Freshman Catcher Ryan Sullivan carries big bat

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

You have to admire Bartlett Indians rookie coach Jonathan Way for his optimism.  His team had just finished its season with a loss, giving them 14 losses to go along with only four wins, and everything he had to say was positive

Following a 3-2 start, the Indians faltered and lost twelve of their next thirteen games. They went through one span of eleven straight losses. Six of their losses were by fewer than three runs, which tells you that they were competitive.

“We went through a rough patch in the middle of the season, but we figured it out in the last five or six games or so; it’s unfortunate that it took us that long to figure it out, but we started hitting,” said Way. “Overall we played defensively well most times, but we didn’t have the hitting when it’s been there, but down the stretch it showed up.”

Ace Evan Anderson

One game that Way pointed out which left him feeling optimistic was a 4-2 loss to Shepherd Hill in their third to last game. ”Evan Anderson, who has been our ace all season long, went out and threw four strong innings and kept us in the game. At that point we were up 1-0 to one of the best teams in SWCL this year, in my opinion, from what I have seen. They have been consistent year in and year out, we went and we battled, we swung it, I believe we out hit them five hits to their three. Unfortunately we came out on the losing end.”

You have to agree with Way’s evaluation for the team’s outlook.  Along with sophomore hurler Anderson, their best pitcher all season, they have a couple of solid juniors in second baseman Billy Phillips and outfielder Kelly Chisholm, who Way calls “the rock” of the Indians’ outfield, to go along with a bunch of talented sophomores.

Junior Billy Phillips

“We have a lot of young talent that really stepped it up. Anthony Higbie, our sophomore third basemen, who has been sound defensively came on late as an offensive presence with RBI’s and timely hitting.”

“Ryan Sullivan, our freshman catcher, who was called up early in the season and was the team’s designated hitter at the end of the season, ended the season batting over .300 behind Luis Caro as the second best hitter on the team.” 

Way also talked about another sophomore, Justin Caro, a bona fide baseball player who can hit and field and looks to be a star in the making.

Chris Czernicki beats Southbridge

Another player who could be a big part of the Indians’ future is freshman pitcher Chris Czernicki, who won his first and only varsity start against rival Southbridge.  “He threw strikes, he threw four plus innings, kept up in the game. It was fun to watch a kid like that come up and throw his first pitch and it’s a deep fly ball to centerfield and he kind of turned with an expression on his face and realizes that Nick Kobel is camped underneath it and that we can play defense at this level. He settled down and pitched a really nice ball game, he had six strikeouts, and he is going to be one of our future pitchers.”

“We look pretty strong for the future. I know that we have six seniors graduating but when you look at who really stepped up and carried our team it was our sophomore class, so I am looking for big things from them.”

It’s hard not to like this kind of optimism.

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Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Before this current season started, Bartlett High School senior tennis star Myranda Smith had the same doubles partner since the seventh grade.  She and fellow senior captain Brenda Sundara were a formidable pair that had much success together.

This year the two had to split up and go in a new direction when Sundara became the team’s number one singles player, and it was a new beginning, a move that brought Smith a new partner in sophomore Indre Naujokaite.

“At first I was nervous playing with a younger player,” said Smith, “then, when we started working together, I became comfortable with her. She is experienced and mature for her age.”

The fit was so good that the team won six of its first eight matches together and has become one of the top teams in the Southern Worcester County League.

“I am so glad that she is my partner because I can rely on her, I feel like I can trust her while she’s at net or she’s back vice versa, she is a great player.  We have built a good connection,” continued Smith.

The Lithuanian-born Naujokaite is also quite pleased with the arrangement. “It’s amazing, I love playing with Myranda, she has more experience and we have a great connection. She’s my role model. I have been looking up to her for years so it’s special to be playing doubles with her.”

The pair’s coach Chris Nasis is also happy with the way things have worked out. “One thing they do really well is the way they talk to each other after each point, that communication is outstanding. Both of them are really intelligent. They work very hard in practice, which is a credit to them.”

Nasis emphasized the fact that that they have the best individual record on the team. “They have been in some tough matches. When they have been down, they came back to win. That is a credit to those two working together so well.”

“Myranda has a lot of mental toughness, that is really impressive about her. She is very strong,” said Nasis about his senior leader. “She is a top-notch student, she made high honors, and she is very excited about that. She has been a great captain for us, and when an upperclassmen does that, the lower classmen looks up to them.”  

Smith has been doing it all at Bartlett since she came to the school as a seventh grader. She is a high honor student; in show choir, president of the medical careers club, and treasurer of the student council.

As an athlete, simply put, she is one of the best in the high school. She was goalie on the soccer team and has been on the basketball team since the seventh grade and captain this past season, and of course, she has had a stellar tennis career.

When she is not in school she coaches 4-7 year olds in the Webster Youth Soccer league.

With all this going in her life, it’s still tennis that really makes Smith tick. “Tennis is my favorite sport and has been the highlight of my high school sports career. It’s not stressful, it’s more individual-based and there is so much that you can focus on while you are playing, so you can make adjustments easier.  There are so many more opportunities to get yourself out there.”

Her teammate, Naujokaite, whose first name is pronounced “injury,” came to Webster with her family from her native Kaunas, Lithuania, at the start of third grade.  It was hard adjusting at first to a new country but she done so wonderfully and when you talk her you can barely hear an accent.

“It was hard sitting in class and not understanding anything. I had to make a lot of adjustments, but once I did I liked it better here.”

Like Smith, she also has a great love for the game of tennis, which she picked up from playing casually with her family, and would like to play in college once she finishes high school. For now her goal is simply to, “keep our game up and win the rest of our games.”

The way they are playing that seems like a given.

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by Steev Riccardo

FISKDALE - Bartlett senior co-captain Rocco DiStefano joined teammate and fellow senior co-captain Nikita Truhanovitch in becoming the second player in the last 15 years to either tie or break a school record in track when he tied the school record for the 100 meter dash this past week.

DiStefano’s 11.2-second 100-meter dash this Wednesday in a Southern Worcester County League meet at Tantasqua Regional High School in Fiskdale helped his team defeat Millbury and nearly beat track powerhouse Tantasqua.

“It felt great, I honestly didn’t think during the race that I was breaking a record,” said DiStefano.  “It wasn’t the race that I thought I would break a record in.  I was actually trying to break the record in the 400 meters”.

“It came as a surprise to me since I was mostly training for the 400 meters.  The 100 isn’t really my forte anymore,” said the Springfield College-bound sprinter. “Still it was a great accomplishment, I was ecstatic and amazed. I am still going to strive to come in first the rest of the year, do well at Districts, and make it to All-States.”

Bartlett Track Coach Paul Lango said Jerome Ellis and Alex Anpontuah, a pair of Bartlett legends, previously shared the record and acknowledged that D-Stefano’s feat was a great one.

DiStefano also won the 400-meters and the javelin throw and he closes out his amazing career at Bartlett High School in style.

Truhanovitch, who tied a record by Chris Chase in the 110-hurdles last year, continued to have a brilliant campaign winning the 400-meter hurdles and placing second in both the 110-meter hurdles and the triple jump on Wednesday.  He also came in third in the long jump.

Bartlett’s third senior co-captain Arthur Hackenson continued his dominance by winning both the shot put and the discus throw.

Senior Christian McManus, who is also having a great outdoor track season, came in second in the 200-meters and second in the high jump.

Freshman Jacob Simonis also impressed all at the meet by coming in third overall in the 3200-meters.

The team of McManus, DJ Kirby-Thomas and the eight grade tandem of Marco Zaky and Justin Speights won the 4X100 meter relay with an impressive time of 48 seconds.

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Juniors Grooms and Stephens leading the way

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett High School girls’ tennis team has been one of the biggest sports stories in the area this spring. With an outstanding bunch of student athletes and a great coach in Chris Nasis, they continue to perform spectacularly on and off the court.

Rarely do you hear a high school coach put so much emphasis on academics as Head Coach Nasis does. It’s refreshing to hear him speak.

“I think the most important thing is what they do in the classroom. You know what kind of season you are going to have when you see the grades.  It’s true; I have believed that for a long time,” said Nasis. “ I tell them all the time that you are only as good as your last match.”  He could have easily said—you are only good as your last test.

If there were any truth at all to the theory that tennis players are smarter, then the Bartlett girls would be the perfect example. They certainly are a ‘heady’ bunch.

The team’s number one and number three singles players, juniors Jen Grooms and Amanda Stephens, have played together since the seventh grade and have been friends since they were in the third grade. Both are having outstanding seasons so far.

“We always talk about games before and after and how we can beat our opponents, said Stephens in regards to her relationship with Grooms, who were doubles partners as freshmen. “We talk about how we could improve our game”.

Stephens, who is having a great season, attends classes at Worcester Math and Science. (She is allowed to play tennis at Bartlett since she lives in Webster and started her career while at Bartlett.)

“She is dedicated and works really hard—very quiet but takes care of business on the court,” said Nasis. “She is very assertive and has outstanding technique and is very easy to coach.  (Assistant)Coach Tom Namonski really works with her one on one. He has helped out the girls and it has made a big difference with Amanda. She is like a sponge she really absorbs everything.”

Grooms is also an admirer of her teammate’s skills, “She is amazing—she has a really great cross court and every time she hits it, it’s low—just barely going over the net . It’s almost impossible to return sometimes.”

Stephens returned the compliment and threw in a little jab for fun. “She (Grooms) is really good. She has become better at hitting slices and she returns the ball most of time.”

Nasis was also quick to praise Grooms. “Jen is an outstanding leader. She is the typical student that you want playing for our team: outstanding in the classroom and she is a real good thinker on the court.”

“I think we have a really bright future as a team,” said Grooms.  “If we keep it together and stay strong mentally, we are really going to succeed.”

Nasis, also an assistant football coach at Worcester State College, put the Bartlett girls through a grueling training camp, but it was that training that made a difference for Grooms. “I love playing for Coach Nasis.  We have better stamina this year compared to other teams.  We are always ready to play. Even if don’t win another match, we are going to play our hardest every match and have a lot of success together.”

Stephens agrees, “I think we are doing really well. If we continue to play this way we can make districts.”

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Indians second baseman, Billy Phillips. 

Photos and text by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER - Bartlett Senior Tyler Mandeville not only pitched a superb game but also came up with the game winning hit to lead the Bartlett Indians past the Millbury Woolies 4-3 last Monday (April 9) in a Southern Worcester County League game played at Bartlett High School.

Mandeville was sharp on the mound, allowing only three hits while striking out 11 Woolies batters en route to a complete game victory. It was the first start of the early season for the hard-throwing right hander, who looked really good on the mound.

The Indians were trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning when some last inning heroics earned them a huge win.

Sophomore Justin Caro led the seventh inning off with a double and moved to third when his older brother senior Luis Caro reached on an error. He then scored the tying run when Billy Phillips also reached base on an error.  Luis Caro crossed the plate with the winning run on Mandeville’s single, clinching the comeback win for the Indians.

Bartlett's Tyler Mandeville with Luis Caro in the background

The victory was the Indians’ second against a Southern Worcester County League opponent. They had beaten Grafton in their opener. They did however suffer their first loss of the year later in the week at home to the pesky Oxford Pirates.

The Indians are preparing to play in the Auburn Classic with upcoming tilts against Tantasqua Regional on Monday, April 23, the Auburn Rockets on Wednesday April 25, and the David Prouty Panthers on Friday, April 27.

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Bartlett's Jen Grooms

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

WEBSTER - The Bartlett Indians girls’ tennis squad won its second straight match, defeating the Auburn Rockets 4-1 at the Bartlett High School tennis courts on Wednesday (April 11) afternoon.

In singles matches, the Indians’ Jen Grooms handled the Rockets Noor Kahdary 6-1, 6-1 in impressive fashion and teammate Amanda Stephens topped Jess Leger 6-2, 7-5 in a competitive battle.

Indians senior co-captain and top singles player Brenda Sundara lost to the Rockets top player Jeanelle Wheeler 6-1, 6-2 in a tough match that was a lot closer than the score indicated.  It was a heated battle in a match that featured a host of heavily contested long volleys.

The number one Indians’ doubles team of senior co-captain Miranda Smith and sophomore Indre Naujokaite stopped the Rockets team of Sam Lemus and Sam Bilnas 6-0, 7-6.  Bartlett’s number two doubles team of Kellie Duquette and Katie King stopped Jess Bylund and Maria Coughlin 6-4, 6-3.

The Indians are 2-0, while the Rockets fell to 2-3 in Southern Worcester County League play.

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Bartlett's Connor McCarthy swinging away.

Photos and text by Steev Riccardo

Webster - The Bartlett Indians used some timely hitting and the combined pitching of Evan Anderson and Steven Brennan to defeat the Grafton Indians 9-4 in their home opener at the Bartlett High School Field on Friday.

Senior shortstop Luis Caro got hit by a pitch on the first pitch he faced and ending up scoring on a ground out by centerfielder Nick Kobel to give the Indians a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

After Grafton tied the game on an error in the top of the first, the Indians put three runs on the board, highlighted by a double by senior right fielder Connor McCarthy and led 4-1 after three innings.

Meanwhile sophomore righty Anderson was coasting along until he had a rocky fourth inning and gave up a couple of runs but still pitched himself out of further damage and preserved the Indians’ lead at 4-3.

Luis Caro gave the Indians an insurance run when he smacked a double, making it 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Junior Steven Brennan took over for Anderson, who left with a high pitch count in the fifth and despite allowing a run to make it 5-4, did a good job of preventing any further damage.

The Indians added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a Justin Caro double to make it 8-4.

Nick Kobel had two RBI's in the win.

Kobel singled home Luis Caro in the sixth inning for the Indians’ ninth and final run and his second RBI of the game, and Brennan took care of business in the seventh, securing Bartlett’s first win of the season.

Evan anderson on the mound.

Anderson’s numbers were respectable, giving up only two hits on one earned run, striking out seven, while walking six Grafton batters in four innings.  Brennan gave one hit and one run, striking out one batter and walking three in three innings.

The win was the first for Indians’ rookie manager Jonathan Way, who said afterwards, “It was awesome. These guys worked hard, it’s really their win.”  

Way was generally happy with the way things went and praised his pitchers and fielders. “They threw strikes. That is what we talked about, getting ahead and throwing strikes, they have a great defense behind them. We worked during spring training on solidifying our defense. That is going to be our game, throw strikes and make the plays behind the pitching.  We got in a little bit of trouble walking guys, but when the pitchers got ahead, we did really well.”

The Indians’ manager was also quick to point out the importance of Luis Caro in both the field and in a leadership role. “You got to look at your shortstop to be a leader, he is one of our best hitters, he can fly on the base paths, he sets the tone for the entire team. He really is a solid ball player and we feel confident having him in our leadoff spot.”

Caro, who played a solid two-way game for the Indians, banging out a pair of hits and collecting an RBI, attributed his and the team’s success to “hard work’ they put in during the pre-season.

Anderson, 1-0, said “It felt really good to win, especially after struggling last year.”

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Kobel shines with 39 points in loss

By Steev Riccardo. Patriot staff photos. More follow the article.

Nick Kobel had one of the greatest quarters in Bartlett High School history, scoring 25 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Indians were eliminated from post-season play by St. Bernard’s of Fitchburg 84-75 on Monday night.

Despite going down in defeat, Bartlett’s most recent 1000-point scorer put on a show for the ages as he played his final game in a Bartlett basketball jersey and left his mark and place in Indian history.

The Indians came out quick behind the hot shooting and 11 first-quarter points of junior Akeem Belnavis and took an early 17-15 lead.

The Bernardians used a dominant inside game and some strong rebounding to take control in the second quarter, opening a 40-30 lead at half time.

The Indians were playing hard in the third quarter but the Bernardians were making their shots and taking advantage of free throw opportunities to open a huge 17-point lead in a contest that appeared to be headed for a blow-out.

Trailing 64-47 heading into the final quarter, Kobel took over and put on an unforgettable performance and nearly saved his team’s season. Playing in his final game, the senior point guard caught fire and at one point connected for 14 straight points, which drove the home town crowd into a frenzy.

Kobel’s free throw with 2:22 left miraculously tied the game at 75-75, but the Indians were unable to capitalize against their stronger opponents after that and were outscored 9-0 in the final minutes and their season was over.

Despite the loss, Kobel put on a show that will long be remembered in Bartlett basketball history, and ended his career with class.

Bartlett Head Coach Tony Paranto reflected on his team’s play afterwards, “We didn’t do a very good job in the first half, they were pretty athletic, they went to the glass pretty hard, we tried to change our defense up and even when we were switching defenses and went to a man-to-man defense we had a hard time locating people.”

Paranto’s team adjusted and nearly pulled off a miracle win, “We emphasized at halftime that we had to limit them to one shot and I think we did a pretty good job with that in the third and fourth quarters. We eliminated their sideline passes and they struggled with their offense.”

Although the comeback was incredible, the Indians fell short at the end, “If we could have grabbed the lead we would have gained more momentum, but we couldn’t get the lead. We had plenty of opportunities, we missed five free throws down the stretch and we missed some wide open three-point shots and they made their free throws when they had to.”

As for the play of his senior co-captain, Paranto praised his star, “he is a never-say-die kid, he showed his character, put us on his shoulders, and tried to will us to a win.”

A somber Kobel said afterwards, “We knew it could be our last game and we were down, we had to dig deep, play defense and give ourselves a chance to win, we just fell a little short at the end.”

Belnavis finished with 16 points and Alex Givens-Perry had 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss, which ended the Indians’ season at 13-9.

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More photos:

By Steev Riccardo

For 31 minutes and 39 seconds the Bartlett Indians looked like they had finally solved the Quaboag Cougars when one shot changed all that and ended all hopes of returning to the Clark Tournament finals.

The Indians had the perfect game plan to overcome two earlier losses to the #1 seeded Cougars in the Clark semi-finals Tuesday night (Feb. 21), but failed to prevent a last second shot which forced overtime, resulting in a 68-60 loss to the Central Mass powerhouse.

Bartlett Head Coach Tony Paranto changed things up and the Indians came out of the locker room with a new look that initially stifled the Cougars. Instead of having senior co-captain Nick Kobel run the offense from the point like he has all season, the Indians put Junior Akeem Belnavis at the point.

“The last time we played them (Thomas) Jankins did a very good job on Kobel so we figured by having Kobel play the wing we would take Jankins away from the middle of the floor which is where he likes to be,” said Paranto.

The move took the Cougars’ star and 1000-point career scorer away from the middle of the floor and opened things up for Belnavis, who responded with 14 first quarter points, catapulting the Indians to a surprising 19-7 lead after one quarter.

The Cougars were able to solve the puzzle in the second quarter and outscored the Indians 14-6 to make it a 25-21 game at the half. Still, the Indians had to feel good with a lead over the favorites at the half.

The third quarter was hard fought but the strong inside play of sophomore Alex Givens-Perry and some big three-point shots by Kobel and Matt Huberdault helped the Indians open a 10-point lead heading into the final stanza.

The Cougars suddenly caught fire and rattled off five quick points and were within two when sophomore Ethan Lacaire gave his team their first and only lead in regulation with a deep three-pointer making it 51-50 at the 3:46 mark.

The lead only lasted 21 seconds as Perry picked off a rebound and tossed it in to give the Indians a 52-51 lead.

Both teams missed on their possessions, but then Kobel came up huge and buried a jumper with 53 seconds left to give his team what seemed like a safe 54-51 advantage.

The Cougars got the ball back with 18 seconds left and Jankins looked to be contained by Kobel but somehow got off a fade away shot from beyond the three-point line that went in just before the buzzer sounded.

The air was completely deflated from the Indians’ balloon and they were outplayed in overtime and dropped what seemed like the game plan and would-be win of the year.

“It was a very good basketball game, two good teams sparring it out, unfortunately we got beat with a Hail Mary,” said a visibly dejected Paranto afterwards. “We had a good game plan going in, we executed very well defensively. Offensively I think we did what we needed to do. I thought Belnavis did a good job handling the ball for us for the first time this year.”

It was a tough pill to swallow for the Indians, who lost two tough games to the Cougars this year with chances to win in both of those as well.

 “It wasn’t justice, I thought the kids did a great job all the way through and it’s unfortunate that it had to end that way. I don’t mind getting beat with a good shot and a good look but a fall away Hail Mary from 30 feet, that’s tough.”

Kobel, who finished with 11 points, showed some great sportsmanship after the loss and gave credit to Jankins, whom he calls a friend and a great rival, “He shot the ball from where we wanted him to shoot from, it wasn’t a lay-up, it wasn’t a clean shot, a great player makes those kinds of shots.”

Belnavis, who led the Indians with 22 points and 8 rebounds, took the loss very hard, “We had a good game plan on defense and it worked really well until that last shot.” The Indians still have District play to look forward to and Kobel feels his team “has to bounce back” and indications are that they will.

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By Steev Riccardo

The Bartlett Indians overcame some sloppy play and a pesky North Brookfield team to advance to the Small School Division of the Clark Tournament semi-finals with a 62-48 victory on Sunday night (Feb. 19)

The win assured the Indians of a rematch with the #1 seed Quaboag Cougars, who won their opening match-up over West Boylston on Sunday. It will be the third time that the two teams meet when they take the court on Tuesday night (Feb. 21). The Cougars won the first two hard fought games over the Indians, but the teams are still very closely matched.

The Indians used a full court press to stymie North Brookfield and they also connected on some three-point shots early, jumping to an 18-14 lead. Sophomore Evan Anderson and juniors Akeem Belnavis and Matt Huberdault all hit from long range.

Despite forcing 18 first half turnovers and holding a 35-27 half time lead, the Indians squandered lots of opportunities and let North Brookfield stay in the game.

The second half was very sloppily played but the Indians did what they had to do and secured the win, but looking forward they will need to play much better, especially against a strong Quaboag team.

North Brookfield had 30 turnovers, but the Indians weren’t much better, turning the ball over 22 times in a game both teams probably want to forget.

Indians head coach Tony Paranto was grateful for the win but not completely happy with the way his team played. “The problem was that when they turned the ball over we were not converting. That is the biggest thing with our defense and our philosophy, we want to create turnovers and we want to create some tempo but we have to do something after we do it, and tonight we did not do a good job of converting their turnovers into points.

“The shots weren’t falling tonight and we need to do a better job of taking the ball to the hole,” said Paranto. “You come to the post season, you have to come to play. We survived tonight which is great, we did enough to win.”

Indian co-captain Kobel, who finished with 11 points and 6 assists, echoed the words of his coach. “We didn’t capitalize on their turnovers. We have to capitalize better. We knew they were big and strong, we wanted to run and make their bigs tired, but they did a fantastic job on the boards.”

Huberdault, who scored 11 points and hit some big three-pointers was also not completely thrilled despite winning. ““We have to play better, we were sloppy out there. We didn’t come to play today, we need to improve a lot.”

Belnavis led the Indians with 14 points and Alex Givens-Perry also played well with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Kobel simplified the upcoming Indians-Cougars match-up, “We know what they are about and they know what we are about.”

Check the results here.

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