Saugus softball team reaches seven-win mark

  Head Coach Steve Almquist acknowledged that his Saugus High School softball team was entering a tough stretch of five games in eight days (mostly due to rain makeups) and that it was nice to start the week off with a win. That victory came on Monday afternoon at Salem’s Mack Park when the undermanned Sachems grinded their way to a 6-1 defeat of the Witches.

  It was a big win for Saugus, which was coming off consecutive losses last week to Marblehead and Beverly – where it was outscored by a combined 21-3 margin. “We’ve been struggling a bit the past couple of games as we’ve been a bit shorthanded,” Almquist explained after Monday’s tilt. “Due to injury and illness we’ve lost two key players for the rest of the season and a third, who is one of our top hitters, has been away for a few games due to family obligations. But she’s expected to return, which will certainly help.”

  According to Almquist, because of losing these players, younger members from the junior varsity squad have been called up. Freshmen Maria Silva and Anna Enwright and eighth-grader Sydney Deleidi have “settled in quite nicely and have certainly proved that they can play at [the varsity] level,” Almquist said. “We don’t have any seniors on the squad so we are a very young team that has experienced our share of ups and downs this season. But the kids continue to work hard and try to get better every day.”

  Junior Abby Enwright was the starting pitcher in Monday’s win, and she performed very well by going the distance and striking out four. She gave up just four hits and walked two for her first varsity win. Saugus broke open a close game with three runs in the top of the fourth. The Sachems added single runs in the fifth and sixth to put it away.

  Offensively, Ava Rogers socked three hits, including two doubles, and drove in a run. Devany Millerick added two hits and an RBI, Silva finished with two knocks, and Sydney Deleidi contributed two hits. Also getting into the act were Taylor Deleidi with a double and Danica Schena with a single. Lily Ventre, Alexa Morello and Anna Enwright each drove in a run.

  Saugus was right back at it on Tuesday at Malden Catholic. In a high-scoring affair, the Sachems pulled out a 9-7 win. Kaitlyn Pugh produced five hits and scored twice, while Ventre belted three hits, including a triple. Taylor Deleidi was the winning pitcher.

  Tuesday’s win left Saugus at 7-5 overall (4-1 in the Northeastern Conference) on the season. The Sachems hosted Winthrop on Wednesday and were scheduled to host Peabody on Friday. They then have a rematch against Malden Catholic on Monday, May 15, in another home game.