Printer Friendly Version - Branford Boys’ Tennis Improves to 5-0; Boys’ Lacrosse Team Takes 2 of 3

Senior Alex Milne and the Hornets’ boys’ lacrosse team won two of their of three matchups last week, earning victories over Hamden and Lyman Hall to go with a loss against Sheehan. File photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

The Branford boys’ tennis team defeated Cheshire in its lone match of the week to improve the Hornets’ record to 5-0 on the season. Branford edged out the Rams by the final score of 4-3 at Cheshire High School on April 20.

Senior Matt Gaudioso notched a 6-0, 6-2 victory in the No. 3 singles match when the Hornets earned their win versus Cheshire. Branford’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Aidan Shamas and sophomore Luke Baylis claimed a 6-3, 6-1 win; the No. 2 duo of sophomore Dylan Dwyer and sophomore Mason Porras posted a 6-3, 6-3 win; and the No. 3 tandem of sophomore Nirvan Paudyal and sophomore James Heier prevailed by a 6-4, 6-2 score.

The Branford-East Haven (Bfd-EH) boys’ lacrosse team had three home games on its schedule last week. Bfd-EH claimed victory in two of those matchups to improve its overall record to 4-5 on the season.

On April 18, Bfd-EH posted a 12-1 home victory over Hamden at Branford High School. Three days later, the Hornets hosted Lyman Hall and won the contest by a 16-11 score.

Freshman Gennaro Pompano scored 5 goals to go with 3 assists in Bfd-EH’S win over Lyman Hall. Junior Sean Bosworth also scored 5 goals, senior Alex Milne had 3 goals, and fellow senior Cam Paleski handed out 4 assists. Senior Kevin Lee netted 2 goals for the Hornets, while junior Matt McNulty had a 1 goal with 2 assists. Senior Aidan Strebel made 12 saves to get the win in net.

Then on April 23, Bfd-EH finished its week by taking a 6-5 loss to Sheehan in another home game. Bosworth and Milne both scored 2 goals, while Pompano had 4 assists for Bfd-EH. Lee scored a goal, and McNulty had an assist. Strebel made 20 saves for the Hornets, who saw Paleski collect 10 ground balls in the contest.

The Branford girls’ lacrosse team won one of its three games last week to move to 2-5 on the season.

Branford started off its week by earning an 8-7 victory at Lauralton Hall on April 19. Junior Jenny Spencer scored 3 goals for the Hornets in the win. Senior Julia McHenry scored 2 goals, and fellow senior Nina Shamas had 1 goal with 1 assist.

Sophomore Ally Colburn and sophomore Raiyn Fries added 1 goal apiece for Branford. Freshman Sophie Santos handed out 2 assists in the victory. Junior Ellie Galdenzi made 16 saves in net.

Two days later, the Hornets took a 15-9 road loss versus East Lyme. Colburn and Fries both had 3 goals with 1 assist for Branford. Spencer scored 2 goals, and McHenry also had a goal. Galdenzi made 11 saves in the contest.

Branford finished its week by taking a 14-11 defeat against Sheehan in a home game on April 22. Spencer and Colburn both scored 3 goals to go with 1 assist for the Hornets, while McHenry also netted 3 goals in the game. Fries had 2 goals with 1 assist, Shamas recorded 3 assists, and sophomore Stella DiMassa had 1 assist. Galdenzi made 8 saves for Branford.

The Branford softball team earned its first win of the year when the Hornets claimed a victory over Career last week. The Hornets also took loss to Sheehan to put their overall record at 1-5 this season.

Branford defeated Career by the final score of 14-2 in a road game on April 18. Sophomore Madigan Lawler pitched 4 innings for Branford, allowing 2 unearned runs on just 1 hit and 1 walk to go with 8 strikeouts. Senior Marzia Johnson got the win on the mound after striking out 3 batters in a scoreless inning for the Hornets, who plated 12 runs in the top of the first.

Johnson also went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored, and an RBI at the plate. Junior Paige Kelly went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, 3 runs scored, and 4 RBI; Lawler was 2-for-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; and junior Jade Bocciarelli went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, 2 runs, an RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Senior Caeley Ortiz went 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored, while sophomore Cheyenne Rose was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Two days later, the Hornets hosted Foran and lost the game by a 15-0 score. Johnson, Lawler, and Kelly each had a hit with a stolen base in the contest.

Then on April 22, Branford took a 13-2 defeat versus Sheehan in a home game. Junior Caroline Johnson went 2-for-3 for the Hornets. Kelly went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Marzia Johnson was 1-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.

The Branford baseball team took three recent defeats to move to 1-8 on the season.

On April 18, Branford took a 5-0 loss against Foran in a road game. Then on April 20, the Hornets were on the road to face North Haven and took a 13-3 defeat to the Nighthawks. The day after that, Branford played a road game versus Lyman Hall and were edged out by the final score of 7-6.