WHS Sports Roundup

WHS Boys Lax Winstourney Opener; Plays at Weston Today

The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team opened state tourney play with a 13-8 victory over the Tyngsborough Tigers Monday afternoon at Miller Field. The Vikings, who entered the tourney as the 13th seed in Division 4 with a 14-4 record, now will travel to Weston today (Thursday) for a Sweet 16 matchup with the fourth-ranked Wildcats, who compiled an 11-5 mark in the regular season and defeated Minuteman Regional, 15-4, in their tourney opener. The opening draw for this evening’s matchup is set for 7:00.

“Tyngsborough was a tough squad,” said WHS head coach Brian Donnelly. “We started a bit slowly offensively. Tyngsborough had a good game plan going in and was able to control the ball for most of the first half. We went into the half tied at 4-4, but in the second half our players turned on the jets and put some goals in the back of the net.”

Ace Daigneault turned in one of his best games of the year, ringing in six goals. Michael Holgerson, Alex Daigneault, and Robert Rich also found the back of the Tiger net.

“Welvis Acosta played some solid defense against their best player and our defense in general played great,” said Donnelly. “Hunter Fife played lights out in goal and kept us in the game. He has been fabulous for us all year and he stood on his head this game.

 “The playoffs are a different season and our players responded well,” Donnelly added. “It’s been a great season and I just keep encouraging our guys to improve every day, tighten our systems up, and just continue to communicate well.”

If the Vikings win, they will advance to the Elite 8 to face the victor of the contest between #21 St. Bernard’s and #5 Abington.

WHS Baseball Wins State Tourney Opener; Falls in Next Round

The Winthrop High baseball team earned a 5-2 victory over Bishop Connolly in a preliminary round contest of the MIAA Division 4 state baseball tournament Sunday evening at Fraser Field in Lynn.

The contest originally had been scheduled for the Vikings’ home field because of their higher power ranking. Winthrop entered the tourney as the 27th seed with an 8-12 record, while the Cougars were ranked 38th with a 12-8 mark, but after Saturday’s rain and a similar forecast for Sunday, the contest was moved to the turf surface at Fraser.

Zach Bogusz got the starting nod from WHS head coach Mark Degregorio and turned in a strong performance, tossing five innings and striking out seven opponents.

“Zach has been our ace this year and we knew it was going to be him in this game,” said Degregorio. “As a coach, you have to win the first one before you can look ahead, which is why it didn’t matter to us who we were playing — we knew it was going to be Zach taking the ball.  Zach delivered for us like he usually does.  Zach had what we would call an atypical first inning as he struggled a bit with his command early, but battled through after allowing a run in the first inning.  Then he settled down and that was all we needed the rest of the way.

“We were able to get a good scouting report on Bishop Connolly,” Degregorio continued. “We knew they were going to bunt and steal, as that is their bread and butter.  So we worked a lot leading up to the game on those items defensively and were able to really hold them in check.  We got some great defense from (shortstop) Petey Silverman and (second baseman) Nicholas Marchese up the middle.  Those two have been quite the double play duo for us this year. “

Although the Vikings only managed five hits on the day, they took advantage of some small ball opportunities.  Ryan Gagnon executed a safety squeeze to drive in a run, Evan Rockefeller executed a hit-and-run, and the Vikings stole multiple-bases on the day, which has been one of their trademarks this season.

“We always want to be aggressive, sometimes to a fault, but we were able to take advantage of that,” noted Degregorio.

Winthrop had some nice hitting performances from Michael Donahue, who went 2-for-3 with a double; Silverman, who was 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk; and a hit each from Bogusz and Rockefeller.

“It was a great team win to help propel us officially into the tournament,” said Degregorio. “This makes back-to-back seasons making the tournament for us.”

However, thanks to Saturday’s postponement, the Vikings had to hit the road the next day for the long trek to Uxbridge to take on the sixth-ranked Spartans, who entered the tourney with a 14-6 record.

“We knew they were a good team that has a penchant for hitting,” said Degregorio. “Jay Fotiades, who has been great for us all year despite only being a sophomore, started for us and did a great job of navigating in and out of jams early.  Jay was able to hold a good hitting Uxbridge team to three runs over four innings, only two of which were earned.

“This was a game that was similar to a few games we had earlier in the year when we were unable to capitalize with men on base,” continued Degregorio. “Against Salem earlier this year we left 12 men on and against Sharon we left nine men on.  This game followed suit.  We were able to get eight hits off a very good pitcher who was throwing in the low 80’s with a sharp curve, including two hits from Zach Bogusz, two hits from Colin Kinsella, and a hit apiece from Phil Boncore, Jay Fotiades, Ryan Gagnon and Michael Donahue.

“Unfortunately for us, we stranded nine base runners,” Degregorio added. “The game was tight all the way until the end as we had a lot of opportunities.  Uxbridge was able to break it open on an error in the sixth inning and it became too much to overcome.

“It is not easy to end a season with a special group like this one,” Degregorio noted.  “We truly were led by some great seniors.  They helped pave the way for us this year and they are going to be truly missed. Although the season may have come to an end, we continue to be excited about the future with some key players returning, and some young players we are going to be expecting to contribute for us moving forward.

“I would like to give a special thanks to my coaches who put in so much time and energy this year,” Degregorio concluded. “As a head coach, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with and I could not have asked for a better group of assistants in Michael Vatalaro, Joe Murphy, Anthony Sorrentino, Jack Wallace, Neil Cacciola, and of course, the most important assistant, Frankie Fabiano.”

Kinsella is All-Conference; Silverman, Bogusz All-Stars

The Winthrop High baseball team received a number of post-season accolades.

Colin Kinsella, who hit .460 with nine doubles, four triples, and three home runs, was named to the All-Conference team of the Northeastern Conference. “Colin was also in the running for MVP of the league, as there were only a select few who were nominated for the award,” noted WHS head coach Mark Degregorio.

Two Vikings were named to the all-star team: Zach Bogusz, who finished the season with a .354 average with six doubles and two triples, and who also led the team with a 2.51 ERA and 47 strikeouts; and Petey Silverman, Winthrop’s lead-off hitter, who hit for a .271 average with 15 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.  Silverman also committed only three errors on the year at shortstop, “which is unheard of for a high school shortstop,” noted Degregorio.

Colin and Bogusz also have been selected to play in the Harry Agganis game, which pits the top high school players in the area in a North vs. South matchup. “It has been a long time since someone from Winthrop has played in the Agganis game and it is well-deserved,” said Degregorio.

Despite Best Efforts, Vikings Had to Play on Fraser Turf

Although the staff and parents of the Winthrop High baseball team turned in a herculean effort to try to get Veterans Field ready for Saturday’s scheduled state tournament game between the Vikings and Bishop Connolly, the contest eventually was moved to the turf at Lynn’s Fraser Field on Sunday evening.

“The weather looked okay for Saturday according to the forecast, but we needed to get the field ready because of the heavy rainfall from Friday night,” said WHS head coach Mark Degregorio. “We started working on the field at 6:30 a.m.  We worked throughout the day, but unfortunately the forecast was not correct as it rained off-and-on, which caused us to not be able to play despite working on the field for a total of eight hours.  I would like to thank Assistant Coach Michael Vatalaro, who put in a ton of time on the field, parent Scott Kinsella, who came down to help, and the assistance of Colin Cash, who is an alumnus and owner of Atlantic Equipment.  He brought down blowers and heaters to try and dry out the field.  Despite the huge team effort from the coaches and community, we still couldn’t get the game in.

“Once we knew we were cancelled, we had to make some calls to try and find a turf field for Sunday because the weather still did not look great,” Degregorio continued. “After getting assistance from Sean Driscoll (St. Mary’s football coach and Winthrop Parks and Rec Director), Dick Newton (Lynn English Athletic Director), and Rich Avery (Manager of Manning/Fraser Fields), we were able to secure Fraser Field for Sunday night at 7 p.m. Also, the time and energy that our Athletic Director, Matt Serino, puts in is truly appreciated from everyone involved.”

WHS Baseball Honored Seniors on Senior Night

The WHS baseball team observed Senior Night in fitting fashion with a victory over Ipswich two weeks ago.

“We celebrated our four seniors, Colin Kinsella, Zachary Bogusz, Nicholas Marchese, and Ryan Gagnon,” said head coach Mark Degregorio. “All four of these individuals were big contributors to our season this past year.”

Bogusz took the mound for Senior Night. Zach went the distance, only surrendering one run over seven innings, while fanning six opponents and needing only 89 pitches to get through the game.  Zach also helped his own cause at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. 

Kinsella also contributed to the offense in a big way with a home run and two RBI.

“It was a great team win for us on Senior Night,” noted Degregorio. “It allowed these young men to finish on a high note on their home field for the final time. I was really proud of these young men.  The seniors have been as rock solid as it comes all year, whether it was Ryan Gagnon’s defense, bunting abilities, and timely hitting, or Nicholas Marchese’s stellar defense at second base, helping us turn 11 double plays this year.  Colin and Zach are our senior captains and there isn’t much they cannot do on the baseball field.” 

The Vikings then wrapped up their season with a contest against Sharon at Curry College thanks to the efforts of alumnus Vin Eruzione, who is the Athletic Director at Curry.

“Vinny Eruzione graciously allowed us to play Sharon there, as they do not have a home field while they are building their new high school,” said Degregorio.

“We scheduled Sharon this year knowing they would be a tough opponent because they have one of the better opponent ratings according to the MIAA.  Coming from the Hockomock League, where they face some of the toughest teams in the state, including two of the best teams in the state in Franklin and Taunton, we knew they were going to be challenging for us.

“We started sophomore Matthew Reardon, who really came on late for us in the season,” Degregorio continued. “Matthew has worked incredibly hard for us this year and throws a heavy fastball.  He pitched very well over 3.1 innings.  He did not allow any runs.  We then turned the ball over to Jay Fotiades when Sharon started to get the timing of Matthew’s fastball.  Jay has been as solid as it comes for us pitching-wise this year.  He mixes up his pitches between his fastball, changeup, and curveball, which makes it very hard on the other team’s hitters.  Unfortunately for us, an error led to Sharon’s two runs. 

“We got some excellent defense for Peter Silverman, who has been our captain of the infield,” said Degregorio. “He started as a freshman and sophomore in the outfield and quickly became one of our best outfielders, if not our best outfielder.  However, going into the year we needed a shortstop and he has worked so hard and it has truly paid off.  There is not a single play he is not capable of making on the field.  Petey also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a stolen base. We also received some good hitting from Zach Bogusz, who drove in our only run with a triple, two hits from Philly Boncore, and two hits from Evan Rockefeller, who really turned it on for us toward the second half of the season.

“We outhit Sharon 9-to-5 on the day, but just couldn’t get the timely hits we needed,” Degregorio added. “We stranded nine runners on base.”

WHS Girls Lax Falls in Tourney

The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team came up on the short end of a 16-6 decision to Nipmuc Regional High School Monday afternoon in an opening round contest of the Division 4 MIAA state lacrosse tournament.

The Lady Vikings entered the D-4 tourney as the 23rd seed with a 9-9 record, while the Lady Warriors were ranked 10th with a 16-4 mark.

“Although the final score was 16-6, it does not reflect the way the girls played,” said WHS head coach Emma Marrs. “We were slow to start and had to adjust to being on grass, as well as the pressure that Nipmuc was putting on us. But as soon as we figured it out and played our game, we started to put the goals on the board.

“Every goal we had was a team goal,” Marrs continued. “It was hard work. Nipmuc never let up and we definitely earned all six goals. Each player on the team brought their ‘A’ game. We played together throughout the entire game and left it all out there, but unfortunately, we were unable to pull off a win.

“It was an incredible season and we took time after the game to reflect on where we were at the start of the season and then where we ended,” Marrs concluded.

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