Softball: Boston Latin Wolfpack 9, Latin Academy Dragons 1

Friday afternoon at Malcolm X Park in Roxbury, the Boston Latin Wolfpack started the game with a very loud bang: a long triple blasted into left-field by Mary DeMoura. It ignited a big 1st inning for the Wolfpack. DeMoura eventually scored on a wild-pitch, and her teammates worked three walks to set the table for a bases clearing, 3-run Meghan Burns triple. The Wolfpack sent all 9 of their lineup to the plate in the 1st, and were up 5-0 before Latin Academy had a chance to hit.

To her credit, Latin Academy pitcher Sydney McGrath was able to settle down and get out of the inning without further damage. She didn't allow a run for the next 3 innings, and that kept the Dragons within striking distance.

Wolfpack pitcher Caitlin Berry was able to shut down the BLA lineup for most of the game. In her 5 innings of work, Berry allowed 0 runs, only 4 hits, and struck out 2. Only one Dragon reached third base while she was on the mound. Kate Casey pitched the final 2 innings for BLS.

Boston Latin added to their lead in the 5th thanks to some small ball. With Hilary Rockett being held on first, Kim Miller laid down a textbook bunt single up the first base line.

Then Mary DeMoura switched from power hitter to bunter, and sacrificed to put two runners in scoring position and put pressure on the Dragons. The Wolfpack took advantage of that pressure and generated 3 runs in the frame, without really hitting the ball hard.

Latin Academy was able to get a run back in the 6th with some aggressive baserunning. Danielle Baldassari reached on a hard hit infield single. A diving stop by DeMoura at short, who seemed to do everything in this game, held Baldassari to a just single. Baldassari then stole second, advanced to third on a fielder's choice, and scored on a wild pitch.

The game ended with Boston Latin claiming a 9-1 victory. Latin Academy played well, they just ran into a tough pitcher in Caitlin Berry, and too much damage was done in the 1st inning. This was also BLA's third game in five days. They played Monday and had a makeup game against Wellesley the day before.

Boston Latin improved to 13-4, and as of publication (May 17th), are in first place in their Dual County League division.

Latin Academy fell to 9-9 overall, but lead the South Division of the Boston City League.

Latin Academy Girls' Hockey in State Tournament for the First Time in Five Years

Latin Academy girls' hockey coach Ronald Ford expected his team to be a "little bit better" than last year. Last year they were 3-17, and were winless the season before that. He expected some improvement, but did not expect his team to be as good as they were. This year the Dragons won 10 games, lost 6, and tied 4. They finished 4th in the East Division of the mostly suburban Southeastern Massachusetts Girls' Hockey League (SEMGHL). And they qualified for the State Tournament for the first time in 5 years.

The team is led by a few key seniors, particularly goalie Natalie Lombardi, a two-time SEMGHL All-Star...

...but overall they're still a young squad. They have 4 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 5 freshman on their roster. Along with an 8th grader, and two 7th graders. So even when Lombardi and her classmates graduate, there will be a new core of experienced players in position to build on the success of this season.

Coach Ford attributes that success to "Speed, strength, and accuracy." Along with hard work. And going into the State Tournament, he wants his team to continue that hard work as well as reduce mental mistakes. Mainly, though, he wants to "Make sure [the girls] are having fun, and not worrying about the magnitude of the game, let them focus on what they need to be doing."

Latin Academy will face Martha's Vineyard Monday afternoon at 3:00pm in the preliminary round of the Division 2 tournament. The game will be held at the Murphy Memorial Rink in South Boston. BLA and Martha's Vineyard are in the same division in the SEMGHL, and played each other twice this season. BLA lost 4-1 to them in December, and the teams tied 2-2 on February 18th.

Last year this team won 3 games. This year they're hosting a State Tournament game.

Girls' Ice Hockey: Scituate 3, Boston Latin Academy 2

Full Photo Gallery on our Facebook page

The Latin Academy Dragons finished their regular season with a tough loss on the road to Scituate, one of the top teams in the Southeastern Mass. Girls' Hockey League.

BLA took a 1-0 lead in the 1st when senior forward Jordan Fleming scored an opportunistic Power Play goal from the high slot.

In the 1st period, the Dragons were able to frustrate Scituate's attempts to carry the puck into the zone. In the 2nd, Scituate figured out how to get through and were able to put massive pressure on the Dragons' net. But Latin Academy goalie Natalie Lombardi made save after save to keep Scituate from scoring. Lombardi was especially good when the Dragons were shorthanded.

Scituate were eventually able to slip one past Lombardi on a 2-on-1 breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.

Latin Academy quickly retook the lead when, after serving a penalty, junior Kathleen Torpey emerged from the penalty box and received a long pass from Rachel Wells. Torpey drove to the net all alone and put BLA up 2-1.

The penalties finally caught up to BLA in the 3rd. They'd killed 3 straight Scituate Power Plays. With their 4th Power Play, Scituate finally capitalized. Less than a minute later Scituate scored again to take a 3-2 lead.

In the closing minutes the Dragons were able to create chances, but Scituate's goalie made tough stops to keep her team in front.

Latin Academy's regular season may have ended with a loss, but they're not done playing. They'll be in the State Tournament for the first time in 5 years, with a 10-6-4 record. We'll have more on Latin Academy's tremendous season tomorrow.

Latin Academy Sweeps Indoor Track and Field City Championships

The Dragons of Boston Latin Academy won City Championships in both boys' and girls' Indoor Track & Field at the Reggie Lewis Center this afternoon.

In the boys' Championship, BLA started strong. Malik Anderson won the 55 Meter Dash with a time of 6.69 seconds. Sekou Stuppard followed that with a win in the 300 Meters. Anderson and Stuppard would later finish 5th and 4th in the High Jump, respectively.

The Dragons were consistently solid in each event, scoring points in all but one. Xavier Hill scored points in both the 55 Meter Hurdles and the Long Jump, with a jump of 19 feet, 2.5 inches. Damian Cruz finished 3rd in the shot-put with a toss of 40 feet, 4.5 inches. These points were vital, and gave BLA a 10 point lead going into the relays.

Latin finished 4th in the 4x200 Relay, but O'Bryant finished out of the points in 8th. That clinched the boys' Championship for the Dragons.

In the girls' Championship, BLA dominated from start to finish. DiAndrea Galloway won the High Jump and finished 2nd in the 55 Meter Dash. Ashley Lewis finished 2nd in the 300 Meters, and 5th in the High Jump. BLA scored 2nd and 3rd place in the 300. Then finished 1-2-3 in the 600 Meters, then 3-4-5 in the 1000. Catherine Van Even won the 1 Mile and the girls' Championship belonged to Latin Academy. As icing on the cake, the Dragons won the 4x400 relay.

Latin Academy finished with 120 points, almost a third of the total available.

This is 3rd straight City Championship for BLA's girls' indoor team.

Photo Gallery of the Event on Facebook

Here are the rankings from both Championships:

Boys':
1. Latin Academy - 58 points
2. O'Bryant - 51
3. Dorchester - 48
4. Brighton - 37
5. South Boston - 36
6. Charlestown - 30
7. Snowden - 23
8. East Boston - 21
8. West Roxbury - 21
10. English - 13
11. The Burke - 12
12. Madison Park - 10
13. CASH - 6
13. New Mission - 6

Girls':
1. Latin Academy - 120 points
2. O'Bryant - 83
3. West Roxbury - 67
4. Snowden - 24
5. New Mission - 23
6. Dorchester - 18
7. East Boston - 12
8. CASH - 10
9. South Boston - 8
10. Brighton - 4
11. English - 3