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Malden and Somerville both undefeated at 3-0 to lead Boys Tennis standings; Malden Girls Tennis in 1st place at 4-0
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. Lynn Classical dominated the GBL when it first joined the league – coming over with Lynn English from the Northeastern Conference – winning back-to-back league titles and putting together an eye-opening, 35-5 record overall in 2022 and 2023. With a young team from last season a year older and one of the top players in the league, Chris Figueroa, anchoring its pitching staff and playing shortstop, the Classical Rams were expected to challenge once again for the GBL crown.
Also expected to be right near the top of the race this season was Coach Orazio Azzarello’s Medford Mustangs. With a solid all-junior tandem of 6-3 John Wright and fellow righty Travers Moodie, the Blue and White will be in every game with one of those guys on the mound. Add in All-Everything football star Justin Marino – perhaps the best overall athlete in the GBL – and Medford’s looking solid.
Somerville surprised many with its first GBL Baseball Championship in decades last year, with an impressive 12-2 league mark and 15-5 overall, led by league Most Valuable Player senior Ian Born. Born has since taken his talents to Swarthmore College. His former teammates, now sophomore Preston Ardolino and his brother, junior Colin Born, remain two of the top players in the GBL, but the Highlanders are young overall and have gotten off to a slow start.
A dark horse in this year’s GBL is none other than Everett. Two young, but talented ballplayers transferred into Everett High this year, and Crimson Tide Head Coach Malik Love could not be happier. Sophomore slugger and recent pitcher Tyler Freni came over after spending his freshman year as a Malden Catholic student and has already made his mark as a Tide football starter (linebacker) last fall. The son of former MC baseball All-Star (1992) Marc Freni, the younger Freni has become one of Coach Love’s most reliable hitters. Another Everett High newcomer, M.J. Guida, has settled right into the mix as the Tide’s starting catcher. Just a freshman, Guida was a key player as only an eighth-grader for coach Bryan Straccia’s Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Eagles last season.
Everett has already surpassed last year’s win total (4) with a 6-4 mark at the season’s halfway point. A return to the MIAA Division 1 State Baseball Tournament remains a major goal.
Revere righthanded pitcher Dom Bellia is as good as anyone in the league and was one out away from upsetting league leader Malden last week before some late-game heroics added up to a Malden comeback victory. Malden caught fire at midseason last year and ripped off 9 wins in a row to close out the spring, giving Somerville a run for its money and finished with its best record (16-4) in 30 years. After seeing its top four hitters and two pitchers who registered 11 of its 16 pitching wins depart after last season, Malden was not heralded very highly coming into this season.
All that has changed quite quickly as the Golden Tornados, led by just about everyone on its roster, sprinted out to one of its best starts in school history – a perfect 8-0 – before dropping a 7-3 loss to visiting Medford this week on Patriots’ Day. Malden rebounded with a 9-4 win on the road against Lynn English on Wednesday to improve to 9-1 overall at the season midpoint, as well as an impressive 6-1 GBL record. The Golden Tornados are paced by the junior pitching duo of Ryan McMahon (4-1) and Billy Gavin (2-0, 2 saves), senior captains Bo Bogan Stead and Chris MacDonald and a slew of freshmen, three of whom are regular starters.
The two preseason favorites, Lynn Classical (5-1 GBL) and Medford (4-1), are close on Malden’s heels, and looking ahead, the matchups between all three of these teams will be closely watched when it comes time to decide who waves the GBL Baseball pennant at the end. Malden has not worn the GBL Baseball crown since 1994 and it may be even longer for Medford. Count on both longtime GBL rivals to battle it out hard for a chance at the top spot this year.
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Somerville the lone GBL unbeaten team at 5-0 in Boys Volleyball
Somerville sits alone unbeaten at the head of the pack in GBL Boys Volleyball at 5-0, 7-2 overall, a sign of its continued progress toward being one of the league’s elite teams. Malden sits at 5-1 GBL (6-3 overall), its only league loss a 3-1 stumble at Somerville in Game 2 of the spring season. It looks like these two teams will be the contenders for GBL supremacy as the season rolls on, as all other teams – including two-time defending GBL champ Revere – have multiple league losses.
The biggest game of the season as for GBL title aspirations is now this, for both teams: Somerville at Malden next week, Wednesday, April 28 at Malden’s Finn Gym, 5:15 p.m. If Somerville wins and hands Malden its second league loss, the GBL race may be over. If Malden wins and puts a first league loss on the Highlanders, it would turn into a fight to the finish.
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Everett unbeaten (5-0) in Girls Softball Top Spot
Two-time defending champion Everett is unbeaten in Greater Boston League Girls Softball (5-0 GBL, 8-1 overall). It looks like it will be a three-team race moving forward with Lynn Classical (3-1 GBL, 3-2 overall) and Revere (3-1 GBL, 3-2 overall) close behind as the first league go-around concludes soon.
Returning GBL champ Everett is not going away anytime soon; 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 season so far has been fueled by the play of pitchers Peyton Warren and Graziella Foster, as well as Kassidy Rivera, Mia Allen, Alexa Uga and Arianna Osorio-Bonilla.
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Malden is tied at top of Boys Tennis list, unbeaten at 3-0
Malden High Boys Tennis is the defending GBL Champion and has won its first three matches to sit unbeaten atop the standings at 3-0 with Somerville.
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GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE STANDINGS
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Team GBL All
Everett 5-0 8-1
Lynn Classical 3-1 3-2
Revere 3-1 3-2
Medford 1-2 2-4
Chelsea 0-1 2-1
Lynn English 0-2 0-4
Malden 0-3 0-5
Somerville 0-3 0-5
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BOYS BASEBALL
Team GBL All
Malden 6-1 9-1
Lynn Classical 5-1 6-1
Medford 4-1 4-4
Everett 3-3 6-4
Lynn English 2-3 3-3
Revere 2-3 2-3
Somerville 1-4 1-6
Chelsea 0-7 0-8
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BOYS LACROSSE
Team GBL All
Medford 4-0 5-1
Somerville 3-1 3-5
Malden 2-2 2-4
Lynn 1-3 1-6
Revere 0-4 0-6
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GIRLS LACROSSE
Team GBL All
Medford 5-0 8-0
Somerville 5-1 6-2
Everett 2-4 2-5
Malden 2-4 2-6
Everett 1-3 1-4
Revere 0-5 0-7
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GIRLS TENNIS
Team GBL ALL
Malden 4-0 4-1
Somerville 2-0 2-2
Revere 3-1 4-1
Lynn Classical 2-3 2-5
Medford 1-2 1-2
Everett 1-4 1-5
Lynn English 0-3 0-3
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BOYS TENNIS
Team GBL ALL
Somerville 3-0 3-0
Malden 3-0 4-1
Medford 1-1 1-1
Everett 2-3 2-4
Lynn Classical 1-2 1-3
Revere 0-1 0-3
Lynn English 0-3 0-3
