Diamonds look good on both silver and bronze. North Shore players on the baseball and softball diamonds brought medals home from the recent Bay State Games.
In the baseball showcase, held at Maplewood Park in Malden this year, team Northeast claimed the silver medal after falling to Coastal, 7-5, in a well played championship game.
Northeast had a 3-1-1 showing in the round robin format, topping Metro, 8-5, Southeast, 10-5, Central 9-5 and tying the West, 4-4, with another loss to Coastal in the mix.
Teams are determined by region and through tryouts as some top high school players from around Massachusetts take part. Among those from the North Shore that played well for Northeast, which is coached by former Triton head coach Ryan McCarthy, were Xavier Parsons and Tommy Grant from Essex Tech, Jon Reyes of Beverly, Cesare Rollo and Anthony Herbert from Bishop Fenwick and pitcher James Solopoulos from St. John’s Prep.
The softball showcase in Devens saw team Northeast take a bronze medal. Marblehead’s pitching superstar Tessa Francis was one of the big reasons why, as was fellow hurler Lidia Meidema from Beverly and slugger Liv Barletta of Swampscott.
Northeast topped Central, 8-3, in the bronze medal game. The squad went 2-2-1 in pool play, topping Southeast, 7-1, and Central, 6-2, with a tie against the West and losses to Coastal and Southeast.
Played since 1982 and run by the non-profit Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation, the Bay State Games promote personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship for students of all ages and abilities through competitions and scholarship programs.