WHS Baseball Team Tops Rockport in Extras
The Winthrop High baseball team earned its second win of the season with a 9-6, extra-inning triumph under the lights at non-league rival Rockport this past Sunday evening. The game was a make-up from the postponement on Saturday because of the rain.
Senior captain Matthew DeCarney started on the mound for the Vikings and tossed three strong innings against a disciplined Rockport squad.
“We thought that this would be a good match up for us with Matt because he threw very well against Rockport last year at home,” said WHS head coach Mark DeGregorio.
DeCarney pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the opening inning, limiting the damage to only one run, by striking out Rockport’s #6 hitter and getting the next Viking (the Rockport mascot also is the Viking) to fly out to right fielder Matthew Noonan.
The Winthrop Vikings got on the board in the second with a two-out rally when Billy Hayes walked and promptly stole second and third, with the catcher throwing the ball away on the steal of third, allowing Hayes to score.
“We were able to show what we do well, which is being very aggressive with runners on base,” noted DeGregorio. “This has sort of been our bread and butter over the past few years. We are an aggressive team. We talk about putting the defense in conflict and trying to create mistakes. This was a good example of that.”
Winthrop was not done in the inning and pushed across two more runs, thanks to an RBI-double by Spencer Parco, who has been swinging the bat well for the Vikings, and an RBI-base hit by Petey Silverman.
However, the Viking offense went silent for the next three innings and Rockport eventually moved back into the lead with four runs in the fifth.
“Rockport’s lefty pitcher settled down and found a groove on the mound,” said DeGregorio. “We had a difficult time getting things going on him despite getting some base runners on.”
In the meantime, DeGregorio lifted DeCarney in the fourth.
“Rockport had a good philosophy at the plate and was very patient,” Degregorio said. “They worked a lot of deep counts on Matt and we were forced to make a move early because Matt’s pitch count was rising fast after three innings.”
DeGregorio handed the ball over to Jay Fotiades after Rockport singled off DeCarney and Jay was able to get out of the inning by getting Rockport’s two best hitters to ground out to Joseph Pumphret to end the threat.
Rockport then forged ahead with four runs in the fifth, the key blow coming from the Vikings’ #2 hitter, who was able to get a bases-clearing double that made it 6-3.
“I think on a typical field Michael Donahue, who is a fantastic center fielder, would have potentially tracked that ball down,” said DeGregorio. “However, the field dimensions made it difficult for the center fielder and right fielder. Evans field is very unique. The entire right field starting at about 220-230 feet is a large hill leading into woods in the background. There are no excuses here from the players or coaches, as we actually loved playing there. It was fun to play on a field like that. The field had a throwback feel to it, as it felt like a field from the early 1900’s. It was fun for our guys to play on, but also very challenging at the same time. I thought Matthew Noonan handled right field fantastically. We could not have asked for a better job out of him defensively.”
After Rockport moved ahead, DeGregorio brought in Matthew Reardon, who typically is a starting pitcher. “Matthew has been great for us over the last year or so,” noted DeGregorio. “He was able to stall Rockport’s offense. He threw strikes and his fastball was very lively. They had a very hard time catching up to the speed.
“Going into the top of the sixth inning I challenged our players,” DeGregorio continued. “I said we can either accept that we are not being effective against Rockport’s starting pitcher or we can change our approach. I asked our team, ‘How badly do you want to win and are you willing to scratch and claw your way back into this game?’ We decided to respond and I couldn’t have been prouder.”
Noonan led off the sixth with a base hit and promptly stole second base. This was followed by a walk to Parco, and both Noonan and he stole a base to put runners at second and third. A wild pitch allowed Noonan to score and Parco to move to third. Silverman then did a great job of getting a ball to the outfield with two strikes, allowing Parco to tag up from third to make it 6-5.
That set the stage for the dramatic seventh inning. After Donahue led off with a walk (“It was a great at bat, as Michael was able to work the count and draw a walk,” said DeGregorio), he stole second and advanced to third on a ground-out by DeCarney. Evan Rockefeller then stepped up and did a good job of putting the ball in play by fighting off a tough inside pitch and hitting the ball to the right side of the field, allowing Donahue to score the tying run.
DeGregorio then brought in Phil Boncore to the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Boncore retired Rockport in order, thanks to a great throw from catcher Ryan Murphy to get a Viking runner at third on a steal-attempt.
The Winthrop Vikings then scored three runs In the top of the eighth, with the winning run scoring on a safety squeeze that was executed perfectly by Fotiades, scoring Parco. Winthrop then gave Boncore two insurance runs on an RBI single by Donahue and an error on a hard-hit ball by DeCarney. Boncore earned the victory by shutting down Rockport in the bottom of the eighth.
“It was really nice to see the team come back and battle through some adversity,” said DeGregorio. “We had some great contributions from multiple members of the team in order to pull out the win.”
The Vikings, who are 2-1 on the season, are scheduled to travel to Danvers today (Wednesday), the Vikings’ fourth road game in a row, before they finally play their first home game tomorrow (Friday) against Swampscott. There will be a pre-game dedication to mark the installation of a flagpole at Veterans Field.
They will entertain Saugus at 10:00 next Wednesday morning.
Boys Lacrosse Opens Season With Win Over MC; Host Gloucester Tomorrow
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse opened its season last week with a 7-4 victory at Division 1 opponent Malden Catholic 7-4.
“Overall, I was happy with the way our first game went,” said WHS head coach Brian Donnelly. “There were certainly some sloppy moments throughout the game, which is to be somewhat expected early in the season, but there are certainly a lot of things that we need to clean up as we head into the bulk of our season.”
Donnelly lauded the performance of Viking goalie Hunter Fife. “Hunter played excellently and has become an amazing leader for us this year,” said the coach. “I am really proud of his progress. The defensive unit also played excellently, only allowing four goals. It was great to see Sean Dolan out there as part of the returning defensive unit. Sean added some excellent stick skills to the group and just played really confidently.”
The Viking offense showed flashes of brilliance, but Donnelly is hoping for more consistency as the season progresses.
“Offensively we had some moments where we played really tight. We hope to try to string more of those moments together while eliminating some sloppy mistakes,” Donnelly said. “Ace Daignault played really well, scoring four of our seven goals. It is clear he put in a lot of time and effort in the off-season and we are looking forward to seeing how he can continue to grow as a player. Seth Sacco also had two goals and has also come out as a super-strong, solid player for us this year. He is a great face-off guy, continues to grow as a two-way player, and just showed excellent hustle and effort throughout the game.”
Freshman CJ Cifuni scored Winthrop’s last goal to put the game away. “CJ started the game, which is a lot to ask for a freshman to start at the varsity level, but he has stepped up to the challenge and we are excited to see how he can grow into the systems and see how he can play as he grows his confidence,” said Donnelly.
Donnelly also praised the effort of senior captain Robert Rich. “Robert played tough as always,” noted the coach. “He is a ground-ball machine and is just out there constantly making things happen that open up opportunities for other players.”
This past week he Vikings came up short in contests with two powerful programs, Northeastern Conference opponent Swampscott and non-league foe Manchester-Essex.
“We had a very tough two days of games against two great teams,” said Donnelly.
In Monday’s encounter at Swampscott, the Vikings got off to a fast start, scoring three goals early. However, Winthrop could not maintain its momentum and fell short by a final score of 8-5. Mike Holgerson and Seth Sacco both scored a pair of goals each with Colin Cifuni also finding the net on a nice outside shot.
“I give credit to Swampscott’s defense and their goalie,” Donnelly said. “They did a good job of keeping us to outside shots and limiting opportunities. We definitely need to find the net a bit better next time we see them and make sure we improve our off-ball movement. Our defensive unit and goalie played well, and we just need to continue to learn our slides more and have confidence in each other that we will make the right decision on slides and checks.”
This past Tuesday the Vikings hosted a skilled Manchester-Essex team and came up just short, 9-8, in an intense back-and-forth battle that could have gone either way.
“I thought we were matched-up really well against them and it just came down to who scored last and unfortunately, this time it was them,” noted Donnelly. Senior captain Rich had a breakout game, netting a hat trick, including a game-tying goal with around four minutes to play, and had a nice assist. “Robert is a work-horse and plays with confidence and strength that allows our other players to also play to their strengths,” lauded Donnelly.
Junior midfielder Steven Holgerson scored two goals. Sophomore long stick middie (LSM) Colin O’ Leary, sophomore attack Ace Daignault, and sophomore midfielder Seth Sacco also reached the back of the Manchester net.
“Our defensive unit played really well throughout the game and senior captain Hunter Fife made some lights-out saves in goal,” said Donnelly. “Hunter has continued to show great leadership this year and has come up with some huge saves and clears that have kept us in these close games. He has been great with communication and has been getting the defense talking. The defensive unit anchored by Donovan Cassidy, Dan Thomai, and Sean Dolan, with Colin O’ Leary at LSM, have also been great, limiting some strong offensive teams to few goals.
“We started this game pretty sloppily and need to strengthen our fundamentals and tighten up our systems as we move forward,” Donnelly concluded. “It was not the result we wanted, but the coaching staff is proud of the effort coming from both sides of the ball and hope to learn what we can from the last two losses and continue to build on the numerous positive aspects that we see day-in and day-out.”
Donnelly and his crew will host NEC foe Gloucester tomorrow (Friday) at 5:00 under the lights at Miller Field. “We really want to use it as a way to get back on track and continue to take steps forward,” Donnelly said. The Vikings will travel to Danvers next Thursday.
Girls Tennis Team Defeats St. Mary’s
The Winthrop High girls tennis team turned in a superb performance to earn a 4-1 victory over non-league rival St. Mary’s of Lynn last week.
Leading the way for the Lady Vikings was their top player, Mira Ivanis, who won her match at first singles in straight sets over her Lady Spartan counterpart, 6-4, 6-1. Anila Gjinovci, playing at third singles, won by an identical score, 6-4, 6-1.
In the doubles matches, the first doubles tandem of Alesia Collaku & Caitlin Fobert cruised to a straight-set triumph, 6-1, 6-2, and the second doubles duo of Sophia d’Entremont & Nadia Aldweib handily dispatched their St. Mary’s rivals, 6-1, 6-0.
In the second singles match, Lady Viking Emily Barrera dropped a hard-fought battle in a match that was decided by a tie-breaker set, 6-1, 4-6, (2-7).
The triumph evened Winthrop’s record at 1-1 after a 5-0 loss to non-league opponent Watertown in their season-opener the previous week.
“Our serving and ground strokes were sub-optimal and tentative, respectively, in the Watertown match,” said WHS head coach Jeff Beck, who has a new assistant coach this season, Heidy Baker, a long-time WHS science teacher and assistant volleyball coach. “I think we played rusty and nervous. Kudos to Watertown, which is a well-coached and disciplined team.
“But the win over St. Mary’s was just the medicine we needed to soothe the wounds of the Watertown loss. We played with good confidence and court awareness. Mid-match adjustments kept the winning ways rolling to secure the win,” Beck added.
The Lady Vikings, for whom the early-season foul weather has forced many practices to be indoors with limited gym time, were scheduled to host Saugus yesterday (Wednesday) and Lynn Classical today (Thursday). They will be off through the vacation week and will return to action on Monday, April 22, at home vs. Swampscott.
The Lady Viking are led by a trio of senior captains for the 2024 season, Emily Barrera, Alesia Collaku, and Mira Ivanis. They will be joined by fellow seniors Nadia Aldweib, Zineb Belghiti, Daniela Estrada; freshmen Yudi Arbaiza, Adrianna Baez, Chloe Bernal, Zaineb Fawzi, Keariss Mejia, Isabella Pereira, Sofia Silk, and Ella Spagnoli; juniors Sophia d’Entremont, Caitlin Fobert, Kaelyn Foley, Madeline Forsyth, Anila Gjinovci, and Esther Tewoutchoyo; and sophomores Alesja Merama and Stella Pelletier,
Softball Team Drops Close Battle With Eastie
The Winthrop High softball team dropped a hard-fought battle with East Boston this past Tuesday, 18-17, in which the Lady Jets prevailed in their last at-bat.
“It was a tough loss,” said WHS head coach Erin Vercruysse. “Hannah Barrett pitched a great complete game and we had big hits from Izzy Cash, Sophia Gonzalez, Amelia Spencer, Carolina Gonzalez, Fran Indrisano, Deanna Nee, and Barrett.”
Vercruysse and her squad were scheduled to host Beverly yesterday (Wednesday) and travel to Saugus tomorrow (Friday). They are off for the vacation week and will host East Boston in a rematch at the Little League field on Monday, April 22.
Girls Lacrosse to Host Danvers Next Thursday
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team will host Northeastern Conference North rival Danvers next Thursday morning (August 18) on the turf at Miller Field. The opening draw is set for 10:00.
This past Monday, coach Anthony Hatzisavas and his Lady Viking crew came out on the short end of a 16-1 decision to Swampscott (whose captain, Coco Clopton, who is headed to Umass-Lowell, notched her 200th career point minutes into the game).
“Our lone goal was scored by Tegan Pereira,” said Hatzisavas, whose squad is scheduled to travel to Beverly today (Thursday) and to non-league foe Stoneham tomorrow (Friday). “So far the team has been working very hard and is continuing to get better.”