St. John's Prep rebounds to beat BC High in lacrosse
Senior attackman Mark Scalise scored the winning goal with 49 seconds left to propel fourth-ranked St. John's Prep to a 10-9 home victory over fifth-ranked BC High yesterday in a key Catholic Conference matchup.
With the scored tied and a minute remaining, Scalise took the ball toward the goal from the left side and fired it into the net. St. John's Prep (11-2, 5-1) controlled the ensuing faceoff and held on to win.
Prep coach John Roy said the victory was huge, considering his team was coming off a tough 7-5 loss to Duxbury Saturday.
"What we're trying to maintain is a high intensity and that can be difficult," he said. "You're not sure which team will show up. But I will say that after such an emotional game [Saturday], it's nice to go out and get the win and show a lot of character."
Both teams started out slowly and BC High (9-3, 2-3) held a 3-2 lead at halftime, but play picked up in the second half and continued through the end.
Middlesex: Sophomore attacker Pat DeBenedetto scored three goals and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Reading (10-2) to a 9-7 win over Winchester. Jimmy Queeney added three goals and an assist for the Rockets.
Patriot: No. 14 Scituate held off Hingham, 10-7, behind a five-goal effort from senior attackman Alex Ferris.
Nonleague: No. 10 Arlington (12-1) got four goals from senior Ryan Murphy and three from junior Matt Willey in a 15-8 victory over Malden Catholic.
Baseball
Cape Ann: Senior cocaptain Zack Hastings drove in a run and scored twice to lead North Reading (10-1) to a 3-0 triumph over 12th-ranked Masconomet (10-2).
South Shore: Junior Steve Perakslis struck out 11 and gave up just three hits to carry Abington to a 3-0 victory over Cohasset.
Softball
Catholic Central: Jess DiRenzo's RBI single in the eighth inning gave ninth-ranked Cardinal Spellman a 1-0 home win over No. 16 Arlington Catholic.
Merrimack Valley: Tewksbury senior Erica Belliveau went 5 for 5 and hit for the cycle in a 17-0 win over Lowell.
Northeastern: Courtney Colantuno hit for the cycle and knocked in four runs for Marblehead in a 12-0 victory over Lynn English.
South Shore: East Bridgewater coach Mike Dunphy notched his 200th career win as his team routed Hull, 15-0. Nicole Eisenman pitched a complete game and also went 4 for 4 with seven RBIs.
Boys' track
Catholic Central: Trinity Catholic earned its first league title with an 86-35 victory over Matignon.
Cassidy resigns
Steve Cassidy resigned as Charlestown boys' basketball coach after going 36-10 over two seasons, saying last night it was no longer an "optimal situation."
"I've thought about it for the last couple of weeks," he said. "I had a great staff and great kids, but sometimes, it's time to move on to what you might feel would be a better situation."
Cassidy, who led the Townies to the Division 1 North semifinals last season, said he had no news on his replacement. 