Our College Stars
Mike McMahon
A quick look at the Rollins College athletics Web site makes it perfectly clear — Haverhill's Mike Crane is just as his bio reads, "One of the best pure hitters in Rollins' history."
Crane has been a threat ever since he set foot on the Florida campus five years ago. The Central Catholic grad finished up his college career with a hefty .355 average, which is eighth-best all-time at the school, and just behind former Andover star Joe Iarrobino, who finished his sparking career at Rollins with a .367 average in 1995.
In fact, it was the Iarrobino connection that landed Crane in Florida.
"Joe Iarrobino Sr. is a family friend, and his son went there," explained Crane, who hit .376 with 42 runs and 49 RBIs for the 29-24-1 Tars this year. "He knew the coach at the time and gave him my info and told him about me. Joe's cousin, Bill Byron, was best friends with my dad growing up, and I've been best friends with his son since I was a kid. So, I had that connection and I checked out the campus and the school and I remember just falling in love with the place."
Crane, who sits in the top-20 in four major career offensive categories for the Tars, is looking to take his play to the next level June 5 when Major League Baseball holds it's annual amateur draft. Crane was part of a private workout last week with three other Rollins players for the Colorado Rockies.
"On Thursday I'm packing up and driving back up to Massachusetts and moving back in at home," he said. "I'll see what happens with the draft. If nothing happens, I'll start networking with the alumni and get into the workplace. But, belonging to a Major League organization would be an absolute dream come true."
The former two-time Eagle-Tribune All-Star batted a sparkling .355 in his career, with 12 homers and 125 RBIs in 192 games. He was also 37 of 41 in his career on stolen base attempts.
"It's been a great four years," said Crane, a 6-1, 210-pound left fielder. "When you play down here, you get to start earlier. Literally, when I got back from Christmas break we were out on the fields, it was great. There were no practices in the gym, and it's all about baseball, it was perfect."
Gallardo leads ULowell
He still has a year to go at UMass Lowell, and Methuen's Anthony Gallardo has already left an enormous impression on the program.
At the NCAA Super Regional in Delaware, Gallardo carded a 77 to help the River Hawks to a sixth-place finish.
Bryant won the regional and will move on to the NCAA Championships.
The good news is that the River Hawks do not graduate a single player from this year's squad.
Former Astros bring home hardware
Pinkerton lacrosse is represented well at Keene State, and received even a bigger boost after two of its former players, Tony Santa Fe and Matt Johnson, were named Little East Conference men's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.
Santa Fe, a junior attacker, led the Owls in scoring with 32 goals and 24 assists. He becomes the fourth KSC player to receive the honor.
Johnson was LEC Defensive MVP for a remarkable third straight season. The senior had a goals-against average of 7.58 and a .629 save percentage.
Johnson was also named KSC's Male Athlete of the Year.
Eagans are championship family
Mike Eagan, a junior at Endicott College, helped the Gulls to the Commonwealth Coast Conference title. A defenseman, the former North Andover captain transferred from Bryant last year. His brother, Billy Eagan, is a freshman long stick midfielder at Mount Ida. He appeared in every game this season, helping lead Mount Ida to its fifth-consecutive North Atlantic Conference title. Mount Ida will play its first round game in the Division 3 tournament against Bowdoin.
Merrimack's top scholars
Merrimack's Dennis Rugg was named to the Northeast-10 All-Academic team. A civil engineering major, he maintained a 3.7 GPA. On the women's side, lacrosse player Kerri Bomil was also named to the NE-10 All-Academic team with a 3.8 GPA as a history major.
Darren Duncan (basketball) and Hillary McGarr (soccer) were named Merrimack's male and female Athletes of the Year. Hockey's Andrew Braithwaite and lacrosse's Kelly Pasquantonio were named male and female Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Braithwaite finished with the top GPA of all the sports in the athletics program — a perfect 4.0.
Diodati battles back from injury
Wagner's Danielle Diodati, a 2007 Central grad, was injured for much of the winter season with a leg problem, but was named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll.
In the outdoor season, she ran the 4x100 relay and the 4x200 relay. At the Penn Relays, her team set a new Wagner record in the 4x200, clocking in at 1:43.94. At the NEC Championships, her 4x100 relay team set another school record with a time of 48.5.
Ranger softballers shine at Salem State
Former Methuen standouts Jenna Lentine and Krista Brown finished up fine freshman seasons at Salem State. Lentine played in all 27 games and started 24 at third base. She batted .254 with 8 RBIs. Lentine hit .296 in conference play. Brown batted .237 as the starting catcher. ... Bates standout Jen Marino of Methuen placed third in the triple jump (36-23/4) and eighth in the long jump (16-6) at the New England Championships.
Mello is the tops
Londonderry's Jenna Mello was named Franklin Pierce's Walter Peterson Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Mello was a four-year starting goalie for the women's soccer team, and served as a captain the past two seasons. She was part of four NCAA tournament teams, and twice reached the Final Four.
Despite having her senior year cut short with a knee injury, she finished her career ranked second in program history with 27 shutouts and ranked fifth with a 0.70 goals-against average. She earned Daktronics All-New England Region honors as a junior, and over the course of her career was named NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week 10 times.
Remarkable Ritchies
North Andover sisters Alyssa and Katie Ritchie, who both play for Bentley, were named to the All-Northeast-10 lacrosse team. A senior defender, Katie was named to the second team. The tri-captain anchored the defense with her 30 ground balls, 14 forced turnovers and 33 winning draw controls. She also scored one goal, the first of her career.
Alyssa, a junior attack, made the first team for the third year in a row. She scored a team-high 76 points and was second on the 7-10 Falcons with 45 goals.
Bird named MVP
Assumption College honored four locals at their awards banquet. Leading the pack was lacrosse goaltender Chris Bird of North Andover, who earned team MVP honors. Londonderry's Kelley DeWalt, a sophomore, and Amanda Monge, a junior who graduated from Central Catholic, were named captains-elect for the soccer and softball squads, respectively. Jeff Robert of Pelham was given the Senior Award for football.
