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Hopkinton’s Muscatello makes a healthy return to diamond at Bryant

Hopkinton High graduate Dan Muscatello is playing shortstop at Bryant University, and leading the team with a .333 average. Handout

Muscatello family tradition continues

The Muscatello name is a familiar one on the baseball diamond at Bryant University.

Dave Muscatello (class at 2008) started at second base for two years. This season, younger brother Dan is continuing the legacy in the Bulldog infield, starting at shortstop.

Their older brother, Steve, was an infielder at Assumption College from 2000-2004.

All three are Hopkinton High School grads, and products of the tradition-rich Milford American Legion baseball program.

Through six games, Dan Muscatello was leading the Bulldogs in hitting at .333 (6 for 18) while compiling a .455 on-base percentage.

“I attribute a lot of success to my brothers and my dad. They taught me the right way to play,’’ said Muscatello, who hit .319 a year ago, and made just four errors in 31 games before a broken ankle ended his season.

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“I had to spend last summer in a cast and I was just itching to get back,’’ added Muscatello, the Tri-Valley League’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Hopkinton High.

Muscatello played second base for Bryant last season, but has been moved back to shortstop by coach Steve Owens.

“Dan is a smooth infielder who is maturing as a player,’’ said Owens. “He’s also adapting from being a switch hitter to strictly left-handed. So far, he’s finding his pitch to hit and going gap to gap instead of trying to pull the ball.’’

Muscatello worked on his hitting with former Assumption first baseman Chris Colabello of Milford, who is in the Minnesota Twins minor league camp this spring.

“Chris really helped me break down my swing, and our hitting coach at Bryant, Framingham’s Mike Gedman, has continued to refine it,’’ said Muscatello.

Muscatello’s teammates include his roommate, left fielder Kevin Brown, who attended Algonquin Regional High.

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Other local players include freshman infielder Alex Lagos of Wrentham, a Milford High grad, and freshman outfielder and pitcher Carl Anderson of Sudbury (Lincoln-Sudbury Regional).

“Kevin has been one of our best players and can bat in the 2 or 3 spot, Alex is playing behind Dan and will get his opportunities, and Carl, is starting in the outfield, is great defensively and our fastest player,’’ said Owens.

Farrington sisters keep mom running

Two weekends ago, Jocelyn Smith-Farrington drove from her home in Shirley to Northampton to watch her daughter, Kim, compete for the Brandeis University track team in the triple jump at the New England Division 3 meet at Smith College.

Then she jumped on the Mass. Pike see her other daughter, Brynnan, compete for Division 2 Bentley in the Northeast-10 Conference women’s track championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

“I always tell them to do their best, and not look back if they’ve done that,’’ said Smith-Farrington, who teaches world history at Ayer-Shirley Regional Middle School, and was a long jumper and sprinter at Patrick Henry High in Minneapolis. “Luckily, they also compete at invitationals, so I can get to see them at the same meet.’’

Kim, a junior, was honored as the University Athletic Association’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 22, while Brynnan, a freshman, hit a personal best, 35 feet 7.25 inches, in the shot put for the Falcons at the Dartmouth Indoor Classic, the fifth best indoor throw in program history.

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The sisters were standouts in volleyball, basketball, and outdoor track at Ayer High (now Ayer-Shirley Regional). “They encouraged one another, which made them even better athletes,’’ said their mother.

Kim was a three-time MVP in the Midland Wachusett League’s D Division for track, and set the district record in the triple jump. Brynnan, a Central Mass. shot put champ, was first in the shot and discus at last year’s District E Class C championships.

Bentley head track coach Kevin Curtin was told of Brynnan’s interest in the school by Brandeis assistant track coach Mark Reytblat, who knew Curtin from his days as a star miler at the Waltham school.

“Kim told me so I gave Kevin a call and he recruited her,’’ recalled Reytblat, who described Kim as “very dedicated and versatile. She’s been steadily progressing and can do a lot of things for us.’’

Curtin praised Brynnan for her team spirit and “being open to coaching and always working on the side to improve.’’

Mike Seguin, who coached both sisters at Ayer High, said Kim holds several girls’ track records, and is one of the greatest athletes in school history.

“We asked Kim to do everything,’’ said Seguin, “and she was a four-event league all-star. Brynnan was undefeated last year in the shot, and holds our girls’ record in that event.’’

Shorey awarded basketball honor

Ashland’s Lindsay Shorey, a senior center at Salve Regina University, was named Commonwealth Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after setting a school record with 14 blocked shots in a conference quarterfinal win over Curry College, scoring a career-high 30 points in a semifinal victory over Western New England, and adding a team-best 20 points with 8 rebounds and 6 blocks in the title clincher vs. Endicott.

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Marvin Pave can be reached at marvin.pave@rcn.com.