Boston, MA
Baseball/softball notebook: St. Mary’s off to sizzling start
St. Mary’s entered the season as one of a handful of contenders for the Division 3 state baseball title.
Through six games, nothing has happened to dispel that notion.
The 6-0 Spartans have beaten a pair of future Div. 1 college pitchers (Scott Longo and Andrew Shute) and a bonafide high school ace (Matt Burt) in the process.
“Pitching has been the No. 1 reason for our success,” said St. Mary’s coach Derek Dana. “We’ve got two No. 1 guys (Josh Doney and Jack Zimmerman) who are very good pitchers who will go on to pitch in college. They always want the ball and they give us innings. Jake Peterson has been with us for three years, he’s been in some big games as well.
“Cam McGonagle wasn’t with us last year because of an injury he suffered during hockey, but he was our leading hitter as a sophomore and will pitch for us as well as Jackson Finn.”
St. Mary’s isn’t just a job for Dana – it’s his life.
A star player at St. Mary’s where he was part of state championship teams in 1987 and 1988, Dana went on to play at UMass and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 28th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He spent four years in the minors before returning home and becoming the head coach at his alma mater 18 years ago.
“This school means a lot to me,” said Dana, who has guided the Spartans to three state titles in his tenure. “I love this place, I love everything about the school. (Athletic director) Jeff Newhall does a great job, he gives us everything we need which makes things a lot easier.
“The kids know the past and understand that, but we want them to be part of something now.”
Because of the deep and talented rotation, St. Mary’s doesn’t need to bang out 20 hits on a daily basis in order to achieve success. The Spartans have relied on timely hitting from the likes of Michael DeMaino, Jared Paone, Josh Doney, Kyle Doney and McGonagle to stay perfect through six games.
“We’re not hitting the way we would like, but I can see that we are having much better at-bats than we did last year.” Dana said. “We’re a year older and the approaches at the plate are much improved.”
Diamond dandies
Xaverian baseball coach Gerry Lambert joined the 300-win club earlier last week when the Hawks defeated Hopkinton, 7-1. A 1988 graduate of Xaverian where he played for Bill Porter, Lambert took over the program in 2002 and has guided the Hawks to three state titles as well as four sectional titles in his 22 seasons at the helm.
Staying with the Catholic Conference, coaches in the league aren’t paying lip service when they say on any given day, any team in the league can beat the other. That happened last Monday as winless Catholic Memorial knocked off defending state champion and previously unbeaten BC High 4-2 thanks to a key two-run double by Richie Curran.
Holliston dialed up Dr. Longball early and often against Millis. Evan Engel, Sam Schoenberg and Ben Maiorano each homered twice and combined for 14 RBI as Holliston cruised to a 15-2 win.
Whitman-Hanson’s Taryn Leonard is no stranger to going yard herself. The Panther standout belted a pair of home runs in an 18-5 win over Hingham, giving her 20 for her career.
Bishop Feehan’s Mylee Ramer took matters into her own hands against St. Mary’s. She struck out 14 and homered twice, including a grand slam, in a 14-8 win to improve to 6-0 on the season. The Shamrocks have a key nonleague showdown against King Philip slated for Patriots Day.
All-Scholastic junior pitcher Elsie Testa of Abington keeps putting up impressive numbers. The reigning South Shore Tobin Player of the Year cracked the 300-strikeout mark for her career in a 9-2 win over Cohasset. Last year, Testa struck out 189 batters in 152 innings and finished with a miniscule 0.88 ERA.
(If you have any notebook ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at donato.ventura@bostonherald.com)
Boston, MA
Indiana hosts Boston, aims to stop home losing streak
Boston Celtics (18-11, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (6-24, 14th in the Eastern Conference)
Indianapolis; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana aims to end its three-game home slide with a win against Boston.
The Pacers have gone 4-14 against Eastern Conference teams. Indiana is 5-12 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 13.1 turnovers per game.
The Celtics are 14-8 in conference games. Boston ranks sixth in the NBA with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Neemias Queta averaging 3.1.
The Pacers are shooting 42.9% from the field this season, 1.6 percentage points lower than the 44.5% the Celtics allow to opponents. The Celtics average 15.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 4.1 more made shots on average than the 11.5 per game the Pacers allow.
The teams play for the second time this season. The Celtics won the last meeting 103-95 on Dec. 23. Jaylen Brown scored 31 points to help lead the Celtics to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 23.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Pacers. T.J. McConnell is averaging 16.0 points over the last 10 games.
Payton Pritchard is shooting 43.9% and averaging 16.8 points for the Celtics. Derrick White is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 2-8, averaging 108.0 points, 40.7 rebounds, 22.7 assists, 7.2 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.9 points per game.
Celtics: 8-2, averaging 118.3 points, 43.5 rebounds, 22.7 assists, 8.1 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.6 points.
INJURIES: Pacers: Obi Toppin: out (foot), Ben Sheppard: day to day (calf), Isaiah Jackson: day to day (head), Aaron Nesmith: out (knee), Tyrese Haliburton: out for season (achilles).
Celtics: Jayson Tatum: out (achilles), Jordan Walsh: day to day (illness).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Boston, MA
City officials suspend license of Boston nightclub where woman suffered fatal medical episode – The Boston Globe
City officials said Wednesday they had suspended the entertainment license for Icon, a Boston nightclub, after a woman suffered a medical emergency there over the weekend and later died.
The city’s licensing board is expected to hold a hearing on the future of Icon’s liquor license “in the coming weeks,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
Police arrived at the Warrenton Street venue, in the Theater District, just before 12:30 a.m. on Sunday and found a person lying on the dance floor, unresponsive and without a pulse, according to an incident report. Family members on social media identified the woman as Anastaiya Colon and said she had been celebrating her sister’s birthday when she collapsed.
Emergency medical personnel performed chest compressions and took Colon to Tufts Medical Center, according to the report. Family members said Tuesday that she had died.
“Any loss of life in our community is a horrible tragedy and our condolences go out to the family and loved ones,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement Wednesday.
Family members have accused the nightclub of negligence, alleging that, once alerted to the medical emergency, Icon staff failed immediately to call 911, only stopped the dance music for a few minutes, and did not clear the way for emergency personnel once they arrived.
“Their negligence and incompetence to control and clear a crowd for professionals ensured it was too late to save her,” Bonnell Stackhouse, Colon’s former partner, alleged in a social media post.
Boston police detectives are investigating the incident, according to Officer Mark Marron, a department spokesperson. A spokesperson for the Suffolk district attorney’s office said Wednesday morning that there are “no indications of criminality.”
In a statement to the Globe on Wednesday, the club said its staff had acted appropriately.
Club management said it conducted interviews with employees and reviewed security footage that showed CPR was administered “within a minute” of staff being notified of the medical emergency.
EMS was contacted within two minutes, and Boston police arrived within six minutes, the club said.
“We hope the family finds some comfort knowing that Boston Police, Boston EMS, and the Club Staff worked diligently and efficiently in responding to this unfortunate situation,” club management said.
According to the police report, however, the first officers to arrive on the scene were on a routine patrol outside the nightclub when they were flagged down by one of Colon’s friends.
Police also said in the report that the large crowd inside the club did not comply with orders to give space to emergency medical personnel, forcing them to shut down the club and order the patrons to leave.
Icon had planned to hold a New Year’s Eve event, headlined by DJs JayRoc and Roniflee, according to its social media accounts. It was unclear Wednesday whether that event would take place.
Colon, known as “Nena,” leaves behind two children, one aged 9 and the other 6 months old, according to a fund-raiser in her name.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
Boston, MA
Bruins Close Homestand with 6-2 Loss to Canadiens | Boston Bruins
BOSTON –– Despite a fiery start, the Boston Bruins lost their footing in the third period and ultimately fell 6-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at TD Garden.
“Even after the first period, guys came ready to play today. They were very excited, so it was good,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “But the goals we gave up – for me, it’s a lot of individual mistakes, fatigue. Guys were just mentally not sharp.”
Sammy Blais put the Canadiens ahead 1-0 at 11:08 of the first period, but the Bruins soon earned the lead.
Mason Lohrei kept the puck in the zone and carried it down the left side before hitting Marat Khusnutdinov with a cross-crease pass, which he one-timed past Montreal netminder Jacob Fowler at 12:25. Khusnutdinov’s fifth goal of the year made it 1-1 and extended his point streak to three games.
Alex Steeves potted a last-minute tally for the 2-1 lift while on the power play. David Pastrnak dished the puck over to Steeves in the right circle, where he sniped it home at 19:42. It was Steeves’ eighth goal of the season, and first PPG of his NHL career. The loss overshadowed that for the forward, though.
“It’s terrible, it stinks. Really, this whole homestand, going into break, it’s unfortunate,” Steeves said. “But I think it’s moments like these where you find out how tight the group is. I know we have a tight group, and I know we’ll bounce back from this and we’ll be stronger because of it. Stings for now.”
Viktor Arvidsson – who played in his first game since Dec. 11 after working through a lower-body injury – picked up the secondary assist on the scoring play. The forward was back on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.
“It was nice to be back and skating again and battling and stuff and be on the bench,” Arvidsson said. “Be with the guys. It felt good.”
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