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
Woman killed in Mattapan carjacking crash honored at vigil
Three days after an alleged carjacker hit and killed a woman in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, members of the community came together to honor her life.
A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday evening for 32-year-old Mabinty Janneh of Dorchester. She died after being hit Saturday afternoon on Blue Hill Avenue.
Ibraim Matos, 37, of Hyde Park, is charged with murder in the crash. He allegedly stole a vehicle and drove it onto the sidewalk, fatally hitting Janneh.
Ibraim Matos of Hyde Park has been charged with murder in the deadly crash.
Heartbroken family, friends and community members gathered near the site of the crash to remember Janneh Tuesday.
“We need justice for Mabinty,” said her aunt, Mbalu Tarawally.
“I just felt like I needed to be present,” said Rev. Dr. Barbara Simmons. “If the family lost a person, the least I can do is come here and show my face.”
“She was young, vibrant. Hard worker. Wants to do everything,” said Ahmad Thorley, a family member of Janneh.
The suspect in a deadly carjacking and crash in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood appeared in court to face charges including murder.
Witnesses said Matos dragged Janneh several hundred feet after hitting her.
The stolen Toyota RAV4 crashed into an MBTA bus, and people at the pulled Matos out of the car and holding him there until police arrived.
Matos pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of leaving the scene of personal injury and death and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, along with murder and carjacking. His defense attorney spoke briefly on Monday, saying they will evaluate “where we stand” in a few weeks after the mental health evaluation.
Boston, MA
Your next Uber ride in Boston could be a taxi
Boston taxis will be able to pick up passengers who request Uber and Lyft rides under a new pilot program announced by Mayor Michelle Wu Tuesday.
Customers who get a cab through a ride-hailing app will still see the cost upfront on their phone as opposed to the typical taxi fare structure.
“The goal of the pilot is to give Boston passengers more options to hail a taxi and to allow Boston’s licensed taxis to participate directly in meeting the demand for trips generated through Uber and Lyft,” the city said in a news release.
Wu said the yearlong pilot will allow cab drivers to earn more while reducing wait times for passengers.
“We’re thankful for the collaboration and advocacy from our taxicab drivers to introduce this new transportation service, and excited to support the people who keep our city moving,” the mayor said.
The program excludes taxi trips to Boston’s Logan Airport, and allows the Hackney Division to make exceptions during some special events in the city.
Uber’s website informs users “you might get matched with a Boston taxi driver.”
“If so, you’ll enjoy the same 24/7 availability and affordable prices you know with UberX while riding to your destination in a cab,” Uber says.
The city said it expects taxi drivers will now be able to “access a significantly larger number of trips than most currently serve.”
“This change is a major boost for taxi drivers in Boston and the passengers we serve,” said Balwinder Gill, who has owned and operated a Boston taxi for 25 years.
Boston, MA
Editorial: With Boston’s World Cup win, could we host Olympics?
The World Cup economic windfall boosting Boston gives rise to a question: Could the Hub host the Olympics?
Certainly Bostonians have more than risen to the occasion in terms of welcoming international visitors to our city and showing them a good time (and vice versa, Tartan Army). But it takes more than great hosts and a convivial atmosphere to pull off an epic sporting event.
It takes money, lots of it, political transparency, and a process open to public scrutiny and feedback. In other words, no, we couldn’t.
Public reception to the 2014 Olympics bid was tepid at best, as it would entail multiple construction projects. And when big construction projects are presented in Boston, taxpayers get suspicious. Big Dig, anyone?
Boston 24 announced it estimated the Games would produce at least $4.8 billion in revenues from television broadcast rights, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and other revenues, the Associated Press reported. They assumed nearly $4.6 billion in costs, including $176 million for a temporary Olympic Stadium, $90 million for the athletes’ village, about $754 million to build other Olympic venues and another $132 million to rent other locations.
They reportedly announced all this to answer critics who said the privately funded Boston 2024 withheld details of the bid to prevent the public from assessing whether the Games could be staged, as promised, without the need for taxpayer money.
We learned the answer to that soon enough.
In this case, as the Herald reported that year, details from Boston 2024’s so-called bid book indicated that plans sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee called for the Hub to fund “land acquisition and infrastructure costs” at Widett Circle, where a temporary Olympic stadium was being proposed. It came after months of promises that the group planned to run a privately funded Olympics.
“They’ve been saying for months, ‘No taxpayer (money),’ ” said Evan Falchuk, a vocal bid critic who pushed for a statewide ballot question on hosting the games. “Then you read what they told the USOC. … It’s a devastating blow to their credibility. There’s a reason why voters don’t trust what they’ve heard and (Boston 2024 has) got a lot of work to do to earn that trust.”
And all this talk of money came before any cost overruns made an appearance. London’s budget for the 2012 Summer Games escalated by about 300%, ending somewhere in the $14 billion range. What were the chances we’d fare any better?
No wonder Bostonians gave the Olympics idea the cold shoulder.
But what of the city’s World Cup success story? For starters, Gillette Stadium is already built, and the only large element requiring a cash infusion was the MBTA, which shelled out $35 million to upgrade Foxboro Station in advance of the Cup. They’ll make a nice chunk of that back, as the T spiked round-trip Commuter Rail ticket prices between South Station and Gillette Stadium for fútbol fans to $80.
In this case, Bostonians are on the winning side, reaping benefits from free-spending (and thirsty) visitors, and reveling in the good vibes.
It would be great for the city if megaprojects, or even minor ones, came with the guarantee of financial transparency before shovels hit the dirt. Optimists should look at White Stadium before calling it a day.
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