Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021 NEC South champ Sachems finish regular season at 9-4 By Greg Phipps I t wasn’t the ending the Saugus High School softball team was hoping for, but the Sachems still finished the regular season with a solid 9-4 record and earned a No. 9 seeding in the playoffs. They take on eighth-seeded Danvers in the first round of the Div. 2 North playoff tournament on Monday in Danvers. The 2021 Northeastern Conference South champions concluded the regular season by losing a tough 6-5 decision at home to Marblehead last Thursday, then beating Swampscott handily the following day and suffering a 5-0 home loss to Danvers on Monday (Senior Night). Saugus hopes for a better result against the Falcons in the first round. The loss to Marblehead was one the Sachems may like to have back. They led 5-4 entering the top of the seventh but the visitors rallied for two runs. The goahead scores came on a tworun homer with two outs. The Sachems responded strongly against Swampscott the day after by exploding Saugus pitcher Leah Ventre hurled her second no-hitter of the season against Swampscott last Friday. for 12 runs in a shutout win. In fact, pitcher Leah Ventre came away with her second no-hit effort of the season. It wasn’t the perfect game Ventre put forth against Salem in One of Saugus’s top hitters, Cat Schena, will look to provide offense in the postseason tournament. the season opener, but she was dominant, striking out eight and walking just two. Offensively, the Sachems got things back on track. Cat Schena had two hits and an Saugus second baseman Kirby Dalton hopes to ignite the offense in the state playoffs. RBI while Ryann Moloney and Lily Ventre each drove in two. Fallon Millerick and Leah Ventre both had two hits, and Devaney Millerick added a base hit. On Monday, the offense went silent in a shutout loss to Danvers on Senior Night. The Sachems hope to get their vaunted offense back in gear for the tourney. Sachems meet Swampscott in tourney opener A By Greg Phipps fter scoring a nice 7-1 win at Beverly early last week, the Saugus High School baseball team concluded the regular season having to swallow two tough losses. The Sachems saw a spirited comeback end in disappointment in a loss at Swampscott last Thursday. That was followed by a low-scoring 2-0 defeat at Marblehead on Tuesday. The results left Saugus with a 5-9 overall regular-season record, a performance that was good enough to land the Sachems a playoff bid. They received the 19th seed in the Div. 3 North tournament and travel to face No. 14 Swampscott for a third time this Friday. Over their last five contests, the Sachems have gone 3-2. The two losses were by a total of three runs. The defeat last Thursday was an emotional rollercoaster. Saugus battled back from a 7-1 deficit to tie the game, Saugus’s Mark MacEachern will look to help the Sachems to some postseason tourney success. Sachems designated hitter Drew Gardiner hopes to be a part of a playoff run for Saugus in this year’s state tournament. only to see Swampscott’s Cam O’Brien smash the second of two home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a blast that gave the hosts an 8-7, walk-off victory. The first meeting between the two teams at Saugus’s World Series Park had a very similar storyline. A solo home run by Saugus’s Nathan Ing evened that game at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh before Swampscott won it in extra innings, 3-2. The pitching was strong in Tuesday’s shutout loss at Marblehead, as the Sachems went toe-to-toe with a very good Magicians team. The contest had to be resumed on Tuesday after rain caused it to be suspended the day before. Now it’s on to the postseason. Judging from the Sachems’ performance over the last several games, the pitching in particular, Friday’s playoff opener at Swampscott should be another tight one between the two teams.
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