Spring Revue a Big Hit - St. Sebastian's School

Vol LXII, No. 7
ARROWS SPORTS
Edmund Murphy ‘11 attempts to deliver some heat on the Sebillian turf.
Baseball Finishes Year Well
By ALEX SPEAR ‘11
The St. Sebastian’s Arrows
Varsity Baseball team started
the year playing extremely
well, and, in the second half of
the season, the Arrows continued
their success en route to
a twelve win, five loss season
(overall) and an 11-4 record in
ISL league play.
In the start of the
second half of the season, the
Arrows welcomed St. Paul’s to
campus, but the welcome was
not a nice one. The Arrows
gave St. Paul’s a beating, 14-0,
as Junior Edmund Murphy
pitched a shutout gem through
seven innings. The Arrows
were led by senior captain
Will Connolly and sophomore
Andrew Vandini, who contributed
3 hits apiece in the
rout. Riding a three game win
streak now, the Arrows traveled
to Belmont Hill the next
day. The game was promised
to be a showdown, and, oh yes,
it was a showdown. Johnny
Nicklas ’12 squared off against
the Belmont Hill pitcher as
neither pitcher gave an inch.
The Hillies managed to score
a quick two runs off Nicklas
early in the game, but the
Arrows bounced back in the
fourth inning as junior Alex
Spear was knocked in by a
base hit. The Arrows managed
to plate another, but Belmont
Hill put up a rebuttal and
notched another run to make
the game 3-2. Then, in the
top of the sixth inning, senior
Jimmy Fitzgerald came up
to the plate with runners on
second and third. After working
a good count, Fitz roped a
missile to the right-center gap,
scoring the tying and go-ahead
runs for the Arrows. Fired up
by Fitz’s hit, the Arrows held
off the Hillies in the bottom
of the sixth. But, in the seventh,
the Dark Side tied up the
game off of some well-struck
balls. In extra innings, the Arrows
had runners on second
and third with one out but
could not capitalize and the
score remained a tie at four
apiece. Then, in the bottom
of the eighth, with runners
on second and third with one
out, a Belmont Hill batter hit a
rocket out to right-center field
to win the game. Although a
great game, the Arrows got
their first ISL loss. It was an
extremely well-fought game
with superb defense. Lucas
Mykulak ’11 made several
nice plays at second base that
game. Two days later, the Red
and Black went to BB&N to
battle the top-ranked Knights.
Jared Clement pitched his butt
off for six innings, only salvaging
a few earned runs and
striking out multiple talented
hitters, but his own hitters
could not supply enough runs
as they faced a skilled adversary
on the mound. Although
another dirt-dog game, the
Arrows fell to the Knights 6-1.
After a difficult two
days against Belmont Hill and
BB&N, the Arrows shook it
off and managed to win seven
straight games. The Arrows
handily beat the Middlesex
Zebras 12-2, which featured
absolute bomb homeruns
from Will Connolly, Christian
Venditti, and Andrew Vandini.
Starter Edmund Murphy
pitched a phenomenal game
once again, holding off the
opponents and allowing his
team’s bats to do the damage.
The next day, the Arrows
hiked off to challenge a very
talented Lawrence Academy
team and responded
well. Starter Johnny Nicklas
had another outstanding,
complete-game effort en
route to leading his team to
an 8-4 victory. Connolly and
McGuirl got their team’s bats
started with back-to-back
hits that resulted in a run,
and Reenstierna, Connolly,
McGuirl, Clement, and Spear
all registered multi-hit performances.
The following day,
on a scorching hot Saturday
afternoon and after SAT’s,
the Arrows hosted a very,
very good Rivers Red Wings
squad. The game proved
to be an odd one, as walks
dominated the scoring. The
Arrows scored their first four
runs off of walks as Arrows
hurler, Clement, battled
hard for six innings on the
bump. A tie game entering
the bottom of the seventh, the
Arrows managed to load up
the bases for Chris Nadeau
’12 with two outs. With a 3-1
count, Nadeau drew a walk to
win the game for the Arrows,
marking the Arrows’ second
walk-off win of the season.
That Wednesday, the Arrows
ventured to Milton to play the
Mustangs, and the Arrows
quickly fell behind 2-0. After
Spear went down with a leg
injury in the second inning,
the Arrows marched back
and ended up winning the
game 6-5. Key base hits from
Johnny Nicklas, McGuirl,
Connolly, and Jim Fitzgerald
secured the Arrow victory.
Nicklas showed his fortitude
as he kept on battling the
whole game and got the victory.
Two days later, the Red
and Black hosted Governor’s
Academy for a low-scoring,
defensive matchup. Starter
Edmund Murphy picked up
the win and fanned 10 batters
en route to a fine perfor-
mance. Rightfielder Venditti
hosed a runner at the plate
in the first inning and made
a great diving catch later in
the game. Chris Nadeau was
phenomenal behind the plate
and Vandini made a bunch of
nice plays at third base. On a
rainy Wednesday, the Arrows
hosted St. Mark’s for a true
battle. The Arrows went down
2-0 early on, but clawed
their way back to make the
score 4-3 in the bottom of
the seventh. With a runner
on first base, Chris Nadeau
perfectly executed a sacrifice
bunt to move the runner to
second base with one out.
Jimmy Fitzgerald, with a
runner on second, smoked a
liner to left-center to drive in
the winning run and give the
Arrows their sixth straight
victory and their third walkoff
win. Reenstierna ’12 had
a nice game at shortstop.
That Saturday, the Arrows
squared off against a formidable
Brooks Academy squad,
and quickly tallied six runs.
Although Brooks managed
to get three runs, Edmund
Murphy shut down his opponents
for the remainder of
the game en route to another
one of his victories. Venditti
’10 made another web-gem
in rightfield. In front of the
Reunion Crowd, Nicklas,
McGuirl, Clement, and Connolly,
who hit a fat three-run
homer, which landed on the
lacrosse field, led the Arrow
attack on a fine Saturday
afternoon. After a tough loss
to Thayer Academy, where
Jared Clement and Andrew
Vandini combined for seven
innings, where Venditti hit a
missile home run into the tree
at Babson College, and where
the Arrows made a few defensive
errors en route to the 8-7
loss, the Arrows finished up
their regular season at home
against the RL Foxes. A true
battle, the Arrows went down
3-0 but managed to come
back 3-2 off of a Will Connolly
double to left. Nicklas
fought hard again on the
mound, and the Arrows were
gaining momentum going
into the sixth inning, but the
umpires decided to end the
game after five innings due to
unfavorable field conditions.
Therefore, the Arrows lost an
important matchup 3-2 and
their regular season was over.
On behalf of the team,
I would like to thank all our
parents and fans that came to
watch. On behalf of the players,
I would like to thank our
manager Sean Frazette ‘12
and our coaches Mr. Schell,
Mr. McCann, and Mr. Lepley
for all they did this season.
EDITORS’ NOTE: The WALRUS Staff apologizes for the lack of a Lacrosse article,
which did not reach us in time for publication. Congrats on your fantastic 15-2 season!
St. Sebastian’s School May 2010
Golf Dominates ISL Again
By D. ECCLESINE ‘11
The golf team set out this year
with very lofty goals, hoping
to follow last year’s success
with yet another ISL Championship.
After months of hard
work, the golf team was able
to grab both titles—the ISL
Match Play Tournament as
well as the ISL Tournament—
for the second straight year.
If one team member had a
rough day, it was a guarantee
that someone else would have
a stellar day. This is where the
true success for the golf team
came from.
The top four players
are seniors, and each has
had a massive impact on the
golf team. Playing numbers
one and two, respectively, are
Co-Captains Taylor Peck and
Robbie Donahoe, followed
closely at three and four by
Peter Cahill and Joe Bergeron.
These four seniors have been
the core of the golf team for
several years, and much of the
success of the team is a direct
result of their hard work and
dedication. Other senior members
include John Kavolius,
Tom Harrington, and Chris
Dillon, each of whom also
had several key wins in close
matches. These seniors are
simply not satisfied with a loss
or tie, and they will only settle
for victory. Their work ethic
and dedication is a true example
for the younger members
of the team.
The ISL itself
was incredibly competitive this
year. There were some real
powerhouses that fought hard
all year, most notably Thayer,
Belmont Hill, and Middlesex.
The golf team faced a difficult
opponent in only its second
match of the year against
Thayer, the major threat to a
repeat of the ISL Championship.
After some key wins, the
score was tied 3-3, and the final
match would be the one to
Tennis Slams Into Summer
By ANDREW DEMATTEO ‘11
At the end of this season,
the Varsity Tennis team has
been sorely depleted. The
core of seniors, who made up
the backbone of the team for
the last four years, is finally
graduating. They will be unable
to be replaced, and next
year’s team will not be as fun
or as crazy. Needless to say
with the departure of Captain
Ryan McCarthy, Scott Neuberger,
Dave Ruffalo, Chris
Moses, and Mike Falb, the
tennis team will never be the
same again. Now that they
are gone, the only person left
on the team, who remembers
these stories first hand will be
Connor Haughey.
The entire team from last
year was returning so everyone
felt confident about
the season. The rest of
the team included Terry
O’Connor, John Cheever,
and me (Andrew DeMatteo,
if you didn’t notice). Caleb
Aldrich, a new eighth grader,
was the only addition to the
team, which rounded out
the number to ten, a rather
large tennis team, but that
was okay. Around week six,
Captain Ryan McCarthy began
to experience restrictive
shoulder problems, which
sidelined him from playing
singles the rest of the season,
decide our undefeated season
early on. Luckily, the number
seven man that day had
closed out a victory on the
eighth. The team had avoided
a serious blow early on.
Success would continue
for the next several weeks,
despite facing some very
tough opponents. The squad
was able to squeeze out two
notable wins in a tri-match
against Thayer and Belmont
Hill, thanks to a great performance
by Charlie Callanan
on the ninth hole. He was
able to clinch an individual
tie against Thayer, and thus
a victory for the team. And
with our final match against
Belmont Hill and Middlesex,
the team was able to win both
and thus take home the ISL
Match Play Title for the second
consecutive year.
The ISL Tournament
also proved to be a successful
endeavor. The top five members
of the team played in this
tournament, with the top four
scores counting. The total of
our team was then compared
to the total of the other teams.
The site of this year’s tournament
was at Townsend Ridge
Golf Club, the home course of
Lawrence Academy. Therefore,
it was to the Arrows’
advantage that the team had
already played there and gotten
a feel for the front nine.
The back nine, however, was
not quite as well known, so
the team arrived early to walk
the back nine. Despite having
only played the course a few
times, the team was able to
post some low scores. Taylor
Peck ’10 shot a 75, Matt Michaud
’13 posted a 78, Robbie
Donahoe ’10 pulled out an 80,
Joe Bergeron ’10 managed an
82, and finally Peter Cahill ’10
took 84 strokes. The combination
of the four lowest
scores was enough to clinch a
victory for the Arrows, and St.
Seb’s was able to repeat a vic-
and was only able to play
doubles. This was a tough
injury for the team, as he
was the number three player,
but everyone else moved up
and performed admirably.
It should also be noted that
Coach Beilin joined the team
as an assistant coach and
along with Coach Richter and
Coach Thomas made up this
year’s coaching staff. Coach
Beilin was a great improvement
over Ned, (I don’t think
he had any other name), who
was an assistant last year.
The second half of the
year was much better than
the start. All the matches,
except Roxbury Latin, were
winnable and could have gone
either way. Right after the
heart breaking loss to Middlesex
came a chance to redeem
ourselves against Lawrence
Academy, which we did. Poor
Lawrence had no chance the
most games dropped in a
set was two, and they were
crushed. Next was a tough
loss to Rivers, which was followed
by a close win against
Governor’s (8-7). Following
the loss to St. Mark’s were
back to back wins against
Brooks and Thayer. The
Thayer win, more of a mauling,
was especially important.
It proved to us that the team
had come a long way from
tory at the ISL Tournament.
The golf team this
year was enormously successful
in attaining its lofty initial
goals. We set out from day
one hoping to go undefeated
(without any ties) and to take
home both championships.
After superb coaching by Mr.
Sullivan and Mr. McArthur,
the team was able to do just
that. These two men were the
forces behind our success:
their wisdom and advice on
the golf course is unmatched,
and their thoughts can really
make a difference. I especially
learned how valuable Mr.
Sullivan is on the first hole at
St. Mark’s Golf Course. The
hole was a short Par 4, and
Mr. Sullivan encouraged me
to hit a 7 iron off the tee, and
then a pitching wedge onto
the green. I was stubborn,
however, and I insisted on
hitting a driver, despite the
narrowness of the course. I
clearly should have heeded
the advice of my coach: I put
three consecutive balls into a
grave yard across the street.
Needless to say, I lost the
hole.
That anecdote is just
one of the numerous examples
of how integral our
coaches are in the success of
the golf team. They often go
unappreciated, and people
remark that a golf coach cannot
actually coach a team.
This is the farthest thing from
the truth. I cannot imagine
what our golf team would be
without the wisdom and advice
of Mr. Sullivan and Mr.
McArthur, and I know I speak
for the entire team when I say
that we have an enormous
amount of respect for them.
On behalf of the entire golf
team, I would like to express
my sincere thanks to Mr.
Sullivan and Mr. McArthur.
Thanks for a great season,
one we will never forget.
the beginning of the year, and
was much better at the end
of the season than the beginning.
The team ladder fluctuated
most of the season, especially
after the Captain got hurt, but
it eventually settled on Connor
Haughey at number one
singles, Scott Neuberger at
number two, John Cheever
at number three, Terry
O’Connor at number four, me
at number five, and Dave Ruffalo
at number six. Doubles
changed even more often,
and while Scott and Connor
played together most of the
year at number one, I played
with Connor the last four
matches in preparation for
next year. Likewise number
two was also jumbled. At the
beginning of the season, Ryan
and I played there, and after
much switching it eventually
ended with Scott and Ryan.
The third doubles was played
at the end by John and Terry;
however Dave did substitute
in occasionally.
It really was a great season,
everyone had worked hard
and had a good time. DT
even got his grill out twice
this year. No doubt Coach
Richter will have said everything
I said and more during
his presentation at the athletic
awards ceremony.