The Winthrop Men’s Summer Basketball League is set to return to the McKenna Courts.
Sean Driscoll, director of the Winthrop Parks and Recreation Department, and Phil Lundberg, IAABO-sanctioned basketball referee, are trying to revive the league that was once a summertime staple in the town, drawing substantial to the local courts located on Walden Street in back of what is now the Winthrop Cultural Center.
Any individual interested in entering a team in the league should send an email to Driscoll at [email protected] or call 617-846-8243.
There will be an informational meeting for all prospective players and teams on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. at the McKenna Courts.
“We would like to start the league by the second week of July,†said Driscoll, noting that new backboards have been installed at the newly painted courts. Winthrop High School has in the past entered a team in the league. Such Viking greats as Chris Tsiotos, Dino Mallios, Lewone Bennett, and the late Michael Mason have competed.
Lady Vikings fall short in semifinals
The Winthrop High softball team enjoyed a nice run in the MIAA state tournament, but fell by a slim score of 5-4 to a strong Whittier Tech team last Thursday in the semifinals of the Division 2 North Sectional.
After easily handling Northeast Regional Vocational School by an 8-1 margin in the first round, the Lady Vikings advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Notre Dame of Tyngsboro on the local field in a contest that ended up being played Wednesday after a postponement because of rain on Monday.
Winthrop got on the scoreboard early in the opening frame when Jen Adamson laced the first of her two doubles on the day and scored on a grounder up the middle by Maura Lanza. Adamson drove in the second Lady Viking run in the third with her second two-bagger that brought in Liana Ferullo, who also had doubled.
However, that would prove to be the extent of Winthrop offensive output on the day, which effectively left matters in the right arm of Lady Viking hurler Maura Lanza. Maura, who had fanned 14 batters in the Northeast contest, once again was dominant from the pitcher’s circle, ringing up nothing but goose-eggs on the scoreboard.
However, in the tournament, it usually is the case that nothing comes easily, and such was the case in the seventh and final inning. Lanza had limited NDA to just four hits through the first six frames, but the rival from the north threatened to break through in its last at bat, loading the bases with one out.
However, Lanza bore down and pitched her way out of trouble, striking out the next NDA batter and then getting the final out on a grounder, thus preserving both her shutout and her team’s victory.
“Maura has been getting better and better as the season has gone on,†said WHS head coach of his super sophomore.
The top defensive play of the contest for Winthrop, which played stellar defense in support of Lanza, came in the sixth, when catcher Adamson threw out an NDA runner attempting to steal second.
However, as exciting as that triumph was, Winthrop had little time to savor it, because it meant that the Lady Vikings had to trek the next day to Martin Field in Lowell for a semifinal encounter with Whittier. Although it is tough enough to play back-to-back games during the season, it is especially mettle-testing in a tourney, where the pressure is much more intense and the opponents feature strong hitting, which always proves a drain on even the best of pitchers.
However, the Lady Vikings and Lanza initially seemed unfazed at taking to the diamond for the second time in 24 hours and brushed off their bad fortune, moving out to a 4-1 advantage after four stanzas.
Winthrop drew first blood in the second when Ferullo doubled and scored on a ground-out by Christine Haskell. Although Whittier came back to tie the contest with a marker in the following frame, the Lady Vikings put together a rally in the fourth that brought in three runs for a 4-1 advantage. A two-run double by Michele Lasala was the key blow, with the third Winthrop tally coming across thanks to a passed ball.
However, Whittier responded in the fifth with three markers with some heavy hitting (Whittier outhit Winthrop 10-4 on the day) to deadlock matters at 4-4. Whittier then played small ball in the sixth to push across the winning tally on two bunts and a single.
Although Winthrop surely was affected by the back-to-back games, Guffey was not making excuses. “Whittier had the better bats and was a tough opponent. We kept it close, but in all honesty, they were the better team,†he said.
The Lady Vikings ended the season with a stellar 16-7 overall record, an amazing achievement for a squad that had numerous question marks at the start of the season and filled in the blanks with some young players who blossomed into becoming among the top performers in the Northeastern Conference.
Lanza, who had seen limited pitching time last year behind Alex Ferri, turned into one of the top hurlers in the area, finishing with a 1.29 ERA and striking out 169 enemy batters in 146 innings while walking only 34 for an impressive 5-1 ratio of strikeouts-to-walks.
In the offensive department, junior catcher Adamson topped the stat sheet with a .435 batting average that included seven doubles, a triple, and a homer. Sophomore Olivia Grillo batted .377 with two doubles and a roundtripper. Senior Ferullo hit .362 with nine doubles and a triple.
Fielding-wise, Amanda Pelletier led the way with a .942 fielding percentage with 110 putouts and three assists. Ferullo had a .942 fielding percentage with 29 putouts and 18 assists.
WINTHROP LITTLE LEAGUE NOTES
A Division pitchers have no-hitter!
4 Oriole pitchers combined for a no hitter. The unique event combined efforts by Asa Baurle, Chris Finn, Ryan Buccini, and Cam Conway. Great pitching performance by 10 year old Jasper Ezekiel for the A’s.
A Division teams hit and hit…
The A Orioles scores 38 runs in the past 3 games. This season they have scored 158 runs and only giving up 75.
B Division hit and hit….
Cameron Martin hit a grand slam and Matt Stoddard added 2 hits for the B Cubs. Tyler Rockefeller hit a 3 run homerun.
B Division Pitchers sparkle..
Tyler Rockefeller pitched a complete game shutout for the Cubs. Thomas Bailey pitched 3 innings with 6 strikeouts.
Lastly…a special performance
John Cataldo has worked very hard this season and it all came together this past week. John “Big Stix†Cataldo had his first hit of the year. Great job by John and his coaches for their hard work.
Players perform great this week……
The following players had noted performances this week at the A, B and C levels: Nicholas Principe, Lilly Tallent, DK Kuntz, Jason Merlino, Gavin Abbott, Anthony Indrisano, Nick Drevos, John Paul Giorgio, Matt Skobeloff, Aiden Cash, Danny Capone, Tyler Rockefeller, William Gillis, Thomas Bailey, Chris Viscio, Julian Orioso, Cameron Martin, Ryan Carney, Tino Perullo, Nathaniel Holmes, Chris Finn, Joseph Deeb, Nick Deeb, Ryan Buccini, Brian Chalmers, James Silva, and Sam Yarrow, Matt Stoddard, Ty Garcia, Chris White, Joe deeb, Chris Flynn, Cam Conway, Alejandro Diaz, Nick Deeb, Brian Chalmers, Anthony Indrisano, James Silva, Joe Hayes, Gavin Abbot, Nick Shea, Jacob A, Rhiana Powers, Zane Bower, Zack Boucher, Mike Fitzpatrick, Matt Hurley, Joe Holgerson, Augistino Cherico, Kenny Streeter, Evan Bernstein, Christopher Gibbons, Matt Hurley.
Playoffs to start this weekend…
Playoffs for the A and B division will start this weekend beginning this Saturday at 9:00am. Please stop by, have a hot dog and a drink from the concession stand and watch the future stars of Winthrop. Thanks to the coaches, parents and many others who have made this season one of the best.