WHS Baseball Team Blanks Snowden, 14-0
The Winthrop High baseball team earned its second victory of the season with a 14-0 triumph over Snowden Academy of Boston this past Saturday morning at Veterans Field.
The outcome proved to be a measure of sweet revenge for the Vikings against the Cougars, who had eliminated Winthrop last spring in the post-season state tourney.
“The coaches knew the players were going to be up for this game because of what happened last year when Snowden came back from being down 10 runs to beat us in the playoffs,” said WHS head coach Mark DeGregorio. “Snowden is one of the better Boston City League schools and they returned almost all of their players from last year’s team. We stressed to the team that they had to ‘finish’ and play the whole game as if it was zero-to-zero. The final score showed their ability to finish and stay focused.”
Senior Cam Martin started for the Vikings and went the first four innings, allowing only one hit and fanning five Cougars. Sophomore Matt DeCarney came on in the fifth and struck out the side to end the game, which was called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
“We got a solid pitching performance from Cam,” said DeGregorio. “He was focused and competed out there today.
“This was Matt DeCarney’s first varsity action as a pitcher,” noted DeGregorio. “The coaches have been very high on Matt as a pitcher and that showed in the inning that he pitched.”
The Vikings provided both Martin and DeCarney with solid defense, most notably by Christopher Gibbons and Pete Silverman.
Offensively, freshman Phil Boncore had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and three stolen bases.
“Phil continues to be a gamer for us,” said DeGregorio. “Even more impressive than the hits or RBI by Phil was the heads-up base-running play he had in the second inning. Phil ended up stealing third base immediately after sliding into second for a steal because there was no one covering third. This is the brand of baseball we have been stressing to our players all year and this play exemplified what we need to do to compete.”
Boncore’s three steals were among the 11 that the Vikings swiped on the day.
“We knew we wanted to be aggressive and try to put Snowden in difficult situations with our base-running,” said DeGregorio. “Our goal was to keep the pressure on them from the first pitch to the last out. We got a great team effort all around.
“We have done a good job of getting on base as a team all year,” DeGregorio continued. “A perfect example of that is Zach Bogusz getting on base three times without a hit. He had two walks and was hit by a pitch. Zach continues to get on base at a very high clip this year.
“All in all, it was a complete team win,” said DeGregorio.
Two days earlier, the Vikings came up on the short end of a decision at Marblehead.
“Marblehead is a tough NEC opponent,” said DeGregorio. “We competed with them early, but they busted the game open with some really good hitting on their part. I was pleased with the effort from our underclassmen in this game, as they clawed their way back into it in the third inning. Unfortunately, Marblehead’s bats were a little too much for us in this game, and they capitalized on multiple extra base hits in the middle innings.
“We knew going in that Marblehead was going to be a tough opponent for us and we were able to take some positives from this game and move forward throughout the rest of the week,” DeGregorio continued. “Sophomore outfielder Peter Silverman started his first game at shortstop and played really well. He competed and controlled the infield in his first varsity game at that position.”
Junior Colin Kinsella shone at the plate for Winthrop. Colin went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. The Vikings also also received contributions from Bogusz, Ryan Gagnon, Nicholas Marchese, Evan Rockefeller, and Boncore.
Jay Fotiades pitched his first varsity inning and did not let up a run.
“It was nice to see the younger players step up and play hard until the final out,” added DeGregorio.
DeGregorio and his crew were scheduled to meet Saugus yesterday (Wednesday) and will host Salem today (Thursday) at 4:00. They will entertain Boston English on the holiday on Monday at 11:00 and will trek to Peabody next Wednesday morning.
WHS Girls Tennis Wins Season Opener
The Winthrop High girls tennis team opened its season with a 5-0 victory over Salem this past Monday.
All of the Lady Vikings captured their matches in straight sets: Kendall Brant won at first singles, 6-1, 6-0; Genesis Bueno at second singles, 6-2, 6-1; Mira Ivanis at third singles, 6-1, 6-0; captains Emma Forsyth & Maddie Rossi at first doubles, 6-2, 6-0; and the duo of Ava Beshere & Viona Bytyqi at second doubles, 6-0, 6-0.
Coach Mike Nickerson and his crew were scheduled to host Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and will be off until April 25 when they trek to Peabody.
WHS Boys Tennis Sinks Salem, 5-0
The Winthrop High boys tennis team opened its season in strong fashion with a 5-0 victory at Salem this past Monday.
Leading the way for coach Marie Finn’s squad was the duo of Carlos Penalba and Carlo Baretti, who are exchange students from Italy. Carlos won his match at first singles, 6-0, 6-1, and Carlo defeated his counterpart at second singles, 6-0, 6-2.
Senior James Sicurella won in straight sets at third singles, 6-0, 6-0.
At first doubles, the tandem of Ryan Khoury and J.D. Parker won 6-0, 6-0, and at second doubles, the duo of Ari Hain and Bruno Giordano, another exchange student from Italy, won their match, 6-1, 6-2.
Finn and her crew have a busy week ahead. They were scheduled to play at Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and at Stoneham tomorrow (Friday). They will trek to Beverly next Tuesday and to Mystic Valley next Thursday.
Comeback Effort Falls Short for WHS Softball
The Winthrop High softball team almost overcame a 10-1 deficit in their contest with Wayland this past Monday, but the Lady Vikings weren’t quite able to make it all the way back, eventually dropping a 12-10 decision to the visiting Lady Warriors.
WHS head coach Dave Guffey used a series of pitchers in an effort to quell Wayland in the early going before returning to senior Ava Martello, who had started the game. Ava re-entered the fray (which is permitted in softball) and tossed the final three frames, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
The Lady Viking bats meanwhile, came to life in the fourth inning.
Juliana Guzman started the rally with a lead-off double and promptly raced home on an RBI base hit by Sammy Harris. Other key RBI hits in the uprising came from Gaby Currier, Caroline Gonzales (who executed a suicide squeeze for an RBI), Izzy cash, Lily Tallent, and Summer Talent.
Amelia Spencer capped the rally with a triple for two RBI.
Winthrop still was trailing,11-8, entering the sixth, when Lily Talent led off the inning with a triple and scooted across the plate on a base hit by Summer Talent. Martello came through with another RBI single, but a base running mistake by a pinch runner ended the threat, leaving the Lady Vikings just short of what could have been an amazing comeback.
Last week Winthrop came up on the short end of a 13-0 decision to Swampscott. Freshman catcher Izzy Cash and sophomore utility infielder Zoe Bakos were the lone Lady Vikings to manage base hits.
Leading hitters for Winthrop in the early-going have been Amelia Spencer, with four hits in 10 at bats for a .400 average, including a triple, three RBI, and four runs scored. Martello is hitting .375 and Summer Tallent is next at .273.
“Summer is also playing outstanding defense,” noted Guffey. “Her defense is keeping us in games as best a shortstop can.”
Guffey and his crew were scheduled to play at Marblehead yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Salem next Wednesday.
WHS Boys Lacrosse Continues to Improve
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team, which is playing as a club team this season, ran into a strong Danvers JV team on Friday, coming out on the short end of a 10-2 decision.
“Our defense had a tough time with getting used to some of our slides and our middies matching up in transition,” noted WHS head coach Brian Donnelly.
However, the Vikings were more successful with a 5-3 win over the Medford JV squad this past Monday.
“We had a solid game against Medford,” said Donnelly. “Our defense stepped up big time, with all three playing very well, including eighth-grader Dylan Hovermale, sophomore Dan Thomas, and sophomore Donovan Cassidy.
“Hunter Fife has been excellent in goal and our captain, Robert Rich, has again been our main offensive weapon with freshman Mike Holgersen stepping up to help,” Donnelly continued.
“Overall we just need to get used to playing as a team and just practicing our fundamentals of passing and catching,” Donnelly added.
The Vikings are scheduled to take on the Saugus varsity today (Thursday). “This will be a good test of where we stand,” said Donnelly.
WHS Girls Lacrosse Hosts Saugus This Evening
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team will host Saugus this evening (Thursday) on the turf at Miller Field. The opening draw is set for 6:00 for the varsity contest with the JV game starting at 4:30.
The Lady Vikings came up on the short end of a pair of contests this past week.
In an 18-6 loss to Masconomet, Mia Martucci scored three goals and had an assist. Hannah Parker, Mia Norris, and Abby Holmes all scored a goal apiece and Brianna Marley earned an assist.
“Adrianna Rizzotto came up with some incredible saves in this game,” said WHS head coach Emma Marrs.
A bright spot for the program was the 15-3 win for the junior varsity squad.
This past Monday the Lady Vikings dropped a 12-6 decision to Marblehead. Mia Martucci and Emma Holmes each had two goals. Sam DiMento and Hannah Parker also reached the back of the Marblehead net.
Rizzotto recorded six saves in goal. Reese Brodin played a strong game on defense.
After tonight’s encounter with Saugus, Marrs and her crew will play at Malden tomorrow (Friday), at Beverly Monday morning, and at Gloucester next Thursday.
Girls Track Team Opens Season
Although the Winthrop High girls outdoor track and field team came out on the short end of a 73-54 decision to Swampscott in their season-opener last week, there were a number of strong performances by the Lady Vikings, who captured first place in eight of the 14 individual events.
Sophia Munson sped to victory in both the 100 dash in 14.1 and in the 200 dash with a sprint of 28.9; Shannon Abbott won the long jump with a leap of 14′-9.5″; Nora McCarey captured the triple jump with a final landing of 30′-4″; Alley Ford won the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 79.8 seconds; Cori Powell took top honors in the 100 high hurdles in 20.5; Alley Ford won the 400 dash in 68.9; and April Ferguson took the two-mile run in 14:08.
Second-place finishers for Winthrop were Rebecca Lindstedt in the 400 hurdles in a time of 83.8 and Nora McCarey in the 100 hurdles in 20.9;
Adding single points to the Lady Viking side of the scoresheet with third-place performances were: Juliana Demers with a clocking of 30.8 in the 200 dash; April Ferguson in the 800 in 2:53.1; and Libby Carney in the mile in 6:28.
Coach Warren MacPhail and his crew were scheduled to travel to Peabody yesterday (Wednesday) and will make the long trek to Gloucester next Wednesday.
Boys Track Team Opens Season
Although the Winthrop High girls outdoor track and field team came out on the short end of a 91-40 decision to Swampscott in their season-opener last week, there were a number of strong performances by the Vikings.
Nicholas Cappuccino was the top scorer for Winthrop with 13 points on the day. Nicholas won the 100 dash with a sprint of 11.5 and the 200 dash in 26.10 and took second in the long jump with a leap of 20′-6.75″.
Luke Riley was the other first-place finisher for the Vikings, winning the javelin event with a throw of 98′-6″.
Peter Jurovich grabbed second in the shot-put with a toss of 35′-0.5″; Kyle Testa took second in the discus with a spin of 101′; Benjamin Prew finished second in the javelin with a toss of 93′-7″; Ryan Cash hurdled to second in the 400 hurdles in a time of 70.40 seconds; Aiden Green sprinted to second spot in the 200 meter dash in 26.50; and Michael Chaves earned second in the 400 dash with a time of 59.90.
Third-place finishers for the Vikings who contributed a point to the Winthrop cause were: Kyle Testa with a shot-put throw of 32′-4.25″; Daniel Guaque in the 100 dash in 12.3; Benjamin Prew in the mile in 5:39; and John Rice in the two mile in 13:39. The Vikings were scheduled to travel to Peabody yesterday (Wednesday) and will make the long bus ride to Gloucester next Wednesday