With the winter season concluded it’s time now to turn our attention to the spring season as practices got underway today despite the snow on the ground. First off in our week of spring sports previews we take a look at baseball and softball who both have different expectations entering this new season. The baseball team is coming off of tremendous postseason run a year ago as after finishing the regular season 11-9 the team went on a cinderella run to their first ever state title appearance  before falling 5-1 to Taconic. With several key returners including D1 commit Henry Weycker the team is poised to be a favorite to contend in D1 once again.

Softball meanwhile is looking to finally get a taste of postseason play this spring after coming up short the past few seasons. Despite finishing 5-15 a year ago the Raiders did win their last 2 games which hopefully will give them momentum as they enter a new season. With a solid core coming back look for the Raiders to vie for that elusive postseason berth. Tomorrow we will preview both boys and girls lacrosse.

Fresh off girls hockey’s state title glory yesterday, what a fitting way to kick off a week of winter season reviews with both the girls and boys hockey teams. The girls skated to a 15-2-3 regular season record and yet another Herget Division crown and then wen through Winchester, Norwell, and Algonquin before finally pulling out a 1-0 victory over Canton to take home the title at TD Garden for the first time since 2006! The Raiders should be among the favorites to repeat next season with Liddy Schultz back in net, and the likes of McKenzie ONeil and Bliss Vernon returning as well.

The boys meanwhile captured a Herget crown of their own going 15-2-2 in the regular season and knocking off Framingham 4-3 in the first round of the D1 South sectional before unfortunately falling to Xaverian 3-1 in the quarterfinals. The boys however will also be favorites in the Herget and D1 South next year as they return Andrew Hubbard in net among others.

Spring sports season officially gets underway today, and girls hockey is still basking in the glow of their state title from yesterday. It also is Monday which means another edition of Monday Poll. Today’s poll question is…will a Raider spring sports team win a sectional or state championship this season? Comment with your answers!

Today was the day that the Wellesley High girls hockey players had been working for since the very beginning of the season, as for the 4th time in 5 years the girls skated on the TD Garden ice in the Division 2 finals against Canton. Now both teams were looking to exorcise some demons as the Raiders as many of you know had fallen at the title game three years in a row in 2014, 15 and 16, while Canton was looking for redemption after falling in the finals a year ago. Luckily for Raider fans it would be their teams turn to shine this year as thanks to a late first period goal by Jenna Harrison and a superb defensive effort the Raiders claimed their first state title since 2006 with a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs. Wellesley Sports Blitz would like to send the biggest of congratulations to the girls on the banner worthy accomplishment.

With less than 24 hours to go till face-off for the girls hockey team, what better time to answer yesterday’s Raider Friday Trivia question. The last time girls hockey faced a public school in a state title game was against Falmouth back in 2015, a 3-2 overtime loss. Here’s hoping tomorrow’s result is much better.

Wellesley native Kate Kerrigan, and Nobles and Greenough alum has been racking up the accolades in her senior season on the Bowdoin women’s basketball team. Not only was Kerrigan named to the first team all-NESCAC team this season along with both player of the year and defensive player of the year honors, but she was just recently named the D3 women’s player of the year by the WBCA. Kerrigan has helped lead Bowdoin to a final four appearance where they will take on Wartburg tonight in the national semifinals. Kerrigan was joined on the all-NESCAC first team this season by another Wellesley resident and Nobles alum Lauren Dillon, who just completed her senior year at Tufts University. On the D1 level Katie Benzan, also a Nobles alum and a sophomore at Harvard currently was named to her second straight all-Ivy League first team after helping lead the Crimson to a NIT berth where they will take on Fordham tonight.

It’s a beautiful Friday morning here in mid-March and that means it is time for another edition of everyone’s favorite tradition, Raider Friday Trivia! Today’s question is…when was the last time a Raider’s girls hockey team faced a fellow public school in a state final? Answer tomorrow!

So yesterday I gave you the Canton preview for Sunday’s state title game, but today it’s time to take a look at your Raiders girls hockey team who prepares for their 4th trip to the TD Garden in 5 years. Here’s a look at how they got there.

Wellesley:

1 seed

18-2-3

GF: 101

GA: 27

Beat Winchester 3-2 in first round

Beat Norwell 6-1 in quarterfinals

Beat Algonquin 5-0 in semifinals

The girls state final hockey game start time for Sunday has been officially announced as a 1 pm start at TD Garden. For tickets and other information go to tdgarden.com. Tonight I will be releasing the Wellesley preview for the big game.

As we count down the hours to the Division 2 girls hockey state final on Sunday, it’s time to take a look at your Raiders opponent the Canton Bulldogs. Canton made it to the Garden last year before falling to Notre Dame Academy in the state final, and surely will be looking for a better result the second time around. Here’s a look at how the Bulldogs got here.

Canton:

2 Seed

18-3-3

GF: 76

GA: 21

Beat Walpole 4-1 in first round

Beat Notre Dame Academy 5-2 in quarterfinals

Beat Archbishop Williams 1-0 in semifinals