Twelve high school tournament takeaways from a Tuesday that had it all

Wow. What a day.

What started with a two-hour Tournament Management Committee meeting discussing a potential football Super 8, continued with a stunning forfeit by the Ipswich boys’ lacrosse team in the semifinals of the Division 4 tournament — for those prone to internet shouting, it was a school decision not the MIAA’s — and it got even wilder as the 28 semifinals, which included all 10 baseball matchups, began.

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There was BC High boys’ lacrosse finally getting over the hump against St. John’s Prep, eliminating the five-time defending Division 1 champions with a thrilling overtime victory, there was Apponequet softball taking out top-seeded and two-time defending champion Dighton-Rehoboth in the Division 3 semifinals, and there was Catholic Memorial reaching its first Division 1 baseball final in 53 years. And we can’t forget Bishop Feehan, which reached the Division 2 Super Bowl and won the Division 1 boys’ basketball title and will now play in its first D1 baseball championship in 28 years.

Before diving into all the highlights, check out the four winners of the revamped Will McDonough Sports Writing Contest, the schedule for the championship games, which start Wednesday with two girls’ lacrosse finals, and our daily scoreboard for recaps on all 28 Tuesday semifinals.

• BC High finally exorcises St. John’s Prep curse with OT victory in Division 1 boys’ lacrosse semifinal
• Lincoln-Sudbury routs Acton-Boxboro, makes long-awaited return to Division 1 boys’ lacrosse state final
• Ipswich boys’ lacrosse forfeits Division 4 State semifinal against Cohasset
• Division 1 baseball semifinals: Catholic Memorial, Bishop Feehan set up championship showdown
• Division 2 baseball semifinals: Milton stuns top-seeded St. Mary’s in eight innings
• Division 3 baseball semifinals: Apponequet punches first finals ticket in extras, will meet Middleborough
• Division 4 baseball semifinals: Seekonk into 4th state title game in 5 years, will face Hamilton-Wenham
• Division 5 baseball semifinals: Luis Mejia writes English High into its third straight championship game
• Softball semifinals: Behind Reese Taylor’s brilliance, Apponequet ends two-year title reign of Dighton-Rehoboth
• Tuesday’s boys’ volleyball semifinals: Amir Tomer seizes the moment, powers Brookine in fifth-set clincher
• Tuesday’s tennis semifinals: Aryanna Schauer the savior as Bedford girls edge Duxbury in Division 2
• MIAA’s Tournament Management Committee pushes back on two elements of proposed football Super 8 tournament

No. 11 King Philip baseball became the lowest-seeded team to make a final in any sport this spring, notching a 5-4 win over No. 7 Longmeadow in the Division 2 semifinals, helped by Leo Dowling’s two-run go-ahead single in the fourth inning.

In Division 2 baseball, top-seeded St. Mary’s saw its season end in the eighth inning when No. 4 Milton’s Peter Buckley lined an RBI single to right field, scoring the winning run in a 6-5 stunner at Holy Cross.

It’s hard to call any Seekonk baseball playoff win an upset, as the Warriors have played their way into the Division 4 championship in four of the last five years, but as the No. 7 seed this year they took out No. 3 Dennis-Yarmouth, 7-4, with Cooper Flynn providing a three-run triple in the ninth inning.

In Division 3 softball, No. 5 Apponequet took out two-time defending champion and top-seeded Dighton-Rehoboth, 2-1, on the back of Reese Taylor’s 14-strikeout one-hitter and Ashyn Bogdan crossing the plate with the winning run.

In a flashback to last year’s championship game, the Division 1 boys’ lacrosse semifinal between BC High and St. John’s Prep once again went into overtime, except this time BC High prevailed, 11-10, on Nate Rogers’s overtime winner, which followed Jake Adams’s equalizer with four seconds left in regulation.

As we noted, Tuesday offered it all, and that included some thrilling finishes, such as three extra-inning baseball affairs, two in softball, and an overtime finish in boys’ lacrosse.

In Division 3 baseball, fifth-seeded Apponequet walked off No. 8 Hanover with junior Peter Kanakis bringing home sophomore Bryce Figueroa with an RBI single to left in the bottom of the ninth inning.

We already mentioned two other extra-inning baseball finishes, as Milton won a D2 baseball semifinal in eight innings over No. 1 St. Mary’s, and No. 7 Seekonk stole the D4 semifinal from No. 3 Dennis-Yarmouth in nine innings. And we’ve covered BC High’s boys’ lacrosse win over St. John’s Prep in overtime.

That brings us to softball, where Attleboro and Central Catholic were knotted at 4-4 in the 10th inning when the game was called due to darkness at UMass Dartmouth. The game will resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday, with the Blue Bombardiers up to bat in the top of the 11th.

Attleboro had built an early 4-0 lead on Lola Ronayne’s solo home run, but the Raiders tied it up in the seventh when Chloe Salerno delivered the game-tying homer to right field.

Brendan Dooley, Lincoln-Sudbury — The senior scored a whopping nine goals — four more than Acton-Boxborough as a team — in leading the Warriors to a 17-5 Division 1 semifinal rout.

Liam McKinney, Catholic Memorial — The junior came to the plate with the score knotted 1-1 and the bases juiced and proceeded to line a three-run double to left field, propelling the Knights to a 6-1 Division 1 semifinal basebll win over Cambridge.

Luis Mejia, English High — The senior turned in a virtuoso two-way performance, striking out nine in a two-hit shutout and collecting two hits, including a triple, and scoring a run in a 3-0 blanking of Drury in the Division 5 baseball semifinals.

Reese Taylor, Apponequet — The sophomore was electric, fanning 14 in a one-hit shutout of the two-time defending state champions and top-seeded Dighton-Rehoboth. Taylor also scored one of the Lakers’ runs in a 2-1 semifinal softball upset.

Read more BC High finally exorcises St. John’s Prep curse with OT victory in Division 1 boys’ lacrosse semifinal

Amir Tomer and Alec Smagula, Brookline — Tomer, a senior hitter, was a dominant force at the net and the service line, slamming 14 kills and landing eight aces, while Smagula, a senior setter, raked in 38 assists, adding two blocks and two kills in a 3-2 Division 1 boys’ volleyball semifinal win over Natick.

▪ Providence College announced the addition of Hudson native JJ Monteiro to its men’s hockey team. Montreiro led Sioux Falls to the Clark Cup championship in the USHL, serving as co-captain and scoring 16 goals with 35 assists and finishing with a plus-19 rating in 55 games. He has also played with Waterloo in the USHL, Salmon Arm of the BCHL, and spent three seasons at Mt. St. Charles (R.I.).

▪ Bishop Fenwick senior Celia Neilson announced she’ll be spending a post-grad season with the Tilton School. She averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 steals, and 4.7 assists while leading the Crusaders to a Division 3 title.

▪ Shawsheen senior Frankie Reardon has committed to play women’s volleyball at Fitchburg State. Reardon powered the Rams to a 24-1 record as the team’s kills and aces leader.

Northeastern senior Matt Brinker, a Xaverian graduate from Norfolk, was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Second Team All-Northeast after posting a .305 batting average with nine homers and a team-leading 61 RBIs. He posted a .533 saving percentage and a .416 on-base percentage in 57 games.

Former Taunton star Sam Lincoln announced she is entering the transfer portal after two seasons at Texas Tech. The lefthanded pitcher went 15-2 over 52 appearances, notching a 3.48 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 146⅔ innings, helping the Red Raiders reach the NCAA championship, which they lost to Texas.

▪ Millis introduced girls’ volleyball coach Corey Coward-Jackson on Monday. Originally from Fresno, Calif., via Pittsburgh and Attleboro, Coward-Jackson, who played at Dean, took over the Millis boys’ program this spring.

“Deeply honored to step in as head coach for the girls’ program,” he said. “I can’t wait to be back in the Marak and bring the energy.”

▪ Essex Tech has hired Anthony Silvio as head boys’ basketball coach. He takes over for Jordy Norton, who had led the Hawks since 2006.

▪ Masters Academy International in Stow announced the hiring of Micah Hauben as athletic director. Hauben most recently served as athletic director at King School (Conn.), where he oversaw an athletic program of more than 90 teams, which captured 48 league and New England team championships and 21 individual champions during his nine-year tenure.

Prior to King, Hauben led Needham athletics from 2009-17. Previous to that he was AD and boys’ basketball coach at Germanton Friends School (Pa.) and assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Boston University women’ basketball.

“Micah’s deep experience as an athletic administrator and his commitment to student-athlete development makes him the ideal person to lead our athletics department and become the first Athletics Director in MAI’s history,” said Peter Masters, co-founder of Masters Academy International, in a statement. “Throughout his career, he has built programs centered on excellence, character, accountability and student well-being.”

▪ Three former MIAA players were selected in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Draft over the weekend: Framingham’s Colin Walsh was taken 121st by the Newfoundland Regmient, St. John’s Prep’s Jesse Bernardinelli was taken 144th by L’Oceanic de Rimouski, and Catholic Memorial’s Jaxson Fleming went 212th by the Voltigeurs de Drummondville. In addition, center Blake Wilichoski, a Milton Academy student from Danvers, was taken 107th overall by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.

▪ The Bay State Games has named Medway’s Colin Roberts as its 2026 recipient of the Kristian Rose Memorial Scholarship. Roberts received the award last week at UMass Amherst, where he is a rising senior. Roberts was a two-year golf captain at Medway who interned with the Bay State games in 2025 and has previously worked with US Kids Boston Local Tour. The scholarship is in honor of Rose, a New Bedford High graduate who was a UMass Amherst student who was serving as an operations intern with the Bay State Games in 2011 when he was killed in an automobile crash.

“Having worked closely with Colin during his internship last summer, I saw firsthand his passion for sports, strong work ethic, and genuine desire to help others,” said Alanis Tirabassi, Bay State Games deputy executive director. “Through his involvement at UMass Amherst and commitment to pursuing a career in the sports industry, Colin exemplifies the leadership, character, and community-minded spirit that the Kristian Rose Memorial Scholarship was created to recognize.

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Reese Taylor, Apponequet, 14

Luis Mejia, English, 9

Owen Waddell, Hamilton-Wenham, 9

Peter Kanakis, Apponequet, 8

Cole Hendrickson, Hanover, 7

Jacoby Hogencamp, Catholic Memorial, 7

Brendan Dooley, Lincoln-Sudbury, 9

Nathan Rogers, BC High, 4

Max Zichittella, Longmeadow, 4

Jake Adams, BC High, 3

Will Hogencamp, Mansfield, 3

Ryan McCarthy, St. John’s Prep, 3

Nolen Mosscrop, Nantucket, 3

No. 31, Acton-Boxborough, 3

Kais Al-Fakhuri, Brookline, 17

Alex Pearlman, Wayland, 16

Will Rozman, Needham, 14

Amir Tomer, Brookline, 14

Gio Gonzalez, Westfield, 13

Jake Satkowski, Westfield, 8

Andrew Yerak, Westfield, 7

Matty Cloonan, Needham, 6

Dylan Engelhardt, Wayland, 6

Zack Maslar, Westfield, 7

Gio Gonzalez, Westfield, 5

Andrew Yerak, Westfield, 5

Matty Cloonan, Needham, 4

Jake Satkowski, Westfield, 3

Jake Satkowski, Westfield, 2.5

Thomas Klein, Needham, 2

Will Rozman, Needham, 2

Alec Smagula, Brookline, 2