Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 2, 2025 ~ SHS Sachems Spring Sports roundup ~ SOFTBALL POWERS PAST WALTHAM, FIELD HOCKEY RETURNS FROM BREAK By Dom Nicastro Saugus High School’s Spring teams returned to action after the April break. The softball team picked up a resilient win on the road during the break, while the field hockey team resumed play with a tough outing at home. SENIOR LEADERSHIP LIFTS SAUGUS SOFTBALL OVER WALTHAM The Saugus High School softball team improved to 4-4 (1-4 NEC) with a 10-6 win over Waltham on April 23, despite missing four starters. “Going into this one I was a bit nervous as we were missing four starters but our three Senior Captains (Danica Schena, Lily Ventre and Alexa Morello) demonstrated great leadership putting the team on their back helping carry us to victory,” said Saugus head coach Steve Almquist. Saugus scored three runs in the first inning. Senior captain Danica Schena led off with a single, followed by a single from eighth grader Rose Pietrzak in her first varsity at-bat. After a double steal, both scored on a two-run single from senior captain Lily Ventre, who entered the game batting .792. Senior captain Alexa Morello added an RBI single to cap the frame. Ventre tripled to lead off the third and scored on a Morello groundout to make it 4-0. Waltham cut the lead to 5-3, but Saugus responded with five more runs over the next two innings. Key hits came from Ventre and Schena, with the biggest blow being a two-run inside-the-park homer by freshman Alannah Duong. “These were all the runs that Sofia McCarrier would need as she pitched another outstanding game,” Almquist said. McCarrier also had two hits, including a triple and an RBI. Her final line: seven innings pitched, six runs (four unearned), 10 hits, 0 walks and 10 strikeouts. The Sachems racked up 13 hits. Offensive leaders: • Danica Schena: 4-for-5, two runs • Lily Ventre: 3-for-3, triple, two RBI, four runs • Alexa Morello: 1-for-4, two RBI, run • Alannah Duong: 2-for-4, HR, two RBI, run • Sofia McCarrier: 2-for-4, triple, RBI • Rose Pietrzak: 1-for-5, run “This will be a challenging week for us as we have Beverly at home on Wednesday and then travel to Winthrop on Friday and Marblehead on Saturday,” Almquist added. “It will be a good test and will give us a better indicator as to where we stand against some of the top tier teams in the conference.” SAUGUS FIELD HOCKEY RESUMES PLAY WITH LOSS TO BEVERLY The Saugus High School field hockey team returned from break with a home game against Beverly on Tuesday, April 29, its first since April 14. The Sachems fell 20-2. Layla Rodriguez scored both goals. Goalie Jordyn Deminski made 11 saves. Next game is Thursday away in Gloucester. Saugus baseball drops pair, looks to rebound against Beverly T By Dom Nicastro he Saugus High School baseball team fell to 4-6 on the season after a pair of tough losses this past week, including a late-inning collapse against Peabody and a pitchers’ duel defeat at the hands of Swampscott. Despite the setbacks, the Sachems continue to show flashes of potential in all facets of the game—highlighting strong pitching, disciplined atbats and solid defensive work. Saugus held a 4-3 lead over Peabody Veterans Memorial heading into the bottom of the sixth inning before the Tanners exploded for five runs to seize an 8-4 victory. Peabody’s rally was capped by a bases-clearCOUNTDOWN TILL | FROM PAGE 3 governance & stability! Saugus has been such a place for some time now and I hope for it to remain so for years to come! Peter Manoogian: Saugus is a full-service community. Maintaining those services for the citizens and businesses of Saugus has been and will continue to be my goal as a Sauing double, the game’s biggest blow delivered on a full count. It was a frustrating finish for the Sachems, who had previously seized momentum thanks to timely hits from senior captain Danny Zeitz and junior Chris Mazin—each delivering two-run singles to put Saugus ahead earlier in the game. Senior captain Cam Soroko started on the mound but exited in the first inning due to arm soreness. He still managed to make an impact, reaching base all four times at the plate with two hits and two walks while swiping a pair of bases. Senior captain Cam Bernard came on in relief and pitched 5.2 innings, striking out six and allowing six runs on six hits. gus Town Meeting member. Gone are the days of negative free cash when the Essex Street Fire Station, the Library, and other services were constantly threatened by fiscal mismanagement. Relative to service delivery issues, I will not support any effort to establish a “trash fee” for Saugus homeowners. Carla Scuzzarella: As always, the top priority for the Saugus played error-free defense and remained aggressive on the basepaths, swiping four bags on the afternoon. A day earlier, Saugus battled Swampscott in a tight 2-1 loss in the resumption of their Opening Day contest. Junior Brayden Crawford delivered another stellar performance on the mound, going six innings and giving up just two runs— only one of them earned— while striking out five. Crawford also paced the offense with two hits. Zeitz, Mazin, junior Jordan Rodriguez and junior Nathan Soroko each added hits for the Sachems, but the lineup couldn’t generate the timely extra-base hit needed to push the go-ahead run across. SwampTown should be improving the quality of life and services for our citizens. The Town should continue to support the investment that has been made in enhancing our Public Schools as well as strengthening our Public Safety services. Question Two: What do you consider the top priority for residents in your precinct (Precinct 10) as you prepare scott starter Will Brogna went the distance, limiting Saugus to one unearned run over seven innings to earn the win. The most recent MIAA Division 3 power rankings, released Tuesday morning, April 29, place Saugus at No. 45— just outside the projected tournament field of 32. Teams can qualify for the postseason via a top-32 ranking or a minimum .500 winning percentage. The Sachems are still within striking distance but will need to rack up key wins in the back half of their schedule to stay in the playoff hunt. Their recent stretch of games highlights just how competitive the Northeastern Conference remains. Gloucester, who edged Saufor the opening of the 2025 Town Meeting session? Martin Costello: The top priority for the residents here in Precinct 10 continues to be twofold at this time. One: the ever confrontational situation with the Win/Waste facility over here in the Rumney Marsh. To delve into the long history of what those difficulgus 1-0 last week, is currently ranked No. 10 in Division 3. Danvers, another NEC rival and upcoming opponent, holds the No. 21 spot in Division 3. Swampscott, now 2-0 against the Sachems this season, sits at No. 28 in Division 3. Peabody, competing in Division 1, ranks No. 18. The takeaway? Saugus isn’t far off, but there’s little margin for error. The NEC continues to serve as a proving ground for postseason contenders. If the Sachems can clean up late-game execution and get healthy on the mound, there’s still time to turn tight losses into signature wins. Next up for Saugus was a road trip to Beverly, scheduled for Wednesday, April 30. ties and disagreements have been for years now, would make this answer, to take on epic proportions! The second is as to the issue of flooding in many parts now within this Precinct. I believe there are some means to ameliorate this, but they will be costly unless we are able to secure some semblance of Federal monies COUNTDOWN TILL | SEE PAGE 11
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