Rockets Review: Big Wins for Needham Softball, Volleyball, Lacross, Rugby

Softball Gets Two Big Wins! 

After falling by 1 run to Weymouth on Monday, NHS Softball earned two of the biggest league wins in recent program history, as they took down visiting Braintree 5-1 on Wednesday and then shocked host, and top-20 Newton North, 3-1 on Friday.  Below is a write-up from head Coach Steph Magni:

After a tough 4-3 loss to Weymouth on Monday, the Rockets came back on Wednesday with a big 5-1 victory over Braintree.  The rockets got a huge start scoring 4 of the 5 runs in the first inning. Freshman Julia Ritcey started off by hitting a single and then stealing second base. Senior Lydia Tsouridis followed up hitting a single as well. Senior Kaly Davidson scored them both on a 2RBI single. Senior Jacqui O'Leary then reached on an error and both Davidson and O'Leary moved over on a passed ball.

Sophomore Emily Rizzo then hit a SAC fly deep to left scoring Kaly Davidson for the third run. Sophie Shulman then followed up with a single scoring Jacqui O'Leary for the 4th run. In the 5th inning the rockets scored an insurance run when Kaly Davidson hit a single and scored when Jacqui O'Leary hit a double. Emily Rizzo picked up the victory on the mound and struck out 5 batters in the game. Defensively the middle infield really stepped up as seniors, Lydia Tsouridis (Shortstop) and Sydney Noymer (2nd Base) played solid throughout the game. On Friday the rockets picked up another amazing victory against Newton North with a 3-1 victory. 

The rockets had a huge first inning when Senior Lydia Tsouridis hit a double.  Senior Kaly Davidson followed up with an RBI single scoring Tsouridis.  Senior Jacqui O'Leary moved Davidson over when she hit a single and Davidson was able to score on a Newton North passed ball. It was a tight battle for the next few innings until the rockets were able to score again in the top of the 6th when Tsouridis reached on an error and was moved over when Davidson got down a SAC bunt and O'Leary knocked her in when she hit a double. 

Newton North was able to get on the board in the bottom of the 6th when the second batter of the inning hit a double and was then knocked in when another North player hit a triple, but Needham was able to remain calm and hold them to just the 1 run for the remainder of the game. Sophomore Emily Rizzo also picked up this win on the mound and had two strikeouts, one in the bottom of the 7th.  Defensively this was one of the best games Needham has played by every single player, including 2 diving catches by right fielder Jacqui O'Leary. 

The Needham Rockets are now 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the Bay State Conference.  The Rockets have a busy week coming up, as they will play Walpole under the lights at Claxton Field in Needham at 6:30 followed up by two games away at Brookline on Wednesday and Milton on Friday. 

Boys Volleyball Moves Up to Globe #4!

Boys Volleyball also had a big week, moving to 9-2 on the season with wins over top-5 Newton North on Monday, a tough Norwood squad on Wednesday, and host Natick on Friday.  With the three wins and an 8-0 record in the Bay State Conference, the Rockets also move into the Boston Globe Top-10, coming in at #4 for this week!

See the Globe's coverage of the team on their website.

Lacrosse Teams Roll & Rugby Stays Undefeated!

Girls (3-0) & Boys (2-0) Lacrosse also did not taste defeat on the week, as the Girls beat King Phillip on Monday and both teams took down Natick and Braintree.  In the new Globe rankings, the Boys fell one spot to #3 while the Girls dropped two spots to #6.  Each program has a big non-league game this week, as the Girls will host Andover at 4:30pm on Memorial Field on Wednesday and the Boys will travel to St. John's Prep on Saturday for a 5:00pm game.
Wednesday saw Rugby stay undefeated, as they came from 12 down to tie visiting Wilbraham & Monson on Wednesday.  

To follow is a write-up from Coach Peter Arsenault:

Needham was able to score minutes into the game for a good start, while the rest of the half went Wilbraham & Monson's way. Needham was able to keep it close, as the score was 7-5 at the half. In the second half Wilbraham & Monson was able to make a couple nice break away run's to extend the lead to 19-7.  In turn, the Rockets, with a new fire, got a try and conversion to make it 19-14.  

With only a couple minutes left Needham was able to get one last try to tie the game at 19-19, and with no time left, Needham's 1-point conversion kick sailed wide left to end the game in a tie at 19-19.

Scores by Needham-Senior

• Jim Gowetski - 1 try Junior
• Auggie Coll - 2 tries and 2 conversion kicks

Needham, now 3-0-1, will host Catholic Memorial at DeFazio on Thursday May, 2nd @ 4:00pm.

Other News

Other Needham wins on the week included Baseball over Weymouth on Monday, both Track & Field Teams over Braintree on Wednesday, and both Tennis Teams over Framingham on Friday.

For Needham Athletics program updates and links, and to follow the NHS teams through the postseason, please visit http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/athletics and follow on Twitter:@NHSRockets. 

See also the NHS Boosters Athletic Events Photo Galleries atwww.davearnoldphotography.com for photos of Needham HS athletes and teams in action.

Athletic Events Schedule 4.29-5.4

Day, Date Start Team H/A Opponent(s) / Event Facility Bus Depart Monday             4/29/13 3:45PM Var/JV Baseball A Walpole HS Walpole/Bird 2:45pm 4/29/13 3:45PM Boys Var Tennis H Natick HS Needham HS Tennis Courts   4/29/13 3:45PM Boys JV Tennis H Natick HS Needham/Mills   4/29/13 4:00PM Boys Fresh Lacrosse A Natick HS Natick HS 2:45pm 4/29/13 4:00PM Girls Fresh Lacrosse H Milton HS Needham/Cricket   4/29/13 4:00PM Boys Var Volleyball H Braintree HS Needham HS A Gym   4/29/13 5:15PM Boys JV Volleyball H Braintree HS Needham HS A Gym   4/29/13 5:00PM JV Softball H Walpole HS Needham/Claxton #2   4/29/13 6:30PM Var Softball H Walpole HS Needham/Claxton #1                 Tuesday             4/30/13 3:45PM Fresh Baseball H Newton North HS Needham/DeFazio   4/30/13 3:45PM Girls Var Tennis H Natick HS Needham HS Tennis Courts   4/30/13 3:45PM Girls JV Tennis H Natick HS Needham/Mills   4/30/13 4:00PM Coed MS Track H Weston HS Needham/DeFazio   4/30/13 4:00PM Girls Var Lacrosse H Walpole HS Needham/Memorial   4/30/13 5:30PM Girls JV Lacrosse H Walpole HS Needham/Memorial   4/30/13 5:30PM Boys JV Lacrosse A Walpole HS Walpole HS 4:00pm 4/30/13 7:15PM Boys Var Lacrosse A Walpole HS Walpole HS 5:30pm               Wednesday             5/1/13 3:45PM Girls Var/JV Softball A Brookline HS Brookline/Cypress 2:45pm 5/1/13 3:45PM Boys Var/JV Tennis A Braintree HS Braintree HS 2:45pm 5/1/13 3:45PM Girls Var Tennis H Braintree HS Needham HS Tennis Courts   5/1/13 3:45PM Girls JV Tennis H Braintree HS Needham/Mills   5/1/13 3:45PM Boys/Girls Track & Field A Weymouth HS Weymouth HS 2:45pm 5/1/13 4:00PM JV Baseball H Brookline HS Needham/DeFazio   5/1/13 4:00PM Boys Var Volleyball H Framingham HS Needham HS A Gym   5/1/13 5:15PM Boys JV Volleyball H Framingham HS Needham HS A Gym   5/1/13 4:30PM Girls Var Lacrosse H Andover HS Needham/Memorial                 Thursday             5/2/13 3:45PM Fresh Baseball A Walpole HS Walpole/Johnson MS 2:45pm 5/2/13 3:45PM Boys Var Tennis H St. John's Prep School Needham HS Tennis Courts   5/2/13 3:45PM Boys JV Tennis H St. John's Prep School Needham/Mills   5/2/13 3:45PM Girls Var/JV Tennis A Notre Dame Acad. (Hingham) Notre Dame Acad. (Hingham) 2:45pm 5/2/13 4:00PM Boys Var Lacrosse H Weymouth HS Needham/Memorial   5/2/13 4:00PM Boys JV Lacrosse H Weymouth HS Needham DeFazio #2   5/2/13 4:00PM Boys Fresh Lacrosse A Weymouth HS Weymouth HS 2:45pm 5/2/13 4:00/5:30PM Girls Var/JV Lacrosse A Weymouth HS Weymouth HS 2:45pm 5/2/13 4:00PM Girls Fresh Lacrosse H Weymouth HS Needham/Cricket   5/2/13 4:00PM Rugby H Catholic Memorial HS Needham DeFazio #1                 Friday             5/3/13 3:30PM Coed MS Track H Wellesley MS Needham/DeFazio   5/3/13 3:45PM Var Baseball H Milton HS Needham/Memorial   5/3/13 3:45PM JV Baseball H Milton HS Needham/DeFazio   5/3/13 3:45PM Var/JV Softball A Milton HS Milton HS 2:45pm 5/3/13 4:00/5:30PM Boys Var/JV Volleyball A Brookline HS Brookline - Tappan Gym 2:45pm               Saturday             5/4/13 TBA Boys/Girls Track & Field A Fr/So Large Meet Newton South HS   5/4/13 4:00PM Boys/Girls Track & Field A Weston Twilight Invitational Weston HS 2:30pm 5/4/13 5:00PM Boys Var/JV Lacrosse A St. John's Prep School SJP Cronin Memorial Stadium 3:15pm

GO ROCKETS - BOSTON STRONG!!!