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Girls’ softball features Medford, Everett & Revere jockeying back-and-forth for top spot
By Steve Freker
When the season began, it was generally agreed that a number of teams could challenge for the top spot in the Greater Boston League Baseball race. For the past several years, it has been all about “The Lynns”: Lynn Classical and Lynn English.
Lynn Classical has dominated the GBL for the past two seasons, winning back-to-back league titles and putting together an eye-opening, 35-5 record overall. In 2021, the first season back from the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, Classical finished in second place behind that year’s 2021 league champ, Lynn English.
How about this year? Well, both of the Lynn teams – Classical and English – have younger than usual rosters, as both the Classical Rams and the English Bulldogs graduated many senior starters. Longtime Lynn Classical Head Coach Mike Zukowski also resigned after last season, leaving the program to free up his time to be able to follow his own son’s sports career at St. Mary’s High School in Lynn. Familiar Lynn coach Leon Elwell took over for Zukowski. Elwell is well-known in the Babe Ruth circles, having led several Lynn teams to New England and once to a National Championship tournament.
With the “Lynns” apparently in the rebuilding mode, it was believed that the door was open for several other teams to challenge for the top spot. Maybe Malden, with a good mix of veterans, like senior captains Zeke Noelsaint, Jake Simpson and Ryan Coggswell, and young talent like pitchers sophomore Ryan McMahon and freshman Ryan Bowdridge.
But look out, GBL, here comes Somerville! Very few expected that Somerville High’s Highlanders would be a key factor in this year’s GBL Baseball race. Like the Lynn teams and also Revere, Somerville was a senior-dominated team last season. This year? Somerville has perhaps the best two-way player in the league on its roster – senior lefthanded ace pitcher and middle of the lineup slugger Ian Born – but was expected to have a bit of a struggle with a rebuilding year.
Born has not disappointed. All he has done is represent as the top pitcher in the league, 4-0 on the mound with an 0.88 ERA and hitting at a robust .556 clip with 13 RBIs in 9 games, both league-leading numbers. His younger brother Colin Born has two pitching wins himself to boost the Highlanders.
Looks like Head Coach Matt O’Donnell’s Somerville team has skipped the “rebuild” label and gone completely in the other direction – up! As the season approaches its midway mark, Somerville is perfect in Greater Boston League play at 6-0 and 7-2 overall. With just one more league game left in its first time around, versus Chelsea Wednesday this week, it’s a good bet they get past the first time around unbeaten.
If Malden has any hope at a shot at its first GBL baseball title in 30 years – since 1994 – then Monday’s road trip to Somerville’s Trum Field is essential, a “must win” at all costs.
With all of the other teams knocking each other left and right, at this point, the GBL title really looks like it’s Somerville’s to lose.
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Defending champ Revere and Malden serving up a GBL battle at the top in Boys Volleyball
With only a few years as an official program in 2023, the upstart Revere High Patriots Boys Volleyball program reeled off a bunch of wins and captured the GBL title last season. Head Coach Lianne O’Hara Mimmo took over the program in 2019 and revved the engines right to the GBL Championship with the Patriots’ best-ever, 16-4 overall record.
This year, led by senior captain and outside hitter Ruben Rodriguez, Revere is once again at the top of the list in the GBL, tied with Malden – both with 6-1 league records. Revere’s roster includes Isaac Portillo, Kawan Dias, Lucas Jiminez, Jacob Lopez, Ruben Rodriguez, Melih Yilmaz, Christopher Choc Chavez, Rayan Echelh, Medhi Echelh, Joao Almeida, Juan Perez, Omar Solano Garcia and Preston Kimemiah.
Malden’s only loss was a 3-0 shutout to Revere at the Revere High School gym, while the Patriots’ only league loss was a 3-2 slip on the road at Chelsea. Probably regarded as an upset at the time to the Red Devils, it does not look like it as much right now. Chelsea, at 4-1 in the league (its only loss, 3-0 at Malden) has made it a three-team race in the GBL.
Malden was up-and-down earlier in the season, but program founder and Head Coach Dan Jurkowski has the Golden Tornado ship pointed in the right direction.
Key games for Malden are coming up quick: back-to-back Wednesday home dates, hosting Chelsea on May 1 and a week later hosting Revere on May 8. Both are 5:15 p.m. starts.
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Medford, Everett and Revere going at for Girls Softball lead in GBL
Medford’s unbeaten (for now) in the Greater Boston League Girls Softball race, as Everett and Revere jockey for the top spot as well. It looks like it will be a three-team race moving forward with Medford unbeaten (5-0 GBL) and Everett (5-1 GBL) and Revere (5-2 GBL) close behind as the first league go-around concludes soon. Returning GBL champ Everett is not going away anytime soon, but at 6-1 overall (5-1 GBL), its only stumble is a 5-2 loss to Medford earlier this week on Monday.
The Crimson Tide softball roster includes freshman Mia Allen, senior Arabela Cvitkusic, junior Jayla DaVilla, senior Stephany DeSouza, freshman Olivia Dresser, senior Alessandra Foster, senior Emma Longmore, junior Emilia Maria-Babcock, senior Bryanna Mason, senior Gianna Masucci, junior Kassidy Rivera, senior Chloe Salvi, junior Ashley Seward, junior Alexa Uga and junior Peyton Warren.
Revere, at 5-2 GBL (5-2 overall) is looking to challenge as well, but did not fare well in its first two matchups with the leaders Everett and Medford.
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GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE STANDINGS
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Team GBL All
Medford 5-0 5-1
Everett 5-1 6-1
Revere 5-2 6-2
Lynn Classical 4-2 4-3
Lynn English 2-3 3-3
Malden 1-4 1-6
Somerville 1-5 2-6
Chelsea 0-6 0-6
BOYS BASEBALL
Team GBL All
Somerville 6-0 7-2
Lynn Classical 4-2 4-3
Malden 3-3 6-3
Medford 2-2 1-5
Lynn English 2-2 2-3
Revere 2-3 3-4
Everett 1-6 1-6
Chelsea 0-5 2-5
BOYS LACROSSE
Team GBL All
Medford 5-0 7-1
Malden 3-2 4-3
Lynn 3-3 4-5
Somerville 2-3 3-4
Revere 0-5 0-5
GIRLS LACROSSE
Team GBL All
Somerville 4-0 4-2
Malden 3-1 3-3
Medford 2-2 2-4
Everett 1-3 1-4
Revere 0-4 0-6
