THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, June 14, 2019 Page 15 Baseball: Early lead evaporates in quarterfinal loss at Bishop Fenwick By Greg Phipps quick four-run lead with ace starter Todd Tringale on the mound seemed like the perfect victory recipe for Saugus in Monday’s quarterfinal round of the Division 3 North playoffs at Bishop Fenwick High School (BF). But that was before the scenario took a turn for the worse for the Sachems. Having exploded for all of its A scoring in the top of the first inning, fifth-seeded Saugus was unable to produce anything further against the Fenwick relief corps. Despite that, the four-run cushion appeared to be safe enough with Tringale shutting out the host Crusaders through the first four frames. Number four seed BF suddenly reached the senior righty for two runs in the fifth and rallied Saugus second baseman Ryan Beliveau gathers in the throw that nails a BF baserunner attempting to steal in Monday’s quarterfinal loss to the Crusaders. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) for three more in the bottom of the seventh to steal a 5-4 win. It was a tough pill to swallow for the Sachems (15-7), who felt they were legitimate challengers for the divisional title. The Crusaders improved to 16-6. “We got off to a great start but then we couldn’t execute in certain situations the rest of the game,” Saugus head coach Joe Luis told the press after the loss. “We were trying to get that fifth run throughout the game. We missed on two bunt [plays] and couldn’t capitalize, but that’s high school baseball.” An error, an infield hit, and a groundout led to Fenwick’s first run, and a run-scoring double made it a 4-2 contest after five. Tringale made it into the seventh with the 4-2 lead and was within one out of getting Saugus to the semifinals. One run then came across on an error to make it 4-3. With runners on second and third, Trey Deloury, who was stellar in his five innings of relief work, smashed a double to left field to drive in the winning runs and effectively end Saugus’s season. It was just the second defeat of the season for Tringale, who went 7-2 on the season with well over 100 strikeouts. He was touched up for eight hits and five runs on Monday while whiffing six batters. The result also marked the second year in a row the Sachems have experienced lateinning heartbreak in the postseason. Last spring, the Sachems couldn’t hold a seventh-inning lead against Lynnfield and were eliminated in the opening round. Hits by C.J. Graffeo and Ryan Beliveau set up Joey Dusabalo, who launched a bases-loaded double that brought in the first three Saugus runs in the team’s opening at bat. Dusabalo eventually scored on an error. The early Saugus eruption chased BF starter Jake Miano, who didn’t make it out of the first inning. Fenwick relievers Cory Bright (1 1/3 innings) and DeLoury then came in and kept Saugus off the board the remainder of the way. Softball: Despite Wood’s effort, Sachems lose playoff opener By Greg Phipps O ver its last nine games of the 2019 season, the Saugus High School softball team won six times but could have emerged victorious in all of the contests. Last Thursday’s Div. 2 North playoff opener at sixthseeded Dracut was winnable, but the Sachems ended up falling short in extra innings on an unearned run. An error in the outfield led to Pitcher Caitlyn Wood put on another stellar performance in Div. 2 North round one, but an unearned run in extra innings proved to be the difference in a 1-0 loss. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) Dracut scoring the game-winning tally in the bottom of the eighth for a 1-0 victory. Eleventh-seeded Saugus finished 12-9, having gone 6-3 over that final nine-game span, with each loss coming by one run. “I’m very proud of the kids for the season. This was by far the toughest schedule we’ve Everett Aluminum 10 Everett Ave., Everett 617-389-3839 Owned & operated by the Conti family since 1958 • 57 Years! “Same name, phone number & address for family since 1958 • 61 over half a century. We must be doing something right!” •Vinyl Siding •Free Estimates •Carpentry Work •Fully Licensed •Decks •Roof • Fully Insured • Replacement Windows www.everettaluminum.com •Roo ng Now’s the time to schedule those home improvement projects you’ve been dreaming about all winter! played since I’ve been here,” Sachems head coach Steve Almquist told the press afterward. “We were in almost every game and we beat some quality teams. I couldn’t be prouder. We played hard. It wasn’t from a lack of effort.” Certainly ace pitcher Caitlyn Wood produced a worthy performance, going the distance and surrendering just six hits and fanning 11. She was a force both on the mound and offensively over the second half of the campaign, and was Saugus’s lone baserunner against Dracut after she reached on an error. The Sachems didn’t muster a hit. Almquist said the hitless result on offense was a little deceiving as his team did make contact but nothing dropped in. “We put the ball in play. We had a couple of nice [hits] but they made the plays [in the field],” he pointed out. “We couldn’t make anything happen. We just couldn’t find the holes. Other than that one error that Caitlyn reached on, Dracut made all the plays.” Seeing his squad rise up and earn a postseason bid after sitting at 6-6 with eight games to go in the regular season, Almquist said a number of experienced players, including Wood, Alexa Ferraro and Cat Schena, will be back next spring. Meanwhile, the team will lose seniors D.J. Munafo (Wood’s battery mate at catcher), Sadie DiCenso, Emma Howard, Nystasia Rowe, Alessia Salzillo and Ashley Shaw to graduation. In Saugus’s playoff loss to Dracut last Thursday, senior catcher D.J. Munafo served as battery mate for Caitlyn Wood for the final time. “Hopefully, we’ll give it another crack next season,” he observed. “We have a good group of kids coming back next year.” Spring!
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