THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022 Page 13 Sachems hope to expand on last year’s eff ort A By Greg Phipps fter getting off to a slow start during the pandemic-impacted season of 2021, the Saugus High School baseball team turned its fortunes around by winning some key contests down the stretch. That late-season effort was enough to catapult the Sachems into the Div. 3 North playoff tournament. From there, Saugus notched two surprising playoff victories – a preliminary round win over Swampscott and a fi rst-round upset of Boston Latin – before losing in the quarterfi nals. Head Coach Joe Luis and his 2022 squad are hoping to build on the momentum of last year’s strong finish. A number of players are returning from last year’s team that fi nished 7-10 overall. This year’s roster includes pitcher-infielder Nathan Ing (a Northeastern Conference allstar last season), pitcher Anthony Macone, outfielder Drew Gardiner, fi rst baseman Ryan Anderson, catcher Michael Howard and Sean O’Rourke. With a more experienced unit this spring, the Sachems are looking to get off to a better start than the 2-7 beginning to last year’s campaign. Saugus has been readying for its season opener by competing in several preseason scrimmages, including a contest last Saturday against Revere at World Series Park. The Sachems travel to Greater Lawrence Tech to open the regular season on Monday, April 4. They then return home to World Series Park on Wednesday, April 6, where they will host Hamilton-Wenham (scheduled 4 p.m. start). This year’s squad will be led by captains Anderson, Macone, Gardiner and Ing. The rest of the roster includes outfi elder Braden Faiella, infi elder Cam Soroko, outfi elder Anthony Cicolini, Ryan Mabee, Cam Bernard, Matthew MacEachern, Kyle Nichols, David Turilli, Shane Bourque and Jeff Murphy. Saugus High School 2022 baseball captains, shown from left to right: Ryan Anderson, Anthony Macone, Drew Gardiner and Nathan Ing. Saugus softball returns for 2022 with youthful squad H By Greg Phipps aving lost seven senior players to graduation last year, the Saugus High School softball team enters the 2022 campaign sporting a young squad. The Sachems went unbeaten in Northeastern Conference (NEC) South Division play last spring. But trying to repeat that 8-0 division effort will be a challenge. Head Coach Steve Almquist is excited about the upcoming season and seeing what his young squad can do. Saugus went 9-5 overall last year and lost to Danvers in the opening round of the Div. 2 North playoff s. When asked about the upcoming season, Almquist told the press last week that he and his players are looking forward to getting back to “normalcy” after coping with the COVID-19 pandemic the past two springs. “Last year, we had a good season. We went 9-4 and 8-0 in the division,” he said. “Winning the division for the fi rst time in 10 years was very exciting, but now we’re starting from scratch. I [still] think we have a good shot [to win the division] with the talent coming in.” Almquist admitted there will be a learning curve and “growing pains” with a youthful squad that is missing seven veteran seniors from the previous year. He said he is looking to see the team improve both as individual players and groupwise as the season progresses. Finding a replacement for departed starting pitcher Leah Ventre will also be a challenge, as she tossed two no-hitters in 2021. Among the returnees are Lily Ventre, who was one of the more impactful hitters on last year’s team, shortstop Felicia Reppucci and Devaney Millerick, another solid hitter. The Sachems were undefeated at one point last year before dropping four of their last six games. That included a heartbreaking defeat to Marblehead when the Magicians hit a twoout, two-run homer in the seventh inning. Saugus opens the regular season when it hosts Winthrop at the Belmonte Middle School field next Wednesday, April 6, at 4 p.m. Saugus’s Lily Ventre is one of the young players returning to this year’s softball team. (Advocate photo by Greg Phipps)
14 Publizr Home