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Weston boys earn 6th straight tennis title

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

When the postseason rolls around for the Weston boys’ tennis team the Wildcats have already gone up against a number of the top-ranked teams in the area. Playing in the brutally tough Dual County League also gets George Conlin’s squad battle ready for the postseason.So by the time the Wildcats got on the MIT courts Sunday they were ready for another state crown.The No. 1 Wildcats won their second consecutive Div. 4 title and sixth state title in a row with a convincing 5-0 decision over No. 3 Lynnfield (19-2). Weston finished a perfect 21-0 on the season.Max Ding did his job by setting the tone for the Wildcats with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Weston never looked back after that.“Taking No. 1 and having to prove myself this year was great,” said Ding. “I tried to do what a No. 1 player does by winning. Your team looks to you and you’re kind of leading the whole team.”Downpours forced the teams to move to the indoor courts at MIT, but proved to be mo...

Red Sox overcome Yankees in top of Sunday doubleheader

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

Game 1: Red Sox win 6-2For the second weekend in a row, the Red Sox snatched a series from the Yankees.But unlike last weekend’s three-game set in the Bronx, in which the Red Sox took two of three contests with a pair of one-run victories, the Fenway series has been heavy on bat power, a welcome change after weeks of low-scoring contests.At the outset, the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader looked like an uphill climb. Instead of Brayan Bello starting on Saturday night, torrential downpour forced a postponement to Sunday, and the Red Sox decided that Bello would start the second game.The first game of the doubleheader was a cobbled-together bullpen contest, and at first, not a promising one. Kaleb Ort opened the show by giving up a ground-rule double by the Pesky Pole to leadoff man Jake Bauers, followed by a two-run home run to Gleyber Torres.Though Ort settled down and didn’t allow another hit or run in his 2 1/3 innings, the immediate deficit appeared to be an ...

Weymouth boys rout Algonquin to repeat rugby title

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

In the final rugby state final at Curry College, the No. 3 Weymouth Wildcats blasted top-seed Algonquin, 57-14, to repeat as the Div. 2 boys rugby champions.Junior fly half William Savage led the scoring with three tries and six conversion kicks in a start-to-finish victory.“There was a wrestling state title in 2001, soccer in 1997. To come in and get two, it’s not only great for our program, it’s great to show the other teams in the school that you can do it,” said Weymouth coach Ryan Casey.“It’s honestly a great feeling,” said Tyler Ahern. “I joined this team as a sophomore, and we were winning absolutely no games. We recruited some football kids last year and ever since then I’ve watched this program build up and up. I’m super proud to be a part of this team.”After a back and forth opening, Anthoni Gonzalez-Dumont started the scoring for Weymouth. The junior flanker pushed through Algonquin’s left wing for the score and Savage added the conversion kick. Savage followed up with hi...

Notre Dame girls cap perfect year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

WELLESLEY — You know it is coming, just maybe not when.There comes that point in every Notre Dame Academy of Hingham game where the Cougars take over and pour in goals.In Sunday’s Div. 2 girls lacrosse state title game against Wayland, that point was close to the entire contest.The Cougars finished their dominant spring with a 19-5 rout of Wayland at Babson College. Notre Dame put the cap on a 25-0 season, repeating as Div. 2 state champions.“Im really proud of the way that they handled themselves all season,” NDA coach Meredith McGinnis said. “We threw a lot at them. We expected a lot from them, and they responded every challenge our coaches could have possibly presented. They had a fantastic attitude.“I can’t say enough about Wayland, how much they threw at us, how much they challenged us. But I can’t say enough about our senior class and how proud of them I am. It takes a full team effort day in and day out to achieve what they were just ...

Bourne rallies past Hopkins Academy for first state title

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

WORCESTER – All those batting practice sessions finally rewarded Bourne baseball head coach Sean Donovan.Despite an early four-run deficit to start the Div. 5 final Sunday afternoon at Polar Park, the second-seeded Canalmen (18-7) erupted in the second and fourth innings to beat No. 9 Hopkins Academy, 10-5, for the program’s first state title.Six of Bourne’s 12 hits went for extra bases, quickly responding to an immediate gut-punch that had the Golden Hawks (18-5) primed for a fourth straight upset win this tournament. Seniors Jack Ferreira (4-for-4, two doubles, two RBI) and Damon White (3-for-4, triple, double, two RBI) shined brightest in an effort that saw all nine batters reach base at least once.“I’ve thrown these kids a zillion BP fastballs and I will do it until my arm falls off,” Donovan said. “I had high hopes for this graduating class when they first came onto the school, and they’re walking off senior champions. … I’m so happy for the entire group, I can’t speak highly e...

Three-peat for Taunton softball

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

AMHERST — The Taunton softball team came to Sortino Field on Sunday ready to take its place as a softball dynasty in Massachusetts.Mission accomplished.The Tigers became the first team since Bud Henry’s Bishop Fenwick program in the 1990s to win three consecutive Div. 1 titles as Sam Lincoln held Central Catholic to one hit while Ava Venturelli’s three-run homer in the third inning led the way to a 6-1 win over the top-seeded Raiders.“To win again is really special,” said first-year Taunton coach Michele Raposa, who also has two titles as a player and two as an assistant. “To be able to coach this bunch of girls is really special.”The Tigers (24-1) gave Lincoln an early lead to work with as Brooke Aldrich tripled with one out in the second. When the Raiders tried to get her at third, the throw was errant and Aldrich scampered home for a 1-0 lead.One inning later, Taunton broke the game open in a hurry.After Central starter Julia Malowitz got the first out of the third, Kyleah Plumb ...

Yankees fall, 6-2, in first leg of Sunday’s Sox double-header at Fenway

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

BOSTON – The Red Sox didn’t tag the Yankees for 15 runs again when their series resumed on Sunday afternoon, yet Boston hammered its division rivals – and the Green Monster – for the second consecutive game, a 6-2 win for the home team.The Sox started their scoring in the fifth after Clarke Schmidt allowed a walk and a double to Justin Turner, which could have been – but was not – caught against the wall by a leaping Jake Bauers in left. Alex Verdugo then scored on a Rafael Devers groundout before Adam Duvall singled Turner home.Michael King prevented further damage in the fifth, but he allowed four two-out hits, including RBI doubles to Connor Wong and Verdugo, in the sixth. Both doubles peppered the Monster.Nick Ramirez then balked in Masataka Yoshida after the outfielder tripled in the seventh.Schmidt’s day ended on a sour note, but he pitched well until the fifth. All in all, he logged 4.2 innings, five hits, two earned runs, three walks...

Microsoft reports cyberattacks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

In early June, sporadic but serious service disruptions plagued Microsoft’s flagship office suite — including the Outlook email and OneDrive file-sharing apps — and cloud computing platform.A shadowy hacktivist group claimed responsibility, saying it flooded the sites with junk traffic in distributed denial-of-service attacks.Initially reticent to name the cause, Microsoft has now disclosed that DDoS attacks by the murky upstart were indeed to blame.But the software giant has offered few details — and did not immediately comment on how many customers were affected and whether the impact was global. A spokeswoman confirmed that the group that calls itself Anonymous Sudan was behind the attacks. It claimed responsibility on its Telegram social media channel at the time. Some security researchers believe the group to be Russian.Microsoft offered the  explanation in a blog post Friday evening following a request by The Associated Press two days earlier.Slim on details, the post sa...

Pittsburgh Pirates bus driver busted for DUI while driving to Milwaukee

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

A bus driver transporting the Pittsburgh Pirates from Chicago to Milwaukee was arrested for driving under the influence during the trip.Ronald Funderburke, 61, was driving the bus Thursday night on Interstate 94 between the two midwest cities, authorities said.A police escort accompanied the team on the short drive. Illinois state troopers on the scene said Funderburke was driving erratically and apparently trying to leave the convoy, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.Officers initially called for an ambulance, as they believed the bus driver was having a medical emergency, according to Reuters. However, upon closer inspection they believed the man was impaired.Funderburke, a resident of Shelby, N.C., is not a Pirates employee. He was contracted to drive the team to Milwaukee following a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates lost all three games, and proceeded to drop their first two in Milwaukee as well.“The important thing is that all of our personnel...

Belmont girls dominant again

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:59 GMT

After the Belmont boys started the day with a Div. 1 state title, Belmont’s girls made it clear early that they were eager to match. The No. 1 seed Marauders (9-0) cruised to a 59-0 victory over the No. 3 seed Brookline Warriors at Curry College. It’s Belmont fifth title in seven years.Senior Mia Taylor led the offense for Belmont with three tries, while Elise Conroy added two more in a dominant team performance.“There’s a benefit of knowing this [match] is not scary. It’s what we’ve been building towards and it’s not out of the realm of possibility to win the state championship. That is a benefit that we have that the players that came before us laid that foundation,” said Belmont coach Kate McCabe.Belmont took the lead in the opening minutes thanks to a drive finished by junior Rowan Dargon. Lucy Kabrhel made the conversion kick to go up 7-0. From there, Belmont continued to live in Brookline’s half of the field.Twenty minutes in, Sally Amer punched in a try for Belmont; 10 ...