WHS Sports Roundup

Boys lacrosse to celebrate Senior Night this evening

The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team, which presently sports a stellar 16-1 record, will wrap up its regular season this evening (Thursday) when the Vikings host Mystic Valley for a contest that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities at which the seven members of the Class of 2019 will be honored for their contributions to the WHS boys lacrosse program.

The opening face-off is set for 5 p.m. on the turf at Miller Field.

Coach Brian Donnelly’s squad attained its 15th victory with a lopsided 20-2 triumph over Malden last week. The Vikings opened the floodgates from the opening face-off, with Chris Ferrara scoring an unassisted goal in a matter of seconds.

“Our entire team didn’t let up for the rest of the game,” said Donnelly. “We were able to get to an early lead and get some of our younger players some excellent minutes. Steve Perullo came off the bench to put together a massive offensive game with four goals.”

Two nights later, the Vikings earned their 16th “W” with a superb effort against Swampscott, a strong divisional rival.

“Our defense played really well, rotating in six different long poles, consisting of seniors Jack Silva, Tyler Gilson, and Mike McCone, junior Chris Rodriguez, and sophomores James Silva and Ryan Hovermil,” said Donnelly. “I have been riding our defense pretty hard over the last few games and they have really started to become a force on the field. They have been excellent for us all year and sometimes do not get the credit they deserve.”

The Vikings’ offense was paced by goals from attackmen Pat Sennott, Matt Hurley, and Aiden Cifini.

“Pat has been an amazing, two-year captain and has shown the underclassmen how much a hard work ethic, intense effort, and a positive attitude will improve your game,” noted Donnelly.

“Luke Evangelista and Joe Mahoney continue to be absolute work horses on the field,” Donnelly continued. “Joe is our best short-stick defender and his offensive game has really developed this year.”

“Austin Daignault came in huge with some great dodging from up top, creating opportunities for others, as well as going to goal,” Donnelly said. “He also had to work double-duty, playing a lot of defense. Overall, our team continues to come together in big games to move forward together.”

After tonight’s contest, the Vikings will await the announcement of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming state tournament.

WHS boys tennis sets new win mark

The Winthrop High boys tennis team set a new school record for victories in a season when the Vikings won both of their matches this past week to record their 12th and 13th wins of the season.

The Vikings first defeated Beverly with a 5-0 shutout. The Vikings narrowly had defeated the Panthers earlier in the season by a score of 3-2 in a hotly-contested match. However, Winthrop prevailed in all of their matches in the rematch: Corey Cherico at first singles, Chris Finn at second singles, and Rilind Bytyqi at third singles, and the doubles tandems of Sam Yarrow and Kevin Dorr and Augie Cherico and Alessio Narco.

The Vikings then made it 13 wins on the year with a 5-0 shutout of Salem.

“This is quite an accomplishment for us,” said WHS head coach Marie Finn. “We do not have any club players on our team, but every boy works hard at practice and gives 100 percent in every match. I am incredibly proud of what they have done.”

Finn and her crew now will await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the upcoming MIAA state tournament.

 Holzbach wins medal at Division 4 State Meet

Sophomore Beatriz Holzbach earned a medal at this past weekend’s Division 4 State Meet with an eighth place performance in the 400 intermediate hurdles. 

Beatriz entered the meet as the 17th seed in the event with her qualifying time of 71.43, but she far exceeded expectations with her clocking of 68.92 that vaulted her onto the medalist podium.

Three of her Lady Viking teammates who qualified for the state meet also turned in fine performances. Junior Mary Kate Pote finished in 10th place in the shot put with a throw of 31’-4.45”. Senior Camila Miranda-Llovera came across the line in 15th place in the two-mile run in 13:32.97. Nora  McCarey finished in 28th spot in the 400 dash in a clocking of  70.15.

“It was a great meet for all the girls,” said WHS head coach Warren MacPhail. “They all tried super hard to PR in really hot conditions. It was sad to see future WHS Hall of Famer Camila Miranda-Llovera in her last race as a Viking, but it has been amazing to see her grow. The underclass, led by Bea, gives us great hope for the future.”

On the boys’ side, two Vikings had qualified for the state meet. Cormac MacPhail, another future WHS Hall of Famer, finished in 22nd place in the two-mile run in 10:53.43. Anthony Nargi came across in 25th spot in the 800 in 2:10.57.

WHS softball team earns win vs. Weston

The Winthrop High softball team turned in a fine, all-around performance to earn a dramatic 4-3 victory over Weston last week at Cellucci Field.

After Weston took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Lady Vikings responded in their half of the frame when Bella Perrotti bunted for a base hit and eventually moved to third after a sacrifice bunt by Cali Peterson. A ground-out by Steph Strangie then brought Bella across the plate to bring matters back to level.

Weston regained the lead with single markers in the third and fifth, but Winthrop sliced the margin to 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Summer Tallent singled with two outs, stole second, and scored on a Weston error of a ball hit by Rachel Farley.

That set the stage for the drama in the sixth and seventh frames. The Lady Vikings scored twice in the sixth. Ashley McGonagle led off with single, but the next two Lady Vikings fanned. However, Perrotti reached on an infield hit, with McGonagle advancing to second.

Peterson then laced a clutch single to deliver McGonagle to tie the game, and when the ball was misplayed by the Weston centerfielder, Perrotti hustled all the way from first to score.

Winthrop got the first two outs in the top of the seventh, but the Weston lead-off hitter (who had hit a home run earlier in the game), blasted a deep drive that went for a triple.

Weston then attempted a squeeze play to bring in the tying run, but Tallent, who was playing tight down the third base line, hustled in and fired a strike to first base to nab the Weston runner by less than half a step.

Strangie pitched the best game of her career, going all seven innings in which she fanned eight enemy batters and walked only one.

Tough stretch for WHS baseball team

The Winthrop High baseball team turned in some solid efforts this past week, but came up on the short end of decisions to Northeastern Conference rivals Gloucester, Swampscott, and Salem.

In an 8-2 loss to first-place Gloucester, Dan Gillis pitched a complete game in which he allowed five earned runs. Dan also had two hits on the day and David DiCicco had a double and a run scored.

In a 5-0 loss to Swampscot, Jon Applebee pitched 6 & 2/3 innings in which he yielded just one earned run. Jon carried the Vikings into the seventh, trailing by the narrow margin of 2-0, and at one point retired 10 Swamspctt batters in a  row with five strikeouts.

However, the Viking offense did little to support him, managing only singles by Gillis, Applebee, and DiCicco.

In a 3-1 loss to Salem, Angelo Robertson continued to throw well for the Vikings. Angelo pounded the strike zone, tossing five solid innings in which he gave up only two earned runs. Gillis came on to pitch the sixth and seventh games and did not allow a Salem baserunner.

Winthrop’s lone run was scored by Christian Natareno, who was knocked in by Miles Albert. Miles once again turned in an outstanding effort behind the plate, throwing out three Salem runners on steal attempts and picking off a runner at first.

“It was one of the best throwing performances we have seen by a Viking catcher in quite a few years,” said WHS head coach Frank DeMarco.

“We continue to pitch well and play defense, but the offense has just not been there in the second half of the season,” DeMarco said. “We’re hitting .206 over our last nine games.  We will need to get the bats going if we hope to advance in the state tournament going forward.”

DeMarco and his crew were set to wrap up their regular season this afternoon (Thursday) when they will entertain Peabody. The opening pitch is set for 3:30 at Veterans Field.