Printer Friendly Version - Tigers’ Boys’ Lacrosse Goes to 4-0; Wivell Gets 100th Hit as Softball Takes Two

Teg Cosgriff and the Hand boys’ lacrosse squad stand at 4-0 following victories versus Amity and Simsbury in last week’s action. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source

The Hand boys’ lacrosse team swept a pair of contests last week by defeating Amity and Simsbury. The Tigers now boast a mark of 4-0 on the season.

The Tigers first won a tight 4-3 contest against SCC adversary Amity on April 10. Three days later, Hand bested non-conference opponent Simsbury by a 7-5 margin.

Against Simsbury, Liam Gottlick had four goals for Hand, while Tom Swank added two, and Nate Palumbo netted one. Teg Cosgriff and Tom Ferrick each had an assist. Griffin Fitzmourice made 19 saves in net for the Tigers.

The Tigers had two contests last week and earned a split in the two showdowns to move their mark to 3-1.

First, Hand took a 16-13 loss to Loomis Chaffee on April 10. The Tigers then raced past Amity for a 14-2 victory on April 13.

Against Loomis Chaffee, Emma Sullivan tallied five goals and an assist for the Tigers. Riley Kokoruda added three goals and three assists, Glenna-Kate Gies contributed two goals with three assists, while Taylor Scully tallied two goals and had four helpers. Hand was down 7-2 to start the game and then came back to tie it at 8 before Loomis Chaffee went on to the victory.

“It was a good showing against a very good team,” said Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki. “We matched up pretty well with them everywhere, except transition speed. They just had a couple kids who could run through us on fast-breaks.”

Scully scored four goals and two assists versus Amity. Dory Howard landed three goals, plus Kokoruda was 10-of-11 on draws.

Hand took two of its three contests this past week, including a big win over rival Guilford, to up its mark to 4-2.

Hand began the week with an 11-1 loss to non-conference foe Norwich Free Academy on April 10. The Tigers then bounced back with a 7-5 win over Guilford the next day. They kept the winning going with an 8-1 triumph over Foran on April 12.

Abby Geshwind was the winning pitcher in the victories versus Guilford and Foran. Senior captain Hollis Wivell recorded her 100th career varsity hit in the Foran. Wivell has committed to play softball for the University of Connecticut next year.

The Tigers took their first two defeats of the year by losing to a pair of SCC opponents last week. Hand is now 3-2 on the campaign.

Hand took its first loss of the season with a 2-0 defeat to Guilford on April 10. Two days later, the Tigers lost to Branford 7-5.

In Hand’s first game of the week, Guilford scored two runs in the first inning off of Tigers’ starter Aaron D’Annolfo. Those were the only runs that D’Annolfo allowed in six innings of work.

“Both teams played a great game. All of the pitchers for Guilford and Hand were great, and the defense in the game was sensational,” said Head Coach Travis LaPointe. “I thought that Guilford played a terrific game. They did a great job of jumping on us early and they made some great plays to keep us off the scoreboard. Every time Hand and Guilford play, it is always a great baseball game.”

Against Branford, Mike Elias and Will Reiner both had two doubles for the Tigers. Cam Fitzgerald also had a double, while Elias and Fitzgerald each had two RBI for Hand. Branford scored in the first inning with a leadoff triple and a RBI groundout to second base. Hand tied the game at 1 in the third after Eddie Sweeney was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, and scored on a throwing error. Branford added two runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth to take a 7-1 advantage. Hand battled back to make it 7-5 in the bottom of the inning and had the tying runs on first and third before Branford got a pop out to end the threat.

“Our offense had a tough time getting started today and Branford executed with some big hits. Once we got into Branford’s bullpen, we were able to put some great at bats together and almost came all the way back,” LaPointe said. “Branford outplayed us for the majority of the game and our offense work up a little too late today. In high school baseball, it is so important to jump out to an early lead. It really puts pressure on the opponent and makes the game much easier to play.”

The Tigers moved to 3-0 on the dual-meet season by sweeping a tri-meet on against Notre Dame-West Haven and Foran on April 11. Hand bested Notre Dame 89-61 and defeated Foran by a 109-41 score. The Tigers also improved to 2-0 in the SCC Hammonasset Division with the sweep.

Hand improved to 1-2 for the year as it split a road tri-meet against host Foran and Sacred Heart Academy. The Tigers lost to Sacred Heart Academy 93-56, but dispatched the Lions 99-38 to even its SCC Hammonasset Division record at 1-1.

Hand had just one match this past week and it was a road contest at Barlow on April 13. The Tigers moved to 1-2 on the year with a 3-0 loss.

Senior captain Hollis Wivell recorded her 100th hit with the Hand softball squad when the Tigers posted an 8-1 victory versus Foran on April 12. Also pictured are teammates Abby Murphy, Hannah Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin. Photo courtesy of Susan Wivell