Saugus softball suffers tough early-season losses

  Though Head Coach Steve Almquist expressed his excitement entering the 2022 season, he also cautioned that his young squad may experience some growing pains early on. This week, the Sachems suffered two losses: a 14-7 home defeat to Wakefield on Monday and a 12-0 five-inning shutout at Gloucester on Wednesday.

  The defeats left Saugus sitting at 1-2 in the early season. Monday’s setback at Parcher Field was a hard-fought affair until the sixth inning when Wakefield rallied for six unanswered runs over its final two at-bats to pull away with the victory. The Sachems had battled back from an 8-3 fourth-inning deficit to close the gap to 8-7.

  Fallon Millerick, who was the starting pitcher, produced three hits and drove in three runs, including a clutch two-run double to close the gap in the bottom of the fourth. She also went the distance on the mound but was unable to hold down Wakefield’s offensive attack.

  After the contest, Almquist told the press his team should improve as the campaign moves forward. “We’re still a young team and we’re learning, and some defensive errors out there led to runs [for Wakefield]. So we’ve got to clean that up,” he said. “But we’ve got a long way to go this year.”

  Three other players had strong offensive games for Saugus on Monday. Devaney Millerick stroked three hits and knocked in two runs. Ava Rogers had two hits and two RBI, and Felicia Reppucci finished with a two-hit day.

  Wednesday’s trip to Gloucester didn’t yield the result Saugus was hoping for. The Sachems struggled to mount any offense and were unable to muster a run. Reppucci ended up with Saugus’s only hit in the game. Almquist cited solid defensive plays by Taylor Deleidi in the outfield.

  The Sachems play at home against Masconomet on Friday and have back-to-back 10 a.m. morning games on Monday, April 18, at Stoneham and Tuesday, April 19, against Somerville at home.