New Flag Football Program Set To Get Underway at WHS
Winthrop High School has formed a girls’ flag football team and will be playing in the Massachusetts league run by the New England Patriots.
The inaugural year of the program will be led by head coach John Cross.
“The girls have been putting in lots of hard work practicing at night after all other daily activities,” said Cross. “The team is progressing fast and getting better every time they step on the field. The seniors have been crucial in getting this initiative up and running and are doing a great job of leading by example.
“It’s very exciting for us all, knowing that this could be the start of something very big here in Winthrop,” Cross added. “Assisting me in coaching is fellow Winthrop resident Eddie Marsden. The two of us are fully committed to making girls’ flag football a big part of Winthrop High School.”
The team will play doubleheaders each week, the first being in Woburn this coming Tuesday (April 9) vs. teams from Needham and Cambridge.
The team’s seniors, Shannon Abbott, Reese Brodin, Samantha DiMento, Kaylee Farrell, Hannah Parker, Malak Chahlaouy, and Grace Fleuriel, all have been named captains of the 2024 Lady Viking squad.
The other members of the team are: Tori Bates, Zoey Bogusz, Kate Brodin, Talia Martucci, Marianna Alvarez Restrepo, Tegan Pereira, Stella Osburn, Reese Ferrara, Marissa Macmulle, Avery Shea, Aitanna Bartelome, Annabelle Giardano, and Angela Coscia.
Diamond Men Split Opening Two Contests
The Winthrop High baseball team split its season-opening contests this past week.
The Vikings began their 2024 campaign on a high note with an 8-6 victory at non-league rival Cardinal Spellman on Monday.
The Vikings started out fast, thanks to lead-off man extraordinaire Petey Silverman, who reached base with a single and then promptly stole second, from where he scored the first run of 2024 on a base hit by Phil Boncore, who had an exceptional game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four RBI.
The quick marker set the tone for the game, giving Winthrop a 1-0 lead, and the Vikings never would fall behind.
Spellman was able to tie it up in the bottom of the first inning on a single to right field, but Winthrop came right back, scoring twice in the second inning on an RBI hit by Silverman and a steal of home by Spencer Parco.
“We have worked a lot on base running situations, especially at second and third base,” said WHS head coach Mark DeGregorio. “We have talked about paying close attention to how the pitchers and catchers react with runners on base. We were able to point something out to the team after watching how Spellman was reacting with a runner on third base in the first inning and we were able to take advantage of it in the second with Spencer stealing home.”
The teams continued their see-saw battle throughout the game, as Spellman continued to bounce back every time Winthrop grabbed the advantage.
Senior captain Matthew DeCarney took the mound to start the game and pitched well through the opening innings.
“Matthew did a good job of battling through the first few innings of the game despite not having his best stuff,” said DeGregorio. “His fastball was live, but he had difficulty getting over his off-speed stuff, which led to Spellman being able to sit on his fastball.”
DeGregorio turned the ball over to Jay Fotiades midway through the contest. “Jay has been someone whom we have trusted in any scenario since he was a freshman,” said the coach. “He has actually had the most pitching appearances over the last two years. Jay did a good job of settling the game down and keeping the batters off-balance.”
DeGregorio called upon Boncore to close the game in the bottom of the seventh with Winthrop up by two runs. “Phil was able to close the door for us and help us come out with the win,” said DeGregorio.
“This was a nice, hard-fought win,” DeGregorio continued. “We got some really good performances from Petey Silverman (three runs scored and two stolen bases), who was on base four times from the lead-off spot. We also got some good defense from our outfielders, Will Murphy, Mike Donahue, and Billy Hayes, and Matthew Reardon provided a nice spark for us offensively.
“It is also important to note the contributions from two new varsity players in Joseph Pumphret and Ryan Murphy,” DeGregorio added. “As freshmen, it is not easy to come into a game that is close and perform. It is a lot of pressure and I thought they both handled it great.”
The following night the Vikings trekked to Northeastern Conference rival Peabody and came up on the short end iof a 12-6 decision that was closer than the final score might indicate.
Reardon started on the mound and gave the Vikings a solid effort.
“Matthew was really locked-in,” said DeGregorio. “He really held a very good-hitting Peabody team in check through the first few innings. He finished with five strikeouts and only walked one batter.
“I thought our approach in the first two innings was spectacular,” DeGregorio said of his squad. Winthrop once again started fast, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Silverman got on base to lead off and promptly stole two bases. Winthrop was able to capitalize on an error and scored both runs on a heads-up running play from Mike Donahue.
The Vikings tacked on three more runs in the second frame, with DeCarney, Hayes, and Fotiades all coming across the plate from balls being put in play.
“Unfortunately however, over the next few innings we sort of got away from our approach at the plate,” said DeGregorio. “We began to look at more pitches and not be aggressive enough to put ourselves in good hitting situations, and Peabody eventually was able to take advantage of this.
“We knew that even when we were up 5-1 that Peabody was not going to just fold,”said the coach. “They returned basically their entire team and we knew that they are one of the better-hitting teams we would be facing this year.”
Peabody scored twice in the fourth to make it a 5-3 contest, but Evan Rockefeller got one back in the fifth when he delivered an RBI double to make it 6-3.
However, that would prove to be the last run of the day for the Vikings. Peabody continued to hit the ball hard and put the ball in play.
“We turned to Tim Vargus in the fifth inning, who threw the ball very well,” said DeGregorio. “But unfortunately, we had a few untimely errors that allowed Peabody to pull away.
“It was very frustrating because you look at the score and you might think that it wasn’t a close game or that Peabody was up all game and we scored some late runs after Peabody took the foot off the gas,” said DeGregorio. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. We were up all game and outplayed them for five innings.
“After the game I expressed to the team that we have to find a way to play the full seven and close out,” he added. “We did it against Spellman, but Peabody is not a team that you can give any breathing room to. I will never be mad about the errors because errors happen in baseball and they will always happen. We just have to find a way to play more loose when our backs are against the wall, and that will be the message over the next few days.”
The Vikings are scheduled to stay on the road, making the long trek to non-league opponent Rockport on Saturday and then to NEC foe Danvers next Wednesday.
Hatzisavas Looking Forward to Upcoming Season for Girls Lax
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team will be under the direction of a new head coach, with Anthony Hatzisavas stepping in to take over the reins of the Lady Viking program.
“It’s my first year and I’m very excited,” said Hatzisavas, who also is the head coach of the WHS girls basketball team. “We have a great group of kids playing and are led by some great seniors, Hannah Parker, Sam DiMento, Kailey Sullivan, Giulia Bordanaro, Adrianna Rizzotto, Emily Maddaleone, Sage Calinda, and Amanda Jurovich.
“We also have some outstanding juniors, Talia Martucci, Gabbi Bounapane, Isabelle Rice, Izi Hain, Brooklyn Banfield, and Marley Rodriguez,” Hatzisavas added. “Sophomores who figure to be key contributors are Avalina Coffey, Tegan Pereira, and Reese Ferrara. I am also joined on staff by Lauren Kostegan and Natalie Fitzpatrick. They are both great.”
The Lady Vikings, who came up short in their season-opener at Lynnfield on Tuesday by a score of 13-4, are scheduled to play at Saugus today (Thursday) and then will host Swampscott on Monday under the lights at Miller Field at 5:00. They will trek to Beverly next Thursday.
WHS Softball Team To Host H-W Friday
The Winthrop High softball team will host non-league opponent Hamilton-Wenham tomorrow (Friday) at the Little League Field.
The Lady Vikings dropped their season-opener with Salem on Monday and were scheduled to play at Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday).
“We lost to Salem following some tough pitching struggles,” said WHS head coach Erin Vercruysse. “Freshman Deanna Nee had a few great catches and throws in centerfield and had three singles at the plate. Captain Carolina Gonzalez had our lone RBI.”