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Spring sports athletes have been striving to reach this time of the year since practices began on March 17. They all wanted to be among the select few to participate in the state tournaments in order to measure their skills as a team against their peers statewide.
At Winchester High School, the baseball, volleyball and both boys and girls lacrosse teams are scheduled to begin the postseason on Friday, May 30, and the campus will be rocking with excitement, because three of those teams – baseball (5 p.m.), volleyball (5:30 p.m.) and boys lacrosse (5 p.m.) – will be playing at home.
Girls lacrosse is the lone Red & Black squad that has to board a bus to play its first-round game.
Coach Ed McDonald’s baseball squad (12-8) is the 32nd seed, according to the final Division 1 power rankings, and is scheduled to face visiting Beverly (12-7), the 33rd seed out of the Northeastern Conference, in a preliminary round game at Ciarcia Field. There are 60 baseball teams in Division 1, and 38 of them made the postseason.
The boys volleyball team (14-6), coached by John Fleming, is the 15th seed in Division 1. They will be hosting Methuen (15-5, 18th seed) in a Round of 32 matchup. There are 62 schools playing volleyball in Division 1, and 39 of them made the final postseason cut. The Rangers play in the Merrimack Valley Conference.
Coach Phil Reuland’s boys lacrosse team (12-7) cracked the Top 10 in the final Division 1 power rankings as the 10th seed, and will be playing Shrewsbury (6-12), the 23rd seed, in the Round of 32 at Knowlton. The Colonials are in the Midland-Wachusett League. A total of 44 boys lacrosse teams are in Division 1 statewide, and 32 of them qualified for the playoffs this year.
The girls lacrosse team (8-10) is seeded 27th, and will be heading to Westford to take on Westford Academy (15-3), the sixth seed, in the Round of 32, also on Friday. The Ghosts are in the Dual County League. There are 47 Division 1 teams in this sport throughout the state, and 33 of them made the playoffs.
