Saugus softball team stands at 5-3 after eight games

  The Saugus High School softball team has four wins and is in good position to pursue its postseason and Northeastern Conference aspirations. After rolling to a convincing 14-1 win over Swampscott on April 19, the Sachems dropped consecutive home games to Gloucester on April 21 and Pentucket Regional last Monday. The Sachems regained their winning ways with a 6-5 victory at Somerville last Friday.

  The contest against Gloucester was the team’s first home game of the 2023 campaign. The Sachems had been on the road for their opening five games. The result was not what Saugus was hoping for, as the visitors came away with a 6-0 win. Kaitlyn Pugh and Lily Ventre collected the Saugus hits. Head coach Steve Almquist cited the strong outfield play from Danica Schena and the pitching effort from Taylor Deleidi.

  The loss to Pentucket last Monday was a close 3-2 affair through four innings before the visitors scored the final five runs to pull away by an 8-2 final score. Almquist noted that the Sachems had some lapses in the field. Just four of Pentucket’s runs were earned. Abby Enwright was the starting pitcher for Saugus and performed well in her first-ever varsity appearance. She went the distance and fanned four hitters.

  Saugus scored its fourth victory at Swampscott by exploding for 14 runs. Deleidi hurled the complete-game win. She allowed just three hits and struck out two in the process.

  Offensively, the Sachems brought out the bats as Pugh led the charge by drilling four hits in her four plate appearances. Also joining the attack were Schena with a 3-for-3 effort and power-hitting catcher Ventre, who has been swinging a hot bat thus far this season; she swatted a two-run homer. It was the third time the Sachems have reached double figures in offensive output this spring.

  In last Friday’s win at Somerville, Maria Silva had a memorable game after being called up from the junior varsity team. She went 3-for-3, including knocking in the game-winning run. Deleidi was the winning pitcher after fanning six in her complete-game effort. Devany Millerick and Ventre drilled two hits each, and Alexa Morello smoked a run-scoring triple.

  Saugus, which was 5-3 on the season as of early this week, is faced with a busy schedule in the coming weeks. The Sachems hosted Beverly on Wednesday and entertain Marblehead at home on Friday. They then travel to play Salem on Monday, May 8.