Salem baseball pounding out wins in Class L; Portsmouth lacrosse wins battle of unbeatens.
By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
Matt Farbotko has played competitive football on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Now he's hoping to earn the chance to showcase his skills on Sundays.
Farbotko, a 6-foot-6, 244-pound tight end who played at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts last weekend after attending the team's rookie mini-camp.
"I definitely learned that everyone there is athletically capable of playing," Farbotko told the Nashua Telegraph. "They're athletes. I think that's what (NFL teams) do first - they look for athletes, and guys who can apply that to playing football. Obviously you have to learn an offense-defense, but the speed is a lot faster, the pace is a lot faster."
Farbotko, a Brookline resident, was a letterwinner in football, basketball and track during his time at Bishop Guertin. He captained the football and basketball teams during his senior year, after which he was selected to play against Vermont in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl football game.
Farbotko played football at Harvard, and the Colts showed interest in him following the school's pro day last month. He accepted an offer to attend mini-camp even though he didn't have a contract.
Now Farbotko's goal is make the team's 53-player roster. He's scheduled to attend another mini-camp on June 7 - after he graduates from Harvard.
"And then I'm pretty much there," he told the Telegraph. "I could be there until next February if things work out."
Baseball: Salem Flexing its Muscle
Offense hasn't been a problem for Salem this season. The Blue Devils have scored at least nine runs in 12 of their 13 games and are atop the Class L standings with a 12-1 record.
Salem picked up its 12th victory by overcoming a four-run deficit during a 10-9 triumph over Winnacunnet on Wednesday.
Winnacunnet coach Mike Daboul called Salem the best team he's seen this season.
"They have depth in pitching, but they play good defense and they can really swing the bats," Daboul said.
The Blue Devils have a .364 team batting average and have outscored their opponents 130-57.
Brian White, Salem's cleanup hitter, entered the Winnacunnet game batting .405 and led the team in home runs (three), RBIs (18), hits (17) and runs scored (15).
Spaulding may be the only team that can pass Salem and earn the top seed for the Class L tournament. Spaulding is 11-2, and no other Class L team has fewer than three losses.
Salem and Spaulding were scheduled to play each other Friday, but the game was postponed.
Girls Lacrosse: Portsmouth Remains Unbeaten
It was a matchup that featured the two biggest heavyweights in Division III girls lacrosse, and when Thursday's game between Portsmouth and Hollis-Brookline was over Portsmouth was the only unbeaten team in the division.
Sara Whitney collected four goals and Lyndol Senf made 16 saves to lead the Clippers to 14-5 victory.
"We played our game from start to finish," Portsmouth coach Cindy Fitzgerald said. "We just came out and played strong offense and defense."
The loss dropped Hollis-Brookline's record to 5-1. Portsmouth added a 10-8 triumph over Kingswood on Saturday and enters the week 12-0 overall and 10-0 in Division III.
Pinkerton Academy, which is 10-0 in Division I, is the only other undefeated girls lacrosse team in the state.
Tennis: Lucky Seven
Seven tennis teams still have a chance to complete the regular season undefeated. The St. Thomas girls (12-0), Hanover girls (11-0) and Plymouth girls (7-0) are all unbeaten in Class I; the Gilford girls (11-0) are unbeaten in Class M; the Concord boys (11-0) are the only unbeaten team in Class L; and the Hanover boys (11-0) and Portsmouth boys (10-0) are the unbeatens in Class I.
