June 30, 2011
HS notebook: Portsmouth (N.H.) to get Fenway welcome
by Roger Brown/
The Portsmouth (N.H.) High School baseball team will be honored by the Boston Red Sox before their game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on July 9.
Portsmouth ended the 2011 season by winning its fourth consecutive state championship, which extended the program’s winning streak to 83 games – a national record.
“The program got a lot of attention for some of things that happened this year and I’m glad we were able to cap the season with a victory,” Portsmouth coach Tim Hopley said after Portsmouth beat St. Thomas in the Division II championship game. “These kids have worked hard and it’s good to see them being rewarded for their hard work.”
According to Portsmouth athletic director Rus Wilson, the idea of honoring the Clippers before a Red Sox game was presented to the Red Sox by Dave O’Brien, who works for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network. O’Brien lives in Rye, N.H., and has a daughter who graduated from Portsmouth High School this year.
The Boston-Baltimore game is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m.
Beede earns honor
Lawrence Academy right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede has been selected as the inaugural Mr. Baseball winner, an annual award that will be presented to the top high school baseball player in Massachusetts by ESPNBoston.com.
Beede was 8-0 (seven complete games) with a 0.69 ERA during the 2011 season. He had 102 strikeouts, eight walks, and allowed 13 hits in 51 innings.
Beede was also dangerous at the plate, where he hit .481 as Lawrence Academy’s leadoff hitter. He helped Lawrence Academy win the Independent School League title.
Earlier this month Beede became the first high school player from Massachusetts since 2003 to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. The Toronto Blue Jays took Beede with the 21st overall pick.
Beede has committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University, but has until Aug. 15 to reach an agreement with Toronto.
After transferring from Auburn High School following his sophomore year, Beede had a 14-1 record and a 0.78 ERA in his two seasons at Lawrence Academy. He struck out 189 in 96.1 innings.
He helped Auburn win the 2009 Division 2 state championship.
Molta powers South
It wasn’t hard to select the Most Valuable Player in last week’s 33rd annual North-South Eastern Mass. All-Star Baseball Game.
Nantucket’s Mike Molta hit a grand slam, drove in six runs and pitched a scoreless inning to lead the South All-Stars to a 12-7 victory at Lynn’s Fraser Field.
The Massachusetts State Baseball Coaches Association sponsored the game, which featured some of the state’s best high school players who graduated earlier this year.
The North led 4-0 after the top of the first, but the South overcame that deficit in the bottom half of the inning. The South took a 5-4 lead on Molta’s two-run single.
The South took control by scoring six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Molta’s grand slam gave the South an 11-5 lead.
Star power
The Connecticut High School Coaches’ Association all-state baseball team:
Class LL: Tyler Barrett (Newington), Bryan Daniello (Brien McMahon), Connor David (Cheshire), Kyle Decker (Simsbury), Brian Fay (Pomperaug), Lou Iannoti (Xavier), Allen Nunez (New Britain), Greg Ostner (New Milford), Devin Over (Windsor), Brent Pallela (Pomperaug), Kyle Richards (Glastonbury), R.J. Roman (Newtown), Sal Romano (Southington), Mike Scott (Staples), Dom Severino (Cheshire), Vin Siena (Amity), Eric Stone (West Haven), T.J. Wyrebek (Bristol Central).
Class L: Austin Barnes (Berlin), Manny Cruz (Wilby), Dan Duffy (Sheehan), Santiago Edgard (New London), Alex Farina (New Canaan), Gary Flowers (Notre Dame-West Haven), Matt Greene (New London), Carson Helms (Farmington), Dan Lima (Cheney Tech), Chase Livingston (East Lyme), Will Matuszak (Berlin), Garrett Perusse (Torrington), Pat Rogers (Waterford), Kyle Schilling (RHAM), Jeff Stoddard (Branford), Brendan Telfer (Avon), Jon Testani (Masuk), Christian Trantalis (Bacon Academy), Eric Yavarone (North Haven).
Class M: Charlie Ameer (Weston), Dan Bouchard (Rocky Hill), Connor Buckley (Stonington), Jack DeBiase (Woodland), Dom Gambino (Wolcott), Zack Graves (Ellington), Vin Guglietti (East Haven), Quinn Irwin (St. Joseph), C.J. Monroe (Wolcott), Orlando Morales (Ansonia), Joe Perez (North Branford), Colin Sledzik (Haddam-Killingworth), Justin Thomas (Enfield), Corey Wilcox (Montville), Zach Wood (Griswold).
Class S: Jason Byers (East Granby), Ray Cohen (Coventry), Dwayne Ellis (Sacred Heart), Ted Gravel (Wamogo), Matt Harrison (Immaculate), Alex Iannone (East Hampton), Ray Kreiger (Derby), Zack LaFemina (Hale-Ray), Mike Mancuso (Cromwell), Alex Miller (Oxford), Mike Odenwaelder (Wamogo), John Olszyk (Career Magnet), Tucker Panciera (East Catholic), Reid Roberge (St. Paul), Steve Starr (Lyman Memorial).
