The Shipley School baseball team made their annual spring break trip to a different venue than usual this year. The Gators headed to The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, SC, and competed against teams from Pennsylvania, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

The team compiled a 2-2 record on the trip with an exciting 4-3 win against Cape Hatteras H.S. (NC) and a 12-11 win against Laurel Highlands H.S. (PA). The team’s losses came by way of Greene County Tech (AR) 14-4, who were the 2007 Arkansas 5A state champions, and St. Benedicts (TN) 12-2.

Shipley – 12
Laurel Highlands – 11
Hits: Sam Nofer, Corey Rogoff, and Conrad Ambrette 2-3
RBI: Conrad Ambrette (2) Corey Rogoff (3)
WP: David Balderston winning pitcher

Shipley – 4
Green County Tech (AZ) – 14
Hits: David Balderston 1-2 with a double
RBI: David Balderston (2) John McCann

Shipley – 4
Cape Hatteras (NC) – 3
Hits: John McCann was 2-4
RBI: Aaron Melman (2)
WP: Kyle Rosenbluth pitched three scoreless innings for his first varsity win.
Mike Keiser singled in the game-winning run with two outs in bottom of the seventh to score pinch runner G.T Harris.

Shipley – 2
St. Benedicts (TN) – 12
Hits: Sam Nofer and David Balderston each had an RBI

Boys' Lacrosse
Disney's Wide World of Sports – Orlando, FL

Shipley – 9
Boulder HS (CO) – 10

Shipley – 4
Fairview HS (CO) – 7

Shipley – 6
Monarch HS (CO) – 5

On Wednesday, March 26, at 11:15 p.m., The Shipley School boys’ varsity lacrosse team (1-3, 0-0 FSL, NE League) earned their first victory of the 2008 season with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Monarch H.S. (Colorado) on the first career varsity goal by junior attacker Justin Miller. Miller’s one-on-one goal with the Monarch H.S. goalie ended the game that started at 9:00 p.m. and went into double overtime at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.

The Shipley Gators were led by junior goalie Jack Tanenbaum’s 28-save performance. Tanenbaum had many clutch saves to keep the Gators in the game and allow them to earn their first victory of the year. In the three games that Shipley played at Disney's Wide World of Sports, Tanenbaum turned away 52 shots, allowing only 22 goals.

Leading the way on offense for Shipley were senior middie/attackman John Hird with 3 goals and an assist, junior attackman Charlie Gaulin with 2 goals, and junior Miller with the game-winning goal in the second overtime.

The defense held off the strong Monarch attack on multiple man-down situations. Led by juniors Arne Andersen, Pat Sullivan, and Will Strathmann, and newcomer defensive middies, junior Jorge McConnie-Saad and senior Aaron Summers, the Gators were able to stop Monarch’s many possessions until the offense could finish the game and secure the first win.

Earlier in the week, Shipley played two other official games while in Orlando, falling short to Boulder H.S. (Colorado) 10-9 on Saturday, March 22. Tanenbaum turned away 12 shots and senior John Hird had 4 goals and 2 assists; freshman Julius Mouser had 4 goals; and junior Sam Pearce picked up his first career varsity goal.

The Gators also dropped a tough game to Fairview H.S. from Colorado on Monday, March 24, 7-4. Shipley was once again led by freshman Mouser with 2 goals and an assist. John Hird posted 1 goal and 2 assists, dominating the face-offs and ground balls for Shipley, while Gaulin added another goal. Tanenbaum turned away 12 of 19 shots for Shipley.

In the one exhibition scrimmage against Riverdale from New York City, the entire Shipley squad was able to contribute to the win. Junior goalie Andrew Mason had a shut-out in the 2nd half and many of the younger players were able to get some quality field time against a strong team.

Girls' Lacrosse
Disney's Wide World of Sports – Orlando, FL

Shipley – 11
Cushing Academy (MA) – 7

Shipley – 13
Tappan Zee HS (NY) – 6

Shipley – 11
Calverton Academy (MD) – 4

Shipley – 10
Ethel Walker (CT) – 8

The Shipley girls' lacrosse team (4-1, 0-0 FSL) went 4-0 against teams from New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Connecticut during spring training in Orlando, Florida.

During their stay in Disney, the girls beat Cushing Academy (MA) 11-7, Tappan Zee High School (NY) 13-6, Calverton Academy (MD) 11-4, and Ethel Walker (CT) 10-8.

Leading the way for the Gators were sophomore Tara Stokes with 17 goals and 4 assists, and senior tri-captain Leigh Ann Quill with 8 goals and 7 assists. Other Gators contributing to the scoring column were sophomore Claudia de Botton (7g, 1a), seniors Christina Zipf (5g, 4a), and Norah Maxwell (4g). Freshmen Brianna Blumenthal and Ellie Andersen tallied twice and once respectively. Junior Loryn Hartshorne also had her first varsity career goal. Sophomore goalie Ali Piltch had a great week in the cage, turning away 28 shots on goal to help Shipley return home undefeated.

Girls' Softball
Disney's Wide World of Sports – Orlando, FL

Shipley – 0
Holy Family Academy (NJ) – 1

Shipley – 1
Holy Family Academy (NJ) – 3

Shipley – 15
Springside School – 0

Shipley – 0
Villa Maria Academy (Erie, PA) – 5

The Shipley girls' softball team (2-3, 0-0 FSL) went to Orlando, Florida to play four games at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

On Saturday, March 22, the girls played a double header against Holy Family Academy (NJ), losing the first game 1-0. Senior Jess Iacobucci threw a complete game with 9 strike-outs and 3 hits.

Shipley lost the second game by a score of 3-1. Shipley began their scoring threat in the fourth inning, when freshmen Lauren Touey reached base on an error, stole second base, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Freshman Olivia Powers delivered a single for the RBI, sending Touey home. Shipley failed to score more runs despite triples by juniors Julia Schwartz and Maureen Gentry. Julia Schwartz was the losing pitcher in the effort, pitching a shutout into the fifth inning, as well as three strikeouts.

On Sunday, March 23, the Gators played another double header. First, the girls matched up against league opponent Springside School, and then took on Villa Maria Academy from Erie, PA. The girls had no trouble with Springside School, beating them by a score of 15-0. Freshman Lauren Touey debuted on the mound with her first shut-out win at Shipley. She went the complete game with 5 strikeouts. Shipley started scoring in the first inning when seniors Rebecca Yuska and Dakota Carroll reached base on singles and Jenn Nichols batted Yuska around with an RBI. Offensive highlights included junior Julia Schwartz going 3-4 with 4 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and 3 runs. Lauren Touey helped herself out at the plate also; she went 3-4 with 4 RBIs. Rebecca Yuska went 3-3 with 2 walks, 1 RBI, and 3 runs. Catcher Maureen Gentry scored 2 runs and went 1-2 with 2 walks.

The last game the girls played in Orlando was a loss to Villa Maria Academy, by a score of 5-0. Senior Jess Iacobucci pitched a great game in this loss, with 7 strikeouts and pitching a shutout until the 5th inning, when Shipley committed 3 errors leading to 4 runs. Shipley threatened to come back in the 6th inning when Dakota Carroll reached third base with an error by the pitcher and a stolen base, then sophomore Jenn Nichols drew a walk and a stolen base to put two runners into scoring position, but Shipley failed to capitalize on this opportunity. In the 7th inning, Shipley threatened to score a run with Jess Iacobucci, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to third base, but the Shipley offense went cold with 2 outs and could not secure a run.