Lady Vikings Roll in Three Victories

The Winthrop High softball team righted their ship this past week, recording four victories to move over the .500 mark with a 5-4 record.

The Lady Vikings opened the week with a victory by forfeit in the consolation game of the North End tournament against Madison Park. Winthrop then took on non-league rival Georgetown in a doubleheader on the local field and pounded out a pair of convincing victories by scores of 10-5 and 8-1.

The opening act of the twin bill saw the return to action of WHS ace pitcher Maura Lanza, who had been sidelined after the season-opener with a rotator cuff strain. Maura tossed the first five frames in superb fashion, fanning 10 enemy batters while allowing just three hits and no runs. Teammates Michele Lasala and Taylor Thomas came on to pitch the final two innings to preserve the victory.

In the hitting department,  Winthrop lead-off hitter Lasala swung a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, and a run scored. Christine Haskell had a two-RBI base hit in the opening inning to get the Lady Vikings off to a fast start.

Winthrop added two more in the second frame on an RBI-hit by Lasala that drove in Kelly Swanson, who had singled, and then a squeeze bunt by Maddie Finga’a that brought across Amanda Pelletier, who had reached on an error.

Winthrop tacked on three more tallies in the third when Haskell (who was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs) led off with a hit and Swanson ( 2-for-4 with three runs scored) reached on an error. After a bunt by Pelletier brought in a run, Lasala socked a two-run double to up the count to 6-0.

Lady Vikings added a solo tally in the fifth and two more in the seventh, with an RBI double by Thomas the key blow in the final inning.

The Lady Vikings turned in an encore performance in the second game with a convincing 8-1 win. Thomas hurled all seven frames with an outstanding performance in which she yielded just three hits, fanned 13, and walked none.

After a scoreless initial three innings, Winthrop broke the deadlock in a big way in the fourth with a five-run rally. Two walks, a hit batter, two Georgetown errors, and a two-RBI base hit by Regina Garufo, who was starting her first game at second base, allowed a quintet of Lady Vikings to cross the plate.

Winthrop added two more runs in the fifth thanks to a two-run single by Lanza that delivered Lasala (who had singled) and Pelletier (who had walked).  The Lady Vikings’ final run in the sixth came via an RBI base hit by Jen Adamson that drove in sophomore Alexis Joyce, who was getting her first varsity start in left field, who had singled.

The Lady Vikings made it four in a row Monday with an 11-3 triumph over Beverly that was closer than the final score might indicate.  Lanza once again was on fire, racking up 14 whiffs of Beverly batters, while allowing just four hits in six innings of work. Thomas came on in the seventh and tossed a hitless frame.

Winthrop scored single tallies in the first two stanzas. In the opening inning, an RBI double by Adamson brought in Finga’a and in the second, an RBI single by Finga’a delivered Lasala, who had singled with two outs and taken second on a wild pitch.

Beverly reached Lanza for three runs in the third (after Maura had fanned the first six Beverly hitters in the opening two innings), but Winthrop regained the lead in the fifth thanks to a clutch, two-out, two-run hit by Thomas that brought in Adamson (who had doubled) and Alexis Joyce (who had come into the game as a courtesy runner for Lanza, who had walked).

Winthrop then put the game away in the sixth with a six-run rally in which 10 Lady Vikings came to the plate. Key hits were delivered by Olivia Grillo (RBI single), Lanza (two-RBI double), and Haskell (sacrifice fly).

Winthrop added to its lead in the seventh frame with a solo run on an RBI hit by Lanza that scored Grillo, who had led off with a walk.

WHS head coach Dave Guffey and his crew have a busy stretch of six games in the next eight days. The Lady Vikings were set to host Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and Everett today before trekking to Lynn English tomorrow. They will play at Revere Monday and at Marblehead Wednesday before returning home to entertain Lynn Classical next Thursday.

Boys lacrosse team defeats Lynn, 7-1

The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team split its two games this past week, defeating Lynn and coming out on the short end of a contest with Swampscott.

In the 7-1 triumph over Lynn, Chris Beaudry scored three goals and had an assist to pace the Viking offense. Jon Griffiths potted two goals and Ray Feeley and Dan Brogan added a goal apiece. Teammates who earned assists were Adam Holden (2), Alex Anzuoni, Justin Casilla (2), and Charlie Page.

In the Swampscott tilt, Brogan (assisted by Feeley) and Anzuoni  (unassisted) notched the Viking tallies in an 11-2 loss.

“Against Swampscott, we turned in a valiant effort, but they are just fundamentally sound,” said WHS head coach Matt Serino.  “Alex Anzuoni has been doing a great job on face offs and did extremely well against Swampscott and Lynn, winning 60% of his face-offs.

“Chris Beaudry led the offensive charge vs. Lynn,” added Serino. “Andrew Almedia played well in net both games and is one of the main reasons we have been in almost every game this year.”

The Vikings, who now are 3-6 on the season, have been led offensively Brogan (11 goals and five assists) and Griffiths (14 goals and five assists). Winthrop also has had consistent goal tending by Almedia, who is third in the league with a 51% save percentage.

Serino and his crew were set to host Salem today (Thursday), Revere Monday, and Malden next Wednesday.

Rough stretch for WHS baseball

The Winthrop High baseball team ran into a bit of a rough patch this past week, dropping all three of its contests to rivals Peabody, Lynn Classical, and Beverly from the North (Large) Division of the Northeastern Conference.

“We need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and play with more passion,” said WHS head coach FrankDeMarco. “Hopefully, we’ll respond to the past week’s adversity in a positive fashion and get back on track.”

Among the highlights in an 8-5 loss to Lynn Classical last week at Fraser Field were a two-hit, two-RBI performance by Matt Feeley and a pair of triples off the bat of Cody Wasson, who scored twice. Chris Fucillo turned in a credible performance on the mound, tossing five innings and yielding five runs.

DeMarco and his crew, who now stand at 4-5 on the season, were set to play at Salem yesterday (Wednesday), host Lynn English Friday, entertain Revere Monday, and host Marblehead next Wednesday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.