THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 12, 2023 Page 15 Saugus comes up short in close games D By Greg Phipps espite having just one victory three quarters of the way through the 2023 campaign, the Saugus High School baseball team could have had four or five more wins had things gone a bit differently in some of their games. Two recent defeats were a perfect example of how a good deal of the season has played out for the young Sachems. Late leads didn’t hold up in a 10-8 home loss to Triton on Monday at World Series Park and a tough-to-swallow 3-2 setback at Salem last Friday. In the Triton game, the Sachems let a 5-0 lead after three innings fade away. The visitors tallied 10 times over the final four frames to come out on top. Saugus owned an 8-7 advantage after scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead. But Triton rallied for three in the top of the seventh for the eventual two-run triumph. Offensively, it was one of the most productive performances of the season for the Sachems. Nathan Soroko and Cam Soroko each had two hits and a combined three RBIs, while Connor Bloom collected two hits and Tyler Riley stroked a double. Also contributing hits were Jordan Rodriguez, Shane Bourque and Danny Zeitz. In last Friday’s loss at Salem, Saugus held a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the seventh before the host Witches walked it off with two runs. Riley had two hits and Cam SoASKS | FROM PAGE 12 always have me involved, consulting as a team with the outside counsel. But again, it’s like the medical profession, where you have a heart doctor; specialized medicine is the same way. You have a general practitioner who does your physicals. But if you have a heart problem, you go to a specialist. Q: What’s the biggest challenge for you as Town Counsel? A: I would say that you have to call them as you see them. You have to advise the town manager and the department Saugus batter Cam Bernard gets plunked by a pitch against Stoneham. roko and Nathan Soroko drove in the Sachems’ runs. Pitchers Cam Soroko, Cam Bernard and Zeitz combined to allow the three runs on just five hits. Another close defeat took place on Tuesday at home, as the Sachems were shut out, 2-0, against Peabody. Saugus was held to four hits by Peabody pitching. Meanwhile, Bernard put forth a strong effort on the mound for the hosts, going the distance and giving up six hits and one earned run. He struck out six batters. A 15-5 loss at Marblehead last Wednesday and an 11-1 setback at home to Stoneham last Saturday added to Saugus’s 1-14 overall record as of early this week. Bernard got the start in the makeup against Stoneham and struggled a bit before Riley replaced him in the middle innings. The Sachems took on Danvers at home on Thursday and travel to play Northeast Metro Tech on Monday, May 15. After heads as to what the law is. You can’t tell them what they want to hear. Just like a doctor – a doctor shouldn’t tell you that you’re not ill when you are sick. And I think it’s the same way with a town counsel. If you have to tell town officials, “This is the law,” they may not want to hear it. Sometimes they don’t follow it. I would say that I’ve been lucky enough that most of the time the department heads that I’ve advised and town employees that I’ve advised have followed my advice. And the biggest challenge is you want to make sure that you give them the right advice. That’s Sachems’ third baseman Jordan Rodriguez gets the tag down too late to nab a Stoneham base runner. tha W Saugus’s Cam Soroko took off out of the box after connecting for a double early in last Saturday afternoon’s contest against Stoneham. probably the most challenging thing. You may have department heads that want to do something or a town manager that may want to do something, and you have to say, “Legally, you can’t do that.” You might have to tell the selectmen, “Look, you have no authority to do this.” Sometimes selectmen get elected and they think they are more than a licensing authority. But they’re not the town manager and get to spend the money. They appoint the town manager. They’re the licensing authority, but the town manager has the appointing powers and Saugus second baseman Tyler Riley tried to apply the tag to a Stoneham base runner attempting to steal last Saturday afternoon at World Series Park. the spending powers, and he does the hiring and firing. Q: Now, you’ve had a couple of high-profile cases over the years, like the woman librarian embezzling money and a couple of building inspectors who may have been corrupt. What’s that like? A: Whenever there’s a criminal investigation, we’d cooperate 100 percent with federal authorities or local authorities in honoring any subpoenas they may issue to us. We open up the books, and if anybody ever complains about a department head, we’ll say, Look, go to the U.S. Attorney. Go to the district attorney. We don’t tolerate that kind of misconduct and there is a process to go through. We’ve had the FBI in here on a number of occasions. Over my 42 years, we’ve had the DA in here. We just open up the books and cooperate 100 percent. Q: That sounds pretty tough. You’re working with somebody, and all of a sudden, they are under state or federal probe. A: I had that with a town manager who I worked under. It was very difficult. He left here and went to another town. That’s when I became a ASKS | SEE PAGE 19
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