WHS Sports Roundup

Softball Team Mashes Masco

The Winthrop High softball team made their long trek to Masconomet last Wednesday a worthwhile endeavour, coming home with a 14-5 victory over their new Northeastern Conference rival.

The Lady Vikings’ bats were as hot as the weather (high 80s) that day, as they pounded out 18 hits and crossed home plate 14 times.

Speedy lead-off hitter Izzy Mahoney (2-for-5 with two RBI) started the game with a triple, the first of her two triples on the day, and from there, and the Lady Vikings were off and running.

Major contributors at the plate included Sofia Vitale (3-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored) and Rachel Farley (2-for-5 with a triple and who also reached on an error).

Vitale was the starting pitcher, allowing eight hits and three runs through the first four frames. Nelly Carter came on for an inning, tossing a 3-up-and-3-down fifth, and Vitale came back to close out the contest in the final two innings.

Mahoney was awarded the Big Bat and Summer Tallent got the Big Glove for her defensive performance at shortstop and third, making five plays on the day.

Two days later the Lady Vikings made the shorter trek to Saugus, but came back with a 5-3 loss.

Winthrop scored two runs in the first and added another in the second on a home run by Carter, but that would prove to be the extent of the Lady Vikings’ offensive output for the rest of the day.

Vitale went all six innings in the pitcher’s circle, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, and fanning six opponents.

Coach Dave Guffey and his squad were scheduled to host Swampscott today (Thursday) in a contest that will be highlighted by Senior Day festivities and will make the long ride to Gloucester on Monday and then to Salem on Wednesday.

WHS Girls Tennis Blanks Salem, 5-0

The Winthrop High girls tennis team celebrated its Senior Day in appropriate fashion with a 5-0 shutout of Salem last Thursday afternoon.

The Lady Vikings captured all of their matches with their Salem counterparts in straight sets.

Senior captain Natalia Kirilova won at first singles, 6-3, 6-1; senior captain Jami Snow triumphed at second singles, 6-1, 6-1; and freshman Genesis Bueno cruised to victory at third singles, 6-1, 6-1.

In the doubles matches, the first doubles duo of juniors Emma Forsyth and Madeleine Rossi won 6-1, 6-1 and the second doubles tandem of senior captain Emma Foley and senior Karina Silva triumphed by a score of 6-0, 6-1.

“It was nice to see the seniors play well on Senior Night,” said WHS head coach Mike Nickerson. 

The victory improved the Lady Vikings’ record to 5-3. They were scheduled to meet Peabody yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Masconomet today (Thursday). They will host Gloucester on Monday.

WHS Girls Track Splits Two Meets

Although the Winthrop High girls track team came up on the short end of an 81-49 decision to Danvers on the holiday at Miller Field, there were a number of fine performances turned in by the Lady Vikings.

Nora McCarey was the top Winthrop scorer with 18 points. Nora handily won the long jump with a leap of 13’-3” (a jump that was eight inches further than her closest Danvers rival) and sped to victory in the 100 dash in 14.3 seconds and the 200 dash in 29.3. Nora also took second place in the triple jump with a final landing of 28’-10.5”. 

Bea Holzbach also had a fine meet with 14 points on the day. Bea captured first place in the triple jump (31’-6.5”) and took second in the javelin (51’-8”), the 400 intermediate hurdles (67.0, just .3 behind the winner), and the 400 dash (63.8, just .6 behind the winner)

Corinne Jane placed second in three events, the long jump with a nice leap of 12’-10.5”, the 110 high hurdles in 20.4, and the 100 dash in 14.6, to add nine points to the Winthrop scoresheet.

Tatyanna Lewis added three points with a second place effort in the shot-put with a throw of 23’-8” and Francesca Connor took second in the discus with a spin of 60’-5”. 

Elizabeth Carney crossed the line in third place in the mile in 6:28 to add a point to the Winthrop cause and April Ferguson likewise contributed a point for the Lady Vikings with a third in the two-mile in 14:09.2.

Last week Winthrop hosted Salem and cruised to a 107-11 victory.

First-place finishers for the Lady Vikings were Holzbach in the long jump, triple jump, 400 hurdles, and 400 dash; McCarey in the 110 hurdles; Ferguson in the 800 and two-mile; Carney in the mile; Sophia Munson in the 100 and 200 dashes; Skyla Zappulla in the high jump and shot-put; and Amanda Jurovich in the javelin.

Second-place points were contributed by Sage Calinda in the mile; Olexis Tallent in the 800; McCarey in the 200 dash; Zappulla in the 100 dash; Connor in the discus; Jane in the 110 hurdles; Lewis in the shot-put; Munson in the high jump and long jump; and Lucy Girard in the javelin.

Adding single points with third place efforts were McCarey in the triple jump and Jane in the discus.

Coach Warren MacPhail and his crew will travel to Saugus next Tuesday.

WHS Boys Tennis Team in Near-Upset of Marblehead

The Winthrop High boys tennis team almost pulled off the upset of the 2021 season in the Northeastern Conference, battling the Marblehead Magicians down to the wire before falling by a score of 3-2 in a marathon match that was not settled until 7:30 last Wednesday afternoon on the courts at Ingleside Park.

“This was the most exciting match of my coaching career,” said long-time WHS boys head coach Marie Finn. “Marblehead always is the top team in the Northeastern Conference because they have boys who play tennis year-round as their primary sport. So for us to be able to take them to the limit was truly remarkable.”

After the Vikings’ top two players, James Sicurella (0-6, 0-6) and Bobby Diaz (3-6, 4-6), came up short against their Marblehead counterparts at first and second singles, Evan Smotrich gave Winthrop a victory at third singles with a triumph in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.

The Vikings’ first doubles pairing of captain Augie Cherico and Ari Hain then battled their Marblehead foes in a tough, three-setter before emerging triumphant, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

“Augie and Ari played phenomenally,” noted Finn. “Augie may have played the best match of his career. He was aggressive at the net and put away a lot of shots for points.”

With the score now tied at 2-2, all eyes turned to the second-doubles match, which was the last match of the day to get underway at Ingleside’s four courts.

After dropping the first set, 4-6, the Viking tandem of Ryan Kfoury and J.D. Parker battled back in the second set to even the match with a 6-4 victory.

“By that time, everyone else’s matches had concluded and both teams were watching their match,” said Finn.

Although the Marblehead team eventually prevailed, 6-3, in the final set to claim the victory for the Magicians, the Winthrop squad had proven its mettle against the iron of the NEC.

“Even though we came up short, I have to say that this match was a highlight of all of my years in coaching,” noted Finn. “The Marblehead coach came up to me afterwards and was effusive in her praise of the team’s performance.”

Two days later, the Vikings took on Salem and claimed a 5-0 victory.

Finn and her crew, who now stand at 2-3 on the season, have a busy week ahead. They were set to take on Salem again yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Masconomet tomorrow (Thursday). They will make the long bus ride to Gloucester on Monday before returning home for Senior Day festivities next Friday against Beverly.

Chris Cappuccio Leads Scoring for Boys Track

Chris Cappuccio led the scoring for the Winthrop High boys track team in their meet with Danvers this past Monday.

Chris won the high jump with a leap of 5’-6” and topped the field in the 200 dash in 23.3 seconds. Chris also sped to second place in the 100 dash in 11.6 seconds (just .1 behind the winning time) and took third in the long jump with a leap of 18’-1.75” for a total of 14 points on the day. 

Owen Riley took second place in the discus with a toss of 95’-9”. Ryan Cash grabbed second spot in the 400 hurdles in a clocking of 71.5. 

Dillon Riley took third in the shot-put with a toss of 36’-5” and third in the discus with a spin of 91’-9”. Nicholas Cappuccio grabbed a third-place point in the 200 dash in 24.8.

Last Wednesday, the Vikings hosted Salem and earned a 78-49 victory. 

First-place finishers for the Vikings were: Nathaniel Derosier in the high jump; Chris Cappuccio in the long jump, 100 dash, and 200 dash; Dan Guaque in the triple jump; Owen Riley in the discus; Zane Bower in the javelin; and Eric Azbegu in the 110 hurdles.

Second-place finishers for Winthrop were: Nicholas Cauppuccio in the long jump and 200 dash; Dillon Riley in both the shot-put and discus; Luke Riley in the javelin and the two-mile; and Ryan Cash in the 400 hurdles.

Adding a point to the Winthrop scoresheet with third-place efforts were: Kyle Testa in the discus; Ryan Cash in the javelin and mile; Nick Cappuccio in the 100 dash; John Rice in the 400 dash; and Derosier in the two-mile.

The Vikings will trek to Saugus this Tuesday.

WHS Baseball Plays Well in 4-0 Loss at Swampscott

The Winthrop High baseball team engaged in only one game this past week thanks to scheduling conflicts and changes. 

The Vikings traveled to Swampscott and although they played well, a lack of timely hitting resulted in a 4-0 loss to the Big Blue.

The opening inning proved to be an omen of the kind of day that was in store for Winthrop.

Joe Hayes led off the game with a double off the fence in the left center field gap and then advanced to third on a passed ball with two outs with Cam Conway at the plate. 

Cam worked a base-on-balls, but the pitch that was thrown for ball four was in the dirt. Hayes broke for home, thinking the ball had skipped behind the Swampscott catcher, but instead the catcher had blocked it and threw out Hayes at third.

“Joey got a bad read on a ball — he thought it had gotten away from the catcher,” said WHS head coach Mike DeFelice. “He had a good-sized lead to begin with, and broke two steps for home before he realized the ball was sitting in front of the catcher. He was thrown out trying to dive back into third on a great throw from the Swampscott catcher.”

The lead-off double would be a recurring theme for the Vikings throughout the day. Joe Holgersen (who has been swinging an incredibly hot bat for Winthrop lately with seven hits in his last 10 at bats) led off with a two-bagger to start the third.  Luca Zanelli had an excellent at bat to follow to draw a walk and the Vikings were in business with runners on first and second with no outs.

But another recurring theme of the day for Winthrop also took shape. 

“We started to chase bad pitches early in the count, and watch some great ones go by with two strikes on us,” noted DeFelice of his squad, who struck out 13 times — eight of them looking.

After Zanelli’s at bat, the next two Vikings fanned and the Winthrop threat ended meekly with a pop fly.

In the meantime, WHS pitcher David DiCicco was tossing what DeFelice termed as “perhaps the best game of David’s high school career. He was getting ahead in the count early, moving his fast ball around, his curveball was on point all day, and he had Swampscott frustrated at the plate.

“David took a very disciplined and measured approach to each pitch, and each inning and was just very, very impressive all day,” added DeFelice of DiCicco’s route-going effort of 93 pitches.

Although a throwing error in the third accounted for the first two Swampscott runs, the Vikings overall were playing great baseball.

“The team cranked it up to another level and were making plays all day behind David — and for David,” noted DeFelice, “ because they understood what he was doing on the hill in front of them.”

Zach Bogusz led off the top of the fifth with yet another double. The next Winthrop batter struck out looking, but Zanelli drew another walk. With runners on first and second with one out, Hayes rocketed a missile back up through the middle.

As Bogusz was being waved around third, the Swampscott shortstop went racing deep into the hole behind second base and turned an absolutely remarkable double play to end the inning.  

“The difference in the game was that Swampscott swung the bat well and put pressure on us defensively to make plays,” said DeFelice. “Aside from the three lead-off doubles (the Vikings’ only three hits on the day), we did not do the same.  

“However, this group is really starting to play some quality baseball, and just when I think it’s not possible for them to work any harder, they do,” DeFelice added. “I know I keep repeating myself, but they believe they can beat anybody on our schedule, and they will not lay down or quit no matter the circumstances. I absolutely love coaching this team because they know how to compete. They look out for one another, pick each other up, and play for one another.”

DeFelice and his crew have a busy week ahead with six games in seven days, including a doubleheader. They will host Masconomet today (Thursday) at Veterans Field at 1:00 and travel to Salem State College Saturday to meet Salem High.

They will host Bishop Fenwick in a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 10:00 and then will trek to Beverly on Monday and to Peabody on Wednesday.