Ball brothers light fire under SNHU

Brothers Mike and Sean Ball of Salem, N.H., are playing a big part in the early success of the Southern New Hampshire University men's lacrosse team.

The duo, graduates of Lawrence Academy, helped the Penmen win four of their first six games and put together their first four-game win streak since 2003.

Mike, a sophomore, was the nation's Division 2 leader in goals per game (5.33) and was tied for the national lead in points per game with 6. After the Penmen's first six games, he had a ridiculous 32 goals and 4 assists. He has been named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week in each of the last two weeks and had 9 points (7 goals, 2 assists) in a win over American International. He has scored at least 3 goals in every game this season and has at least 5 goals in each of SNHU's four victories.

Sean, a junior, ranks fifth on the squad with 8 goals and 4 assists. Last season he scored a team-high 23 goals for the Penmen.

Mike Ball "is by far the best pure scorer that I have seen in my 20 years of coaching at this level," said Southern New Hampshire coach Paul Calkins. "He handles pressure well and just knows where the back of the net is. Sean has a very hard shot so teams attempt to shut him down, which gives the rest of the offense more room to operate. The Ball brothers, as I call them, are major keys to this team's success now and in the future."

Westfield State juniors Cairsten Beanland and Kelly Johnson, both of Westford, have been chosen as cocaptains of the 2008-2009 women's swimming and diving team. . . . Junior All-America Alyssa Ritchie of North Andover and senior Beth Gendron of Tyngsborough combined for 6 goals and 3 assists but they weren't enough to prevent Bentley from falling to number four and undefeated Division 2 lacrosse power Adelphi, 17-13. Ritchie had a pair of goals and assists, while Gendron pumped in a team-high 4 goals. . . . University of Massachusetts at Lowell athletes sparkled at the Stonehill College Skyhawk Track and Field Invitational. Freshman Rafael Johnson of Lawrence set a school record in winning the 100 meters in 10.77 seconds. Other individual winners were sophomore Robert Liekweg of Salem, N.H., in the 400 hurdles (51.92 seconds) and senior Rocky LeFort of Nashua in the shot put (51 feet, 3 inches). The women's team was led by Jacqui Barrett of Woburn, who won the shot put (44-10 1/2) to improve her NCAA Division 2 seeding. Also winning were freshmen Lauren Raimondi of Longmeadow and Jenna Lapachinski of Montague, who turned in gold-winning efforts in the 100 and 400 hurdles, and the 4 x 100 relay team of senior Tristin Johnson of Pittsfield, Heather McCarthy of Burlington, Katrina Lutkus of Lowell, and Sharikka Finley-Moise of Lexington. . . . Seniors Julie Brodie of Chelmsford and Bryan Koenig of Reading, sophomores Nichole Rondeau of Dracut and Jeremiah Karanja of Lowell, and freshman Jennifer Carr of Tewksbury were among 17 honored Friday by UMass-Lowell on National Student-Athlete Day. The annual ceremony cites those earning the top grade-point average on their respective teams for the fall 2007 semester, as well as the top male and female freshmen. Brodie represented the softball team for the third straight year with a 3.925 GPA as a health education major, while Koenig represented the track team for a second year with a 3.88 GPA with a double major in criminal justice and political science. Rondeau, a volleyball player with a 3.925 GPA as a mechanical engineering major, is also a repeat selection. Karanja is a cross-country runner and was honored for the first time for his 3.594 GPA as a chemistry major. Carr is a member of the track team; she shared top honors with two other freshmen with her 4.0 GPA as a mechanical engineering major.

Baseball and softball action has been limited to a game here and there because of Mother Nature's fickleness, but lacrosse has gotten off to rip-roaring starts. Opening the lacrosse season with impressive wins were Andover, which throttled Dracut, 19-1, behind the combined 7 goals and 3 assists from C.J. Shea and Peter Hanson, and the North Andover boys and girls. The boys doubled up Beverly, 10-5, and the girls beat Hamilton-Wenham, 10-6. Both wins featured 5-goal efforts by Jon Blackwell and Brianna Connolly. . . . Tyngsborough sophomore attack Tim LaPointe had 3 goals and 2 assists in a 10-2 win over Bedford. . . . North Reading got 4 goals off the stick of Allesandra LeForte and beat up on Austin Prep, 16-2, to get its season off on a successful note. . . . In one of the few softball games played, Sarra Bergeron tossed a no-hitter and struck out 10 in Methuen's 11-0 rout of Everett. Jessie McCarthy provided the offense with 4 hits and 5 RBIs. . . . Sara Missert won the 100, 200, and triple jump to spark Central Catholic past Billerica, 104-41, in a girls' Merrimack Valley Conference track meet. The boys also had an easy time with Billerica and cruised, 116-29. KB Oshodi won both the long and triple jumps and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4 x 100 relay.

Notebook ideas may be sent to vellante@globe.com.