WH Sports Roundup

WHS Baseball Team Wins Serino Tourney

The Winthrop High baseball team traveled to Malden Catholic’s beautiful, two-field, all-turf complex this past Saturday to participate in the seventh annual Christie Serino Tournament, which is named in honor of the long-time Athletic Director and hockey coach at MC and who is the father of WHS Athletic director Matt Serino.

The Vikings came back with the tournament trophy after a pair of come-from-behind victories over Somerville and Malden in the doubleheader-format.

Winthrop drew a very good, young, and scrappy Somerville team in the preliminary contest.

After spotting the Highlanders a 2-0 lead through the first three innings, the Vikings soon took control, erupting for three runs in the top of the fourth, and then adding five more in the fifth, three in the sixth, and five in the seventh en route to a 15-4 victory. 

Coach Mike DeFelice’s crew excelled in all aspects of the game, from bunting and base running to hitting and pitching.

Among the top Viking performers in the victory were Joe Hayes (2-for-4 with two RBI), David DiCicco (3-for-4 with three RBI), Bobby Hubert (2-for-4 with two RBI), and Zach Bogusz, who finished the game 3-for-5 after blasting a towering, 365-foot home run that cleared the fence in right center field to bring across three runs in the seventh inning to place an appropriate exclamation mark on the Viking victory.

Cam Martin pitched five outstanding innings, striking out seven enemy batters. Leo Robertson closed out the game with two excellent innings in which he mixed his pitches to keep the Somerville hitters guessing.

The championship game with Malden (a two-time winner of the tourney) was a veritable see-saw affair through the first five innings that saw the lead change hands five times.

Winthrop started hot, putting up two runs in the top of the first, but Malden got one back one in the bottom half of the inning and struck for four more in the second.

The Vikings responded with four runs in the third, but Malden fired back with solo tallies in the third and fourth. With the Golden Tornados holding a 7-6 advantage in the bottom of the fifth, DeFelice brought on Bogusz in relief of Cam Conway, who was tossing a fine game, but who had reached his pitch count max for the day.

Zach came on in a tough situation, inheriting runners on second and third with none out. However, Bogusz proceeded to mesmerize the Malden batters from the moment he took the mound, setting down nine straight Golden Tornados over three perfect innings.

His Viking teammates, buoyed by his gutsy performance in the fifth, then erupted for seven runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to claim the game and the tourney championship.

Hayes remained hot at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.  DiCicco (3-for-4 with three RBI), Conway (2-for-4 with three RBI), and Bogusz (2-for-3 with three RBI) also were the principal Viking weapons at the plate.

Zach, who was outstanding defensively at first base all day before he took the hill, finished 5-for-8 on the day (a triple, a home run, and three singles) with seven RBI. Combined with his three perfect innings in the championship game, which earned him the “W” on the mound, Zach was named tournament MVP.  

“Our kids showed up expecting to win the tournament and they played like it,” said DeFelice. “They stayed calm, pushed harder, got in a rhythm, and started to execute things to perfection.

“Matt (Serino) is wildly loved and respected by our athletes, and we had discussed with them the night before the game how special it would be to win a tournament that was created as a nod to what kind of man his dad was, and as a nod to him,” DeFelice added. 

Earlier in the week, the Vikings came up on the short end of decisions to a strong Peabody team (20-9) and Danvers (9-2).

Despite falling behind to Peabody by a score of 13-0 entering the fifth inning, the Vikings refused to quit. Winthrop erupted for six runs in the fifth to avoid a “mercy rule” conclusion and scored three more in the bottom of the seventh.

Hayes and Bogusz swung the hot bats for the Vikings, going 4-for-5 between them and both contributing two RBI.

The Vikings — minus three starters who were taking AP exams — then trekked to Danvers for their first road game on the following day. Winthrop got off to a quick start, with Hayes and Martin stroking base hits. After DiCicco walked, Hubert delivered two runs with a base hit.

However, the Viking rally ended when Hubert was picked off first and DiCicco was doubled up at third on a controversial call on which the umpire ruled that a liner to the Danvers shortstop was caught in the air (even though the ball appeared to hit the ground first).

Hubert was the principal Winthrop provider of offense with two hits and the two ribbies. Bobby also went the distance on the mound.

“Bobby was exceptional on the mound,” said DeFelice. “He threw strikes all night and was in firm control, striking out six batters and walking only one.

“We had some young guys step in and do an amazing job filling in,” DeFelice added. “Their inexperience showed, but they got a taste of the big time and learned to adopt the older guys’ ‘never-say-die’ mentality.”

The Vikings were scheduled to play at Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and will entertain Bishop Fenwick in a doubleheader on Saturday at Veterans Field starting at 10:00.

They will host Masconomet on the holiday on Monday at 1:00.

Gritty Win for WHS Girls Tennis vs. Saugus

The Winthrop High girls tennis team earned an exciting 3-2 victory over Saugus last week at the Ingleside Park courts.

After the visitors took the matches at first and second singles, the Lady Vikings won the three remaining matches, all of which went to three sets.

Freshman Genesis Bueno started the Winthrop comeback with a victory at third singles. After dropping the first set, 4-6, Genesis handily won the next two sets, 6-0, 6-2.

The first doubles match saw an epic comeback by Emma Forsyth and Maddi Rossi. The duo took the first set, 6-4, but lost the second set 6-3. They were down by a seemingly-insurmountable disadvantage of 5-1 in the third set, but then reeled off six straight games to take the set, 7-5.

That brought the outcome of the match resting on the second doubles contest, with the Lady Viking tandem of Emma Foley and Karina Silva pulling out a tight three-setter 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

“The match was on their racquets and they worked hard to get the win,” said WHS head coach Mike Nickerson. “It was by far our best win of the year.”

Nicholson and his crew were scheduled to play at Marblehead yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Salem today (Thursday) at Ingleside at 4:00.

They will trek to Peabody next Wednesday and entertain Masconomet next Thursday.

WHS Sailing Team Competing Well in MBL

The Winthrop High sailing team, under the direction of new head coach Angela Hickey, has had a busy opening month in its 2021 season.

The Viking skippers, who have joined the Mass. Bay League because of COVID, have competed against Winchester, Gloucester, Boston Latin and Belmont Hill.  

“We were close in all of the meets,” said Hickey. “Some of the consistent performers on the team have been John Cataldo, Jr. with crew Immy Clancy; Antea Schlichting with Joey Cataldo; and Ben Prew with Trevor Sacco.  

“It has been a great season of sailing with lots of sailing and learning experiences,” Hickey added.

Hickey and her crew are scheduled to compete in a regatta next Wednesday at the Massapoag Y.C. on Lake Massapoag in Sharon.

WHS Girls Track Ties Gloucester, 67-67

After a full day of events and competition, the girls track teams of Winthrop and Gloucester High ended where they began — deadlocked even-steven at 67-67 for an unusual tie.

“We needed two, ‘lean at line’ finishes by Nora McCarey in the 200 dash and Bea Holzbach in the 400 dash to grab a tie with a strong Gloucester team,” said veteran WHS head coach Warren MacPhail. “We also needed a full-team effort with everyone contributing, which we did.”

Holzbach was the top scorer for Winthrop with 18 points with first places in the triple jump (32’-9.5”), the 400 hurdles (70.7), and the 400 dash (64.6) and a second in the javelin (68’-5”).

McCarey finished with 11 points with a first place in the 110 high hurdles in a clocking of 20.6, a first in the 200 dash in 30.2, and a third in the triple jump (28’-9”).

“Our captains, Olexis Tallent and Sklya Zappulla, also had strong meets,  but more importantly have been terrific leaders thus far,” MacPhail added.

Skyla took first in the shot put with a toss of 24’-10’5” to lead a Winthrop sweep of that event. Tatyanna Lewis was second with her throw of 24’-3”.

Tatiana also grabbed second place in the high jump with a leap of 4’-2”.  

Francesca Connor was third in the shot-put with a toss of 21’-5” and then gave the Lady Vikings five points with a first-place performance in the discus with a spin of 53’-8”.

Tallent grabbed a key third-place in the javelin with a throw of 65’-8” in a meet in which every point mattered.

Sophia Munson sped to victory in the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.8 and grabbed a third-place point in the 400 in 67.7.

Elizabeth Carney took second place in the mile in 6:54.2 and teammate Sage Calinda was third in 7:09.8.

April Ferguson won the two-mile run with a clocking of 14:43.1

The Lady Vikings, who have hopes for a Northeastern Conference South Division title, were scheduled to compete against Salem yesterday (Wednesday) at Miller Field. They will host Danvers on Monday at 2:00.

WHS Softball Tops Salem, 12-0; Now 4-3

The Winthrop High softball team remained above the .500 mark with a 12-0 victory over Salem this past week.

Sofia Vitale pitched five innings in the Salem victory, allowing just three hits while striking out five and walking only one.

“Sofia kept Salem off-balance, using her change-up and location,” said WHS head coach Dave Guffey.

Sofia also helped her own cause at the plate, with a single, a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. Rachel Farley went 2-for-4 with a single, double, three runs scored, and two ribbies. Syd Crotty also went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, while also reaching base on two occasions on Salem errors, contributing two RBI and a run.

Earlier in the week, the Lady Vikings came up on the short end of an 8-1 decision to a strong Peabody squad. There was a scary moment for the Winthrop team when Vitale was struck by a ball hit back to the mound and was down for a few minutes, but Sofia got up and struck out the next Peabody batter.

Ava Martello came on in relief and tossed the final inning.

Farley continued her hot hitting, going 2-for-3 wth a single and a double and scoring the lone Viking run. Crotty also had a nice day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Summer Tallent moved to shortstop while Nelly Carter was in Florida at the gymnastics nationals (her team placed second in nation) and played well defensively with three putouts and three assists.

Winthrop engaged in a slugfest with Saugus, but let the game slip away in an eventual 16-11 loss. The Vikings were ahead 5-2, but gave up five runs in the fifth, sixth in the sixth, and three in the seventh.  

“We played tired and gave up a lead,” noted Duffey. “We battled back with six runs in the sixth to make it close, but could not close the deal. “

Katie Gagnon shone at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a single, double, and triple. Her double hit the top of then fence and bounced back into the playing field at the deepest part of the park. Summer Tallent went 3-for-5, Crotty was 3-for-4, Izzy Mahoney was 2-for-5, and Farley was 2-for-5.

Guffey and his crew were scheduled to meet Masconomet yesterday (Wednesday) and will travel to Saugus tomorrow (Friday).

They will host Danvers on Monday at 1:30 at the Little League field and entertain Swampscott next Thursday afternoon.

WHS Boys Track Meets Gloucester

Although the Winthrop High boys track team came up on the short end of an 88-46 decision in their season-opener with Gloucester last week, there were a number of fine performances turned in by the Vikings.

Chris Cappuccio won the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 6’-1”; sped to victory in the 100 meter dash in 11.7 and the 200 dash in 23.4; and took second in the long jump with a leap of 17’-3” for a total of 18 points on the day.

Nicholas Cappuccino won the long jump wth his leap of 19’-3” and took second places in both the 100 and 200 dashes in times of 12.1 and 24.9 respectively to record 11 points for the Viking cause.

In the shot-put, Dillon Riley placed second with a toss of 36’-5” and teammate Kyle Testa took third with a throw of 32’.

Luke Riley was second in the discus with a spin of 85’-2” and Owen Riley was third with a toss of 77’-10”.

Eric Azbegu added a point to the Winthrop cause with a third in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 22.3.

In the 400 hurdles, Ryan Cash was second with a clocking of 79.6 and John Rice was third in 81.0.

In the two mile run, Rice came across the line in second place in a time of 15:11 and teammate Matthew Bower was third in 15:20.

The Vikings were set to meet Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Danvers at Miller Field on the holiday on Monday at 2:00.