WHS Sports Roundup

Vikings play well in tourney loss

Although the Winthrop High baseball team fell short in its opening game in the Division 4 North Sectional of the MIAA state baseball tournament, the Vikings played well in a 2-0 loss at Boston English last Friday afternoon.

The Vikings entered the tourney as the 12th seed in the 12-team D-4 North with a 6-14 regular-season record, while English was the fifth seed with a 13-5 mark.

However, Winthrop had high hopes of advancing in the tourney, inasmuch as the Vikings had defeated English in both of their meetings during the season by scores of 5-1 and 5-3.

The contest was deadlocked at 0-0 entering the bottom of the sixth thanks to what WHS head coach Frank DeMarco termed an “awesome” pitching effort by Viking senior captain Dan Gillis, who fanned seven opponents and walked only one.

However, English put together three consecutive base hits in the sixth to push across its two runs that provided the margin of victory.

“We had opportunities in multiple innings, but could not come up with the big hit,” said DeMarco. “Our defense, especially in the infield, was outstanding, with Cam Conway, Ryan Skoczylas, Angelo Robertson, and David DiCicco making multiple plays each. Catcher and senior captain Miles Albert was rock-solid behind the plate and Jonathan Applebee was outstanding in center field.”

The contest marked the final game in a WHS uniform for a large contingent of seniors. “Congratulations to all the seniors, Dan Gillis, Miles Albert, Sid Albert, Jonathan Applebee, Ryan Buccini, Angelo Robertson, and Christian Natereno, for their four-year efforts,” said DeMarco. “These guys played together just about year-round. They were close as a group and loved the game. They were a special group.”

WHS softball team falls in tourney opener

The 2019 season ended last Thursday for the Winthrop High softball team with a 15-3 loss at Matignon in a preliminary round contest in the Division 3 North Sectional of the MIAA state softball tournament. The Lady Vikings entered the tourney as the 22nd seed among the 22 teams in the D-3 North with a 6-14 regular season record, while Matignon was the 11th seed with a 13-7 mark.

Winthrop grabbed a quick lead in the top of the first with a two-out rally. Bella Perrotti singled and came around on a double by Stephanie Strangie. Steph advanced to third on the play at the plate to get Perrotti, but then was thrown out a home when she tried to score on a passed ball.

However, that would prove to be the apogee for the Lady Vikings’ effort on the day, as Matignon responded with four markers in the bottom of the frame to move out to a  4-1 advantage that the Warriors maintained the rest of the way.

Winthrop scored single tallies in the third and fifth innings thanks to RBI base hits by freshman lead-off hitter Summer Tallent.  In the third, Summer belted a  tripled that brought in a teammate who had walked and in the fifth, she singled home Sofia Vitale, who had tripled.

The loss brought to a conclusion the superb WHS softball career of the three seniors on the team, Perrotti, Strangie, and Cali Peterson.

“These three girls wore the Blue and Gold with great pride and will be sorely missed,” said WHS head coach Dave Guffey. “Bella was a four-year varsity starter who accounted for more than 90 hits and 50 RBI. “

Perrotti will be continuing her softball and hockey career at Salem State University next year.

“Stephanie is the ultimate utility player who played all three outfield positions, along with pitching and playing at second, third, and shortstop,” said Guffey of  Strangie. “Stephanie was a pleasure to coach who always put the team first and who was willing to do whatever was asked of her.

“Cali was a three-year varsity player who missed her first year with a broken hand,” said Guffey of Peterson. “She started three years at first base and when she was not at first, she was catching.  Cali ended up with the highest fielding percentage on the team and was one of the most reliable players ever to don the WHS uniform.

“The coaches have nothing but the greatest respect for the seniors and wish them well in college,” Guffey added.

On June 23 Perrotti (who was named to the Northeastern Conference All-Star team) and Strangie will wear their Winthrop uniforms one last time when they participate in the Agganis all-star game.

Guffey is upbeat about the future of the WHS softball program. “We were a very young team with five sophomore starters and three others making varsity contributions, along with one junior and two freshmen, “ said the veteran coach. “The season ended sooner than we were hoping, but with the ending of the season, it is time to wish the seniors well and begin to prepare for next year.”

Perrotti led the Lady Vikings in hitting with a .350 average, followed by Tallent with a .345 average and Ashley McGonagle at .265.

In the field, Rachel Farley made great strides toward becoming an all-star of the future by making no errors on the season. Peterson was next in fielding percentage (.951), followed by Perrotti (.925).

In the pitching department, Vitale led team with 79 innings pitched, striking out 64 opponents and earning five wins. Strange also made a fine contribution in the pitcher’s circle, tossing 30 innings with 25 strikeouts, one win, and two saves.

WHS girls lacrosse falls in state tourney

The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team, which last week won the first-ever state tournament contest in the program’s history, dropped a 16-6 decision at Manchester/Essex in a quarterfinal matchup of the Division 2 North Sectional of the MIAA state lacrosse tournament.

The Lady Vikings entered the D-2 North as the 12th seed with a 12-7 regular-season record, while Manchester-Essex was the fourth seed with a 12-5 mark.

Coach Ben Cimmino’s squad had posted a 12-10 upset over fifth-seeded St. Mary’s of Lynn in the first round, which earned them the right to face a Manchester/Essex squad which perennially is one of the top programs in the state. Manchester is slated to play in the D-2 North finals tomorrow (Friday) after having knocked off top-seeded Ipswich in the semifinals.

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