WAKEFIELD — The spring high school state tournament brackets are set and ready to go.
Wakefield’s girls’ tennis, boys’ tennis, baseball, softball, girls’ lacrosse and boys’ lacrosse teams are getting ready for their first round tournament matchups which will officially begin tomorrow with three games scheduled and continue into next week.
The No. 20 Warrior girls’ tennis team was scheduled to visit No. 13 North Attleboro today but their D2 first round match will be postponed to tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. due to today’s rain. Wakefield (5-11), who had two wins over Stoneham late in the season, will now meet a strong Blue Bombardiers team that finished 14-3. Wakefield fell to Plymouth North 5-0 in the first round last year. North Attleboro lost to Sharon in the Round of 16.
Also competing tomorrow will be the No. 11 boys’ tennis team who will be hosting No. 22 Nauset in a first round D3 matchup at the Dobbins Courts at 4:30 p.m. Wakefield (10-7) certainly got a boost in their seeding after playing a schedule that mostly included Middlesex League teams in higher divisions. They finished strong, winning five of their last six matches. Nauset (11-5) had a good season as well and will travel over 100 miles to Wakefield. Nauset won three of their final four matches. Wakefield made it to the D2 tourney last year, falling to Belmont 5-0 in the first round. Nauset beat Scituate in the D2 tourney last year before falling to Sharon in the Round of 16.
The No. 23 Wakefield softball team travels to No. 10 Plymouth South tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. for a first round D2 game. The Warriors (9-11) earned a share of the Middlesex League Freedom Division title, the first league championship since 1982 and scheduled games against multiple talented D1 programs to get ready for the best D2 has to offer. They will get that with the Panthers (15-3) who won eight of their final 10 games. Wakefield beat Wilmington 12-11 in a first round thriller last year before bowing out in the Sweet 16 to top-seeded Westfield. Plymouth South snuck into the D2 tourney last year and fell to Pembroke in a preliminary round game.
On Sunday at 3 p.m., the No. 9 Warrior baseball team will host a first round game against the winner of No. 24 Tewksbury vs. No. 41 Tri-County RVT. Wakefield (16-4) had a terrific season including an eight-game winning streak from April 19 to May 9. They won the Middlesex League Freedom Division title for the second straight season. The assumption is that the Warriors will see Tewksbury (11-9) on Sunday, a team that has put up plenty of runs this season. Both teams were moved from D2 to D3 this year. Tewksbury missed the tournament last year while the Warriors nearly upset Final Four-bound St. Mary’s in a 3-2 first round thriller.
The No. 17 girls’ lacrosse team travels to No. 16 Groton-Dunstable on Monday at 5 p.m. for a first round D3 game. The Warriors (8-10) enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak. The Crusaders (9-8) are also from a strong lacrosse league like Wakefield. Both teams were moved from D2 to D3 this year. Groton-Dunstable made the tourney last year but fell to Silver Lake in the prelims while Wakefield missed the tournament last season.
The No. 24 boys’ lacrosse team will visit No. 9 Foxboro on Monday in a first round D3 matchup at 5:30 p.m. The local Warriors (7-10) will need to be on their game against their opposing Warriors (10-8) in this one. Foxboro won three in a row to end their season. Foxboro made it to the D3 Round of 16 last year before being edged by Newburyport 7-6. Wakefield made the D2 tourney last season, beating Medford in the prelims before losing to No. 2 Nauset in the first round.
LUKE GREIF and the WMHS boys’ tennis team will host Nauset in a first round matchup tomorrow, 4:30 p.m. at the Dobbins Courts. (Courtesy Photo)
