Mostone Pitches Pythons Past Laconia 3-2
by Tommy Gates
The Pelham Pythons baseball team has played a couple of Class I heavies early in the year and they’ve also lost a couple of heartbreaking one-run games, including one in 10 innings. Manager Matt Stone knows that his teams’ season isn’t even at the midway point right now and while the Pythons were rained out of games early in the week against Milford and Merrimack Valley, they were getting ready for two homes games this week. Wednesday the Pythons hosted the Laconia Sachems and Stone sent senior righty Jimmy Mostone out on the hill to start. Laconia scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning and Pelham had the bases loaded in the bottom of the first but couldn’t score. Laconia added another unearned run in the top of the third inning to go up 2 - 0, but the Python bats came alive in the last of the third inning.
Mostone got things rolling for Pelham with a base hit, and he’d score Pelham’s first run on Bryan Toupin’s RBI double. Steve Rogers was a perfect 2 for 2 for the Pythons on the day, but his RBI singled scored Toupin to knot it all up at 2 - 2. Rogers later would come around to score the go-ahead run, and the Pythons banked on Mostone’s arm to shut down the Sachem hitters. Mostone blanked Laconia on two hits the rest of the way as he finished up for the 3 - 2 victory. Mostone gave up six hits and two unearned runs, while only walking one batter and striking out five.
Friday afternoon was a miserable cold and rainy afternoon, and the St. Thomas Saints came to Pelham and took advantage of eight Pelham errors in the first inning that got them nine unearned runs in the top of the first inning. The Saints would go on to take this game 16 - 3 and put the Pythons record at 2 - 8 in Class I. This week Stone hopes his kids regroup at Con-Val before hosting Kearsarge on Thursday. Two wins here could put the Pythons right back in the playoff picture with six Class I games remaining after that.
Pelham Girls Tennis Lash Laconia, Despite Losing Coach to Injury
by Tommy Gates
The Pythons girls tennis team rallied around their coach last week and whitewashed Laconia 9 - 0. Coach Meredith Cate was getting ready for warm-ups while most of the team stretched and while serving, her shoulder popped out of it’s socket and stayed there for 2 1/2 hours, before doctors could fix it at the hospital. Pelham athletic director Timmy Powers played “Johnny on the spot,” as he made plans to get Cate to the hospital and then took over as interim coach.
Senior captain Leslie McCabe wasted no time in beating her opponent 8 - 0, while junior Meghan Szmyt was on top of her game, winning a big 8 - 1 set. Sophomore Taylor LaPointe has been the biggest surprise this season. LaPointe didn’t even play a varsity match last spring, but just kept getting better and this season cracked the starting lineup. LaPointe was pushed up to the No. 3 singles position because Shannon Krauss remains out with an illness. And she won in a landslide 8 - 2. LaPointe now is 6 - 3 in singles on the season, tops on the Pelham team.
Junior Dawn Ely got a nice victory at No. 4 singles as she triumphed 8 - 3, before teammate Jacky Ta had no remorse at No. 5 singles, skunking her opponent 8 - zip. Sophomore Nicole Mastacouris also whitewashed her foe 8 - 0, and she’s another Python player who never played before this season. Mastacouris has been filling in at No. 6 singles and at No. 2 doubles and has been doing a tremendous job according to Cate. Cate will be back this week wearing a sling as the Pelham girls face Class I powerhouse and defending Class I champion Hanover before hosting Hollis/Brookline Friday May 9 at 4 p.m. and hoping to pick up the third win of the season.
Pelham Girls Lacrosse Pick Up Second Win
by Tommy Gates
Last Thursday the Pelham girls lacrosse team came out and put together one of its best outings of the spring. The Pythons were entertaining Pembroke Academy and coach John Fichera was hoping all of the skills he’s had his troops practicing repeatedly would come together, and they certainly did!
Christine Morgan came out and gave Pelham an early 1 - 0 lead with an early goal, before freshman Alex Catalano rifled the next three goals past the Spartan goalie, giving Pelham a 4 - 0 lead. Morgan collected her second goal of the half, but next junior sharpshooter Cassie Costello would send two missiles into the Pembroke goal for a 7 - 1 Pelham lead. Kally Riddinger wanted to get in on the action too, so she finished off the first half with two of her three goals in the game to give Pelham a 9 - 1 lead at intermission. Pelham’s senior goalie Jessica Blake would only have to make three saves in the first half, because the Pythons defense from Becca Mastropiero, Heather Hilbert, Maggie Neradova, and Emily Spognardi were all doing a great job of keeping the Spartans out of their end.
In the second half, Devon Lamouroux scored two quick goals to make it an 11 - 1 game, before goals by Christine Downs and Keri Foley stretched the Pelham lead to 13 - 1. Catalano and Riddinger also added late goals for the 15 - 1 Pelham victory. The Python girls were supposed to head for Plymouth in the middle of this week, before coming home for a game against Hollis/Brookline and are hoping that win No. 3 three is getting closer.
11-0 Pythons Win State Title over Gilford - 2007 State Division V Football Champions
Athlete Accolades Wanted!
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