Sports
Weekly Sports Roundup: May 15-May 22
Rain dampened the proceedings around the athletic fields of Melrose last week, but it wasn't a complete washout as the Lady Raiders girls tennis team sealed its spot in the MIAA Tournament. Here's a look at how the locals fared.
So much for schedules.
The rain returned with a vengeance this past week and again blew up the best laid plans of the Melrose High athletic department as far as scheduling is concerned. With a full week of precipitation, only a handful of Red Raider squads were able to squeeze in games between torrential downpours, and those that couldn’t will now have to fit the makeup games in to their already congested calendars.
But the week wasn’t a complete loss. The rain was bookended by sunshine, and some teams were able to play as planned. So here’s the rundown from the fields, diamonds and courts around Melrose last week.
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Girls Tennis Playoff Bound
The Lady Raider tennis squad was able to play three times last week, and beat the rain by playing twice at the indoor Woburn Racquet Club. Melrose faced Wakefield twice at the indoor facility after two previous attempts to play the Lady Warriors were thwarted by inclement weather.
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Melrose (10-6) earned its second straight playoff berth with a 3-2 win over Wakefield on May 16. Sarah McGowan won at second singles in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, while the second doubles team of Natalie Kendall and Julia Mongeau breezed to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. The match winning game was at third singles, where freshman Shannon Tarpey displayed poise beyond her years and shouldered the pressure, sending the Lady Raiders to the MIAA Tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Wakefield’s Alex Grieski.
Melrose beat the Lady Warriors again on May 17, with Sarah McGowan (6-0, 6-0) winning at second doubles and Mongeau and Kendall prevailing at second doubles (6-4, 6-1). Charlotte Mays and Olivia Ragon avenged their loss the previous day by pulling out a 6-4, 6-3 win.
The Lady Raiders ended the week by being swept by powerhouse Winchester 5-0 on May 18, and finish the season against potent Lexington on Monday.
Baseball Beats Stoneham
Melrose baseball played Stoneham on May 14 and the Red Raiders (12-5, 11-3 ML) pulled down a big 12-6 win over their Middlesex rivals. Senior moundsman Andy Scocca improved to 6-1, picking up the win, while Paul Adizzoni clubbed a three-run homer in the sixth. Also, later in the week the Red Raiders defeated Winchester 10-2.
The rain did away with the rest of the week’s games.
Softball Picks Up Wet Win
Moving to the softball diamond, the Lady Raiders (6-9, 6-7 ML) were no more fortunate than their male counterparts last week as far as the weather is concerned, and also won their only game of the soggy week with a 10-1 win over Watertown on May 19.
Boys Lax Goes 1-3
Boys lacrosse played three time last week, and the Red Raiders (3-11) were able to find the winning combination on one of those occasions. On May 14, Melrose dropped a close 7-5 game against Middlesex League opponents Watertown, and managed to get a game in on May 18 but was thrashed 18-4 by Wakefield. They also fell to Lynnfield 11-4. The Red Raiders picked up their lone win against Malden, in a non-league tilt on May 19, by a 14-4 margin.
The Melrose girls played just once last week, and fell to Winchester 15-0 on May 17, as the Sachems wrapped up the Middlesex League regular-season title.
