchup, with Sarah Orso hitting her sixth home run of the season. The game was called after the fourth inning, with York scoring 10 runs in that inning. Maya Babcock, Nya Avery, and Anna Fletcher each had two hits, and Maddie Fitzgerald tripled. Orso earned the win, allowing two hits and striking out four.
**Baseball Action from the Seacoast**
Winnacunnet’s baseball team secured a 9-3 Division I victory over Windham, scoring four runs in the sixth inning to break the game open. Harvey Reynoso had two hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored, while Bryce Pinsonnault contributed two hits and two RBIs. Braeden O’Hara and Ryan Giuffre both had one hit and two RBIs. Sean Griffin (two hits, two runs), Oscar Fritz (hit, run), and Brantson Larck (two walks, two runs) also contributed. Justin Coates pitched five innings for the win, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven. Fritz and Cal Lauder each threw a scoreless inning of relief. St. Thomas Aquinas crushed Sanborn 18-2 in Division II, with five runs in the sixth and nine in the seventh. Ryan Gould had three hits and three RBIs, while Colin Healey contributed two hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Kenny Avery (two hits, RBI, four runs), Gabe Carlisle (two hits, RBI, run), and Camden Stowell (hit, two RBIs, run) also had strong performances. Four STA pitchers – Conall Ciaschini, Jacob Bufano, Beckett Farrand, and Camden Stowell – combined for three hits and five strikeouts. Oyster River’s 10-game win streak ended in a 4-3 Division II loss to John Stark. Owen Jacques hit a two-run triple for Oyster River. Derek Brower struck out four and allowed two earned runs over four innings, and Cole Pelaggi pitched two scoreless relief innings. Belmont defeated Somersworth 10-5 in Division III. Max Dubois had two hits and two RBIs, and Zephaniah Grandmaison had two hits and two runs scored for Somersworth. Portsmouth Christian Academy (8-5) beat Franklin 11-3 in Division IV, with Andrew Earwood collecting three hits and two RBIs. Cai Summers, Logan Summers, Elias Chamberlain, and Allen McGuire each had two hits, and Grady Howe struck out 10 in a complete-game win. In his first varsity start, Robbie Hanscom pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out six, as Class B York defeated Class C Old Orchard Beach 11-3. Hanscom also had two hits and scored three runs. Sam Jancovic had two hits, two RBIs, and two runs, and Orrin Culp Dechant had two hits, including a two-run double.
**Tennis and Volleyball Roundups**
In girls’ tennis, Dover defeated Pinkerton 5-3 in Division I, with singles wins from Paige Wilson (8-1), Jane Mathews (8-4), Siena D’Ambrosio (8-5), and Lily Mozzoni (8-6). In doubles, Wilson and D’Ambrosio won 8-5 at No. 1, and Mozzoni and Sara Pellenz won 8-5 at No. 3. Winnacunnet (11-3) beat Oyster River 6-3 in their Division I match, securing singles victories from Grace Bramhall (8-0), Camryn Morrissey (8-6), Elise Shannon (8-0), and Harper Babyak (8-6). Brinser and Bramhall won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, and Shannon-Babyak won 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. For Oyster River, Saarika Arthanat won 8-5 at No. 1 singles, Jessica Li won 8-4 at No. 2, and the pair won 8-2 at No. 1 doubles.
For boys’ tennis, Dover concluded their regular season with a 10th consecutive Division I win, finishing with a 12-2 record after an 8-1 victory over Pinkerton. Singles winners were Diego Lopez (8-2), Matias Lopez (8-1), Evan Weete (8-4), Gavin Beauregard (8-2), Aidan McCann (8-2), and John Tran (8-4). Weete and Beauregard won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, and McCann and Tran won 8-3 at No. 3. Bedford defeated Exeter 7-2 in Division I, with Mike Burke (8-6) and Jamie Dunham (9-7) winning in singles for Exeter (10-4). Bedford also swept Spaulding 9-0, though Spaulding’s No. 1 doubles team of Griffin Baughman and Camden Smith put up a fight, losing 9-7. St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 13-0 with a 6-3 Division III win over Profile. Singles victories came from Alex Molda (8-0), Aaron Molda (8-0), Nick Adams (9-7), and Dom Myers (8-2). The Molda brothers won 8-0 at No. 1 doubles, and Adams and Ben Puertas won 8-4 at No. 2.
In volleyball, Winnacunnet suffered a 3-0 Division I loss to John Stark with set scores of 25-12, 25-15, and 25-16. Ryan Rosburg had four kills for Winnacunnet.
