BASEBALL
All-Scholastic Spencer Brown drove in three runs and Mike Urbanski pitched 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief as No. 3 Beverly (19-4) advanced to the Div. 2 North final with a 5-1 win over No. 10 Burlington. ... Andrew Manni belted a two-run homer as No. 1 Masconomet (21-2) defeated No. 12 Arlington, 5-2.
Jake Lanciani hit a three-run homer, Phil Durgin knocked in two runs and Luke McClintock pitched a shutout as No. 3 Hamilton-Wenham (17-5) extended its postseason scoreless streak to 21 with an 8-0 win over No. 7 South Boston in a Div. 4 North semifinal.
Brandon Guerrero had three hits, Colman O’Toole drove in three runs and Chris Bear went the distance as No. 1 Boston Latin (17-5) advanced to its first Div. 1 North sectional final in 23 years with a 7-2 win over No. 4 Waltham. ... Edgar Velasquez and Tyler Hoey each drove in a pair of run and Ethan Gofstein added a three-run homer as No. 5 Lowell (15-7) handled No. 2 Medford, 15-0.
Aidan Harding and Nick Raneri combined to drive in nine runs, while Peter Cohen threw a two-hitter to lead No. 1 North Attleboro (20-2) to a 20-2 victory over fifth-seed Dartmouth in a Div. 2 South semifinal.
Ryan Bellew, Coco Dolan and Neil Sanders drove in runs, while Sam Hamer gave up one hit over 6 2/3 innings as No. 12 Archbishop Williams (15-9) returned to the Div. 4 South finals with a 6-3 win over top-seed St. John Paul.
Alec Sharton drove in the winning run in the last of the seventh as No. 8 Needham (15-8) ousted No. 12 Braintree, 5-4, in a Div. 1 South semifinal.
SOFTBALL
Lauren Sablone belted a three-run homer and Lauren MacDonald carried a perfect game into the seventh inning as No. 1 Austin Prep (23-0) rolled to an 11-1 win over No 20 Ipswich in a Div. 3 North semifinal.
Tara Driver and Cassandra Pascucci each drove in a pair of runs as No. 1 North Reading (22-0) defeated fifth-seed Whittier, 10-2, to advance to the Div. 2 North final.
Meghan Gorman and Brianna Lacy each drove in a pair of runs as No. 4 King Philip (21-3) defeated No. 9 Braintree, 9-3, in a Div. 1 South semifinal. Kelsey White had three hits and drove in three runs as No. 2 Taunton (23-2) defeated 14th-seeded Bishop Feehan, 9-1.
SCHOOLS
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association announced the creation of a Girls Wrestling Tournament starting next year in the winter of 2018-2019. Female wrestlers will continue wrestling for their school teams during the traditional winter season, but will be given the option before the MIAA Sectional Tournament to declare which MIAA post-season tournament they’ll compete, either the traditional mixed gender tournament or the girls tournament.
“We are thrilled to provide an opportunity to showcase the tremendous female wrestlers that work tirelessly throughout the season,” said MIAA wrestling liaison Phil Napolitano. “We look forward to the continued growth of girls wrestling in the state of Massachusetts.”
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Nantucket announced that Joseph Perry has been named the new head varsity coach football coach. He replaces Brian Ryder, who stepped down following the 2017 season. Perry has been a member of the Nantucket football coaching staff for the past four years as an assistant coach. He also served on the Whaler football staff under former legendary head coach Vito Capizzo from 1999-2004.
