THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022 Page 17 Baseball Sachems fall short in tourney upset bid against Warriors By Greg Phipps T he Saugus High School base - ball team experienced both sides of a similar scenario in its two Div. 3 tournament games. In last Saturday’s preliminary round contest against Martha’s Vineyard at World Series Park, the Sachems fell behind 4-0 in the top of the first inning before battling back for an eventual 6-5 win. That script was fl ipped somewhat in Monday’s Round of 32. Saugus held a 5-4 advantage over the fifth-seeded Foxborough Warriors heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. But back-to-back home runs by Foxborough’s Ryan LeClair and Sean O’Leary gave the host Warriors a dramatic 6-5 victory. It was a tough loss to swallow for the 28th -seeded Sachems, who demonstrated that they were much more formidable than their regular-season record indicated. Monday’s defeat ended Saugus’s 2022 season at 11-11 overall with a postseason win on the resume. Saugus scored two playoff wins in last year’s tournament. Nathan Ing belted a home run and had two hits to lead the Saugus off ense. Ryan Anderson chipped in with two hits and an RBI, and Drew Gardiner and Braden Faiella also drove in runs. The Sachems had to fi ght to the fi nal day of the regular season to secure a postseason spot when they defeated Everett to get in. In last Friday’s comeback victory over No. 37 Martha’s Vineyard, Saugus scored twice in the bottom of the fi rst frame and four more times in the third to take a lead they would not relinquish. Anderson swatted two hits and managed two RBI to lead the way. Two other players — Cam Soroko and Anthony Cicolini — ended up with two knocks, followed by single hits from Anthony Macone, Michael Howard and Can Bernard. Ing was the winning pitcher, working all seven frames, giving up no hits and striking out 11 after replacing starter Ryan Mabee in the fi rst inning. Ending up just one inning away from making the Round of 16, the Sachems proved worthy of their tourney qualification. The team was in danger of not making the postseason after losing three straight and falling to 8-10 with two games left. Consecutive wins over Everett to conclude the regular schedule catapulted the Sachems into the playoff s. Saugus’s Ryan Anderson had a memorable off ensive game in the Sachems’ Division 3 preliminary round win over Martha’s Vineyard last Friday at World Series Park. Lady Sachems nab tourney win over Belchertown End tourney run to Austin Prep on Monday By Greg Phipps C oming into the 2022 season sporting a young squad, the Saugus High School softball team ended up exceeding preseason expectations by winning 14 games and nabbing a playoff victory in the process. The 27th -seeded Sachems hosted No. 38 Belchertown last Saturday in the Div. 3 preliminary round and came away with a convincing, six-inning, 13-1 triumph. Saugus moved on to Monday’s Round of 32, where it lost 12-0 in six innings to sixth-seeded Austin Prep. All told, the Sachems compiled a 14-8 overall record and went an impressive 13-5 after beginning the season 1-3. In the win over BelcherSaugus’s Devaney Millerick had a multiple-hit game and two RBI in a 13-1 victory over Belchertown in the preliminary round of the Division 3 tourney. town, ace pitcher Fallon Millerick notched her 13th victory of the season by working all six innings and surrendering just the one run on fi ve hits. She fanned two hitters and successfully pitched to contact. Offensively, the Sachems had it going as Devaney Millerick led the way with three hits and drove in two runs. She was aided by teammates Gianna Costa with two hits and two RBI and Felicia Reppucci with a double and two driven in. Felicia Alexander and Paige Hogan each added an RBI in the win. The lopsided preliminary-round victory was indicative of how well Saugus’s off ense had performed over the second half of the season. In fi ve of their seven victories during the final nine regular-season games, the Sachems outscored the opposition by a resounding 6620 margin. That spread improved to 79-21 after last Friday’s contest. The Sachems ran into a tough matchup at Austin Prep on Monday. The off ense went quiet and ended up with just two hits. Lily Ventre doubled and Reppucci added a single, but that was all the Saugus bats could muster. Though the Sachems will lose some key senior players from this year’s team, the future looks promising with several experienced, battle-tested players returning for 2023 — and a 14-win campaign and some playoff success to build on.
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