Marblehead softball gives Saugus a splitting headache

Another year ? another split. The only difference is that each team won in the other’s backyard.That’s the story of this year’s version of the Saugus-Marblehead softball rivalry ? and it’s no different than last year’s rivalry ? or the one the year before that.The teams have been side-by-side competitors in the Northeastern Conference South for the last three seasons, and each year, the teams have split their two regular-season games (though last year, Marblehead defeated Saugus in the state tournament).After losing an earlier game in Marblehead earlier this spring, the Magicians got even Monday at Saugus High, besting a duo of Saugus pitchers, 5-4, in a game as ugly as the weather was cold and raw.”This has turned into quite a rivalry,” said Marblehead coach John Gold. “I’ll take the win, but this one wasn’t pretty. We didn’t play well. We’ll have to play a lot better if we’re going to advance in the tournament.”Neither team was happy with the umpiring ? and both squads were victimized by what they considered bad calls. For Marblehead, it happened in the second inning when Katie Fallon doubled, but was thrown out at third by left fielder Kelly Garrity. It happened in the middle of a four-run inning, two of which came home on Fallon’s hit. Gold felt she was safe, but “what can you say? These things happen sometimes.”Saugus’ controversial call also hurt in that it cost the Sachems the tying run in the sixth inning. Ashley DiChiara started the inning off by reaching on an error and stole second. Garrity grounded out to short for the first out, but DiChiara broke for third the minute Fallon threw the ball to first.First baseman Laura Kanarski rifled a throw back to Ashley White at third, and DiChiara’s slide appeared to have beaten the tag. However, the base umpire’s view was blocked on the play, and the plate umpire called DiChiara out.”Absolutely, she was safe,” said Saugus coach Bobbie Finocchio. “I’m upset right now, not at the girls so much, but because (the call) cost us a run.”Saugus started the game with Katelyn DiSimone on the mound, and she lasted into the third inning before Finocchio inserted regular pitcher Ashlee Patterson. The Sachems staked DiSimone to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Marblehead’s Courtney Colantuno when Cassie LaBella led off with a single, went to second on Sam Russo’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on Haley Erickson’s triple. Colantuno bore down, however, and got the next two hitters on strikeouts.Marblehead poured four runs across in the third. Mandy James led off with a walk and White followed with a single. Colantuno lined hard to Garrity in left before a wild pitch moved both runners up. Fallon lined one down the line, and while Garrity couldn’t reach it, she ran it down and fired to the cutoff (Erickson), who threw to shortstop Lauren Garchinsky to get the runner trying for a triple.Still, Marblehead tacked on two more runs. Sam Norman’s single, Kanarski’s fielder’s-choice grounder (with Norman moving to second on an error), and back-to-back walks to Lizzy Whitehill and Silvie Cohen (the second one coming off reliever Patterson), made it 3-1, and a fielder’s-choice grounder scored the fourth run.Saugus tied the score in the bottom of the third. Garrity tripled and came home on LaBella’s single to make it 4-2. Russo’s single put runners on first and second, and Erickson reached on an error to load the bases. Back-to-back walks to Elizabeth Shaw and Garrity (the latter’s coming on a 10-pitch at-bat) tied the score.However, Marblehead pushed across the winning run in the fourth on White’s double and two errors.