SHS Sachems Spring Sports Roundup

By Dom Nicastro

Ferraro, Brandenburg shine in track; baseball, tennis face tough outings

Saugus High School’s Spring athletes continued competition across the North Shore last week, with standout individual efforts in boys and girls track, tennis team contributions in the co-op program and a full slate of baseball action.

Saugus boys track battles tough competition

The Saugus boys track and field team competed in dual meets against Beverly and Swampscott, followed by the Northeastern Conference Freshman/Sophomore Meet in Gloucester.

Against Beverly, the Sachems fell 121-15. Paxton Ferraro placed third in both the shotput and discus. Jacob Hunt and Pharoah Brandenburg placed second and third, respectively, in the javelin.

Justin Bremberg earned a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, while Kalaeb Mathieu took second in the 200-meter dash. Gabe DeSouza finished third in the 400 meters.

In a 109-26 loss to Swampscott, Ferraro took first in the discus and third in the 110-meter hurdles. Hunt and Brandenburg finished 1-2 in the javelin, while Bremberg once again took first in the 400-meter hurdles. Mathieu took second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, with DeSouza placing third in the 400.

At the NEC Freshman/Sophomore Meet:

• Brandenburg finished third in the 400-meter hurdles and fifth in the javelin
• Hunt placed second in the javelin
• Ferraro was sixth in both the discus and shot put

Girls track earns wins, nationals qualifier in Gloucester

The Saugus girls track and field team also made a strong showing at the NEC Freshman/Sophomore Meet in Gloucester.

Destiny Okoye led the team with a first-place finish in the high jump and placed sixth in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Soraya Mathieu had a breakout meet, placing third in the 100 meters, second in the 200 meters and second in the long jump — qualifying for the Freshman Nationals in both the 100 and 200.

Saugus co-op tennis drops match to Greater Lowell

The Northeast Metro Tech boys tennis team — which includes several Saugus players — lost 6-1 to Greater Lowell at Belmonte Courts.

Mathew Cipriano, a senior from Wakefield, earned the team’s lone win at first singles with an 8-1 victory, improving to 4-0 on the season.

Jeff Trinh, a junior from Saugus, played second singles and narrowly lost 10-8. Eighth grader Grant Leonard of Saugus fought hard at third singles but fell, 8-0.

In doubles, Rayan Mrabbi and Ryan Dupuy, both from Saugus, teamed up at second doubles but lost 8-0

Baseball drops two straight, prepares for Gloucester showdown

Saugus baseball dropped a pair of contests this past week, falling to Lynn Classical 11-4 and to Beverly 8-0.

Against Classical, senior Cam Bernard took the loss after throwing 4.2 innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs. Cam Soroko pitched one inning in relief, allowing five earned runs and striking out two. Danny Zeitz finished the game with 1.1 innings, two earned runs and two strikeouts.

Zeitz also led the offense with a three-run homer. Nathan Soroko added a double and a single, Brayden Crawford hit a double, and Soroko also reached base with a single and a walk.

In the loss to Beverly, junior Jordan Rodriguez pitched 3.2 innings, giving up four hits and six runs while striking out three. Zeitz and Connor Bloom came in as relievers for the Sachems.

Saugus was set to host Gloucester Wednesday, May 7, at World Series Park.