By FRANCIS FEDOR
Stingray baseball fell to Armwood 7-0 at home on April 25 but ended the season on an up note, traveling to Middleton on April 27 and routing the Tigers 17-2 to finish the regular season at 11-12. The team opens district playoff action as the fifth seed and will have played Steinbrenner on May 1, before this edition went to press. Steinbrenner went 3-1 in district action and defeated the Stingrays 8-3 at Sumner back on April 1.
Each Sumner senior player had a plaque celebrating his moments and achievements as a part of Stingray baseball.
The Stingrays celebrated the program’s second Senior night on Tuesday, honoring five seniors and their families. Seniors Vince Diballa, Manny Ramos and Elijah Serrano have all been with the program since its inception. Isaac Martinez and Brenden Rodriquez have been valuable additions to the on-field leadership. Each of the seniors has had a productive season and will be important to the playoff success.
As for the game itself, Armwood managed to add a run to the scoreboard each inning, with the exception of the fourth where the ’Rays were shut out. The team added a second run in the fifth, and the Hawk’s pitching held the Stingray bats silent, allowing only four hits. Sumner junior Avery Charland took the tough luck loss, giving up two earned runs and striking out four Hawk hitters.
Sumner senior Kayla DiNova turns second base with an eye on third in win vs. Brandon.
Stingray senior Alyssa Vallad delivers early in action vs. Brandon, just prior to celebrating her 100th strikeout of the season.
The Stingrays, as they did in the 2022 with a win where they emerged as district champions, won their finale. Whn the ’Rays traveled to Middleton, the pent-up offense broke out for 17 runs and the pitching staff saw three hurlers combine to hold the Tigers to two runs, both in the fourth inning, to complete a run-ruled positive finish to their 2023 regular season.
Stingray sophomore Luke Parson smashed his first Sumner home run and drove in three. Fellow sophomore Jesse Robledo also homered, his second of the season. Seniors Branden Rodriguez and Manny Ramos continued their solid seasons, combining for five hits and five RBIs. Sumner freshman Ethan DeJesus picked up the win for two innings of scoreless baseball.
Francis Fedor Photos
Stingray players honor the seniors with bats held high as each senior passed underneath.
Stingray softball welcomed Brandon to Sumner on April 25, winning 16-0, and used the game to allow players a chance to try out other positions. The Eagles are struggling with only one win on the season and previously had lost 22-0 in a game at Brandon. The game was highlighted by senior Alyssa Vallad notching her 100th strikeout of the season against the second hitter of the game and then turning the circle over to senior Kayla DiNova. Alyssa also went 3-3 at the plate and drove in five runs. The ’Rays faced a tougher opponent in 16-6 Berkeley Prep the next night and lost 5-4 in a tight game, surrendering the decisive walk-off run in the seventh inning for the Buccaneer win. Alyssa Vallad took the tough luck loss, giving up four earned while adding three more Ks to her career total. Sumner head coach Autum Hernandez now turns the ’Rays attention to district playoffs and the team will have played its first game on Monday, May 1, hosting Riverview in a match-up between the fourth (Sumner) and fifth (Riverview) seeds. It will be the first match-up between the two South Shore rival teams this season. The Sharks ended their regular season at 14 wins vs 10 losses. The winner will advance to face the top seed Plant on May 2. The Stingrays dropped both games vs. Plant this season and would be looking to avenge those loses should they advance. The championship will be held on May 3 at 7 p.m. with the site TBD.
