Bill Kipouras

He was an All-Independent School League performer in two sports - a tight end for a football program that was 18-1 in two years, and a first baseman-pitcher who hit well and was clocked at 88-89 mph at some baseball showcases.

But there was never any doubt which sport would claim Marblehead's Doug Shribman.

Baseball won, hands down.

The 17-year-old Belmont Hill School senior is headed for Division 1 Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. The Bison got the nod over another Patriot League member, Lafayette.

Bucknell recruiter Scott Heather liked Shribman's size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) as a pitching prospect and the power in his bat. Shribman had a dynamite sophomore year for the Hillies (.431, 5 homers. 3 triples, 6 doubles, .893 slugging percentage), slumped some as a junior but recovered to bat .375 and had five more homers.

He was more than formidable at the Blue-Gray Classic - a baseball showcase at Wake Forest - and at the Top 94 Showcase.

An honor student, Shribman drew some football interest from Colby (his father Jeff's alma mater), Bates and a few others, but not anything he called serious.

"I've been thinking baseball my whole life. It was always my favorite sport growing up," Shribman said. "Unfortunately, I can't play both football and baseball because of fall baseball, so it was easy choice. I've known that from the beginning when I played Cal Ripken baseball in Marblehead."

Why Bucknell?

"It's a good school (academically) with a good baseball program and it's Division 1, the kind of matchup I was looking for," he said. "It was the right size for me and it has a beautiful campus. They saw me at a baseball showcase and it went from there."

Shribman, who has signed a national letter of intent, also starred for the Swampscott Legion baseball squad last summer.

Bucknell's schedule includes VMI, Virginia, Cornell, Miami of Ohio, Ohio State, Penn State. Army, Holy Cross and Navy. The Bison have been to the postseason eight of the past 10 years.

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The third annual basketball game involving Bishop Fenwick and Ipswich is slated for the final week of the regular season at Peabody, but Salem State College has offered to host what promises to be a big contest before a large crowd.

Ipswich coach Doug Woodworth is hoping the game will be moved.

"It's a great take," he said. "Fenwick is one of the best teams around. I've called Sean Connolly (the Fenwick coach) and I'm waiting to hear. I'm sure they'd like to take advantage of their small gym, but it would be filled up early and people will be turned away. If the game's at Salem State, it'd be a big gate, and that's a plus. The atmosphere would be another plus."

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Peabody's Mark Shorey of the Johnson City (Tenn.) Cardinals was the home run king of the all-rookie Appalachian League this year. The season ended Sept, 1, and since then Shorey has been working on completing a business management degree at High Point (N.C.) University, carrying six classes as well as taking advantage of North Carolina weather to hit daily, run and lift.

He has five days left to finish before he returns to Peabody for the holidays, then heads back to High Point to work out with his former college team before reporting for spring training.

"I only had one semester left, and there was no sense on not doing it," Shorey said.

Shorey, who surpassed all the expectations of a 31st-round draft choice, is hoping to move up to Class A Quad Cities of the Midwest League.

He hit a league-leading 13 homers and was third in RBIs (47) in 53 games while batting .265. He had eight doubles and one triple, but said he has to work on cutting down his strikeouts (53 compared to 16 walks), as well as lefty-vs.-lefty matchups. He did manage a .510 slugging percentage, fourth best in the Appy League.

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Lynn's Ed Shadoff, one of the leading basketball officials in the area, was about to enter his 33rd season until a late resignation led to his interim appointment as athletic director at Lynn Tech. He replaces Dave Johnson, who retired earlier this month.

He spent 17 of his 33 years in the Lynn public school system as a history teacher at Tech. He normally does 50-60 games a season.

"These are big shoes to fill. I want to say Dave has been very gracious in the transition period," said the 53-year-old Lynn native. "The commissioners were all wonderful in understanding my late notice. It was a chance of a lifetime, in terms of advancement. This was just a great opportunity."

He was a popular (and talkative) figure in the Northeastern Conference, Cape Ann League, Dual County League, Merrimack Valley Conference and Commonwealth Conference.

Shortly after his appointment, Shadoff was further boosted by news that his son, Andrew, had been selected for Duke Law School.

Shadoff worked both Boston Garden (Division 2) and the Worcester Centrum (Division 1) last season, his first double at both sites in the same postseason.

Bill Kipouras is a staff writer at The Salem News. He can be reached at 978-338-2615 or by e-mail at bkipouras@ecnnews.com.