THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 Page 13 Eighth Annual Christie Serino Baseball Classic set for today in Malden By Jason Mazzilli C Field includes host Malden HS, East Boston, Somerville HS and Greater Lawrence Tech The Championship Game hristie Serino was one of the most influential and most revered coaches and mentors in the region’s history on the high school and college sports scene. He coached hockey at Saugus High, Univ. of New Hampshire, Merrimack College and Malden Catholic as well as baseball for many of his fi ve sons’ teams through their growing years — as well as being the former head baseball coach at the University of New Hampshire. Coach Serino steered Saugus High to two boys hockey State Championships — its only state titles in any sports — as well as two Super 8 State Hockey Championships at Malden Catholic in 2011 and 2012. Locally and across the region, many mourned his untimely passing in October 2012 from a battle with cancer while he was serving as athletic director and head hockey coach at Malden Catholic High School. He was only 62. This past fall, Coach Serino and his family received a tremendous honor when the new Football and Track Stadium at the newly-built Saugus High School was dedicated in his honor. Today in Malden, for the 8th time, the late Coach Serino’s legacy will be honored again with the playing of the 8th Annual Christie Serino Baseball Classic, where four teams will compete for the 2022 Championship. The Serino Classic originated in 2014, fi rst hosted by Saugus High School, Coach Serino’s alma mater, and has been held continuously since then, except for 2020, when it was sidelined along with the entire rest of the high school season in 2020. Today, the Malden High School Golden Tornado baseball squad will host the Doubleheader action on two adjoining Malden fi elds, Maplewood Park and Rotondi Field, beginning at 10:30 a.m. with fi rst-round action. Two of the late Coach Christie Serino’s sons played locally at Malden Catholic, Anthony Serino, left and Nick Serino, right. Nick, a 2007 Malden Catholic graduate, starred at UMass-Amherst and later played professionally in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Tony Serino, a 2009 Malden Catholic graduate, also played at UMass-Amherst. Malden Catholic baseball went 68-23 in the four seasons rom 2006-2009 when the Serinos wore the Lancer uniform under then head coach Steve Freker, whose Malden High team hosts the Christie Serino Classic today. (Courtesy Photo) ize Coach Serino all of these years. “He was a leader and mentor to hundreds of athletes and coaches. There is really no one in this region who has made such an imFreker, who was inducted into the Mass. State High School Coaches (MBCA) Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Malden High Golden Tornado Hall of Fame in 2007. While at Malden Catholic, Freker served under Serino who was athletic director at the time, and also coached two of Coach Serino’s sons, Nick and Anthony. Both of is set for 1:00 p.m. at Maplewood Park featuring the two first-round winners, with a Consolation Game on the adjacent fi eld. Malden High will play Greater Lawrence Tech Reggies at 10:30 a.m. at Maplewood Park in one fi rst-round matchup, while Somerville High and East Boston High will face off at 10:30 a.m. at Rotondi Field/ Howard Park. Coach Freker said it has been an honor to memorialpact on so many lives in the high school and college ranks,” said Coach Freker, who is now in his sixth year at Malden High, his second time around as head baseball coach of his alma mater. He was the head baseball coach at Saugus High from 2014-2016 and head baseball coach at Malden Catholic from 2000-2012. He coached baseball at Malden High from 1985-1999 previously, this being the 37th year coaching high school baseball for Coach The Eighth Annual Christie Serino Memorial Baseball Tournament is being held in Malden today, featuring host Malden High, Somerville High, East Boston and Greater Lawrence Tech. (Courtesy Photo) the sons were D-1 scholarship baseball players at UMass-Amherst. Nick Serino went on to the professional ranks with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, one of eight professional MLB baseball players from Malden Catholic from 2006-2012. Malden Catholic baseball won nearly 200 games from 2000-2012 and the MIAA Division 1 State Baseball Championship in 2003. The Lancers baseball program sent 74 players to the college baseball ranks in those years, many of them during Coach Serino’s tenure as AD from 2006-2012. “We started the Serino Classic in 2014 at Saugus High and it was such a big success we brought it to Malden High when we returned here,” Freker said. Tony Serino was an assistant coach at Malden High and Saugus High and is expected to be in attendance today with his six-month-old son, Kash Christie Serino, who was born in October. Malden Mayor Gary Christenson has attended all the tournaments held in Malden since 2017 and delivered the fi rst pitch. SERINO CLASSIC HISTORY Held in Saugus 2014 Saugus 2015 Saugus 2016 Saugus Held in Malden 2017 Malden HS 2018 Malden HS 2019 East Boston 2020 No classic-COVID-19 2021 Winthrop 2022?????
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