SAUGUS — Don’t look now, but the Saugus softball team’s peaking with perfect timing.
After qualifying for the state tournament Wednesday, the Sachems closed their regular season with a 9-3 win over Stoneham Thursday afternoon at Belmonte Middle School.
With the victory, the Sachems end the regular season at 11-9 and await the tournament pairings.
“The kids played well,” Saugus coach Steve Almquist said. “It just takes us a little while to get going at the plate. I’m extremely happy. We finished 11-9, we swept this week, we did what we had to do. Now we’ll just await the tournament pairings.”
Saugus also celebrated its senior day at Thursday’s game. The Sachems held a pre-game ceremony to honor the lone senior on their roster, third baseman Brittney Sudanowicz, who went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI.
“Brittney had a great game today,” Almquist said. “She was outstanding in the field and she came up with a hit when she needed to, getting the bat on the ball to get a couple runs in. She epitomizes what high school athletics is. She’s a great student, a great leader, a great teammate and it’s been a pleasure coaching her. She helped build the foundation of this program. She’ll be tremendously missed but we’ve got some more softball to play.
“We wanted to get into the tournament if for nothing else to give our senior a couple more practices and at least another game,” Almquist added. “That’s what it’s all about. I love these kids and this team. They keep battling, they were never out of a game.”
Down 1-0 through three and a half innings, the Sachems bats found a spark in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back doubles from Taylor Bogdanski and D.J. Munafo tied the score at 1-1. Ashley Shaw walked to keep the rally alive. Nystasia Rowe plated Muanfo and Shaw with a two-RBI double, giving Saugus its first lead of the afternoon at 3-1. Alexa Ferraro followed suit with a RBI single, scoring Munafo to boost the lead to 4-1. A RBI double from Emma Howard capped the rally and placed Saugus ahead, 5-1, after four innings.
“That’s the same thing that happened when we played Masconomet earlier this week,” Almquist said. “We trailed 6-0 and then one player gets a hit and it just follows suit. That gets our confidence up a little bit. We’re a streaky team, either way. We’re not hitting at all or once we get going, everybody hits. That was a huge inning for us. The kids did what they needed to do with runners on base. I couldn’t be any happier with the result.”
Stoneham crawled back into the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth but the Sachems weren’t done yet. Walks drawn by Sadie Dicenso and Munafo placed Sachems runners on first and second with one out for Madison Niles, who singled to load the bases. Sudanowicz then roped a two-RBI single to bump the lead to 7-3.
The Sachems added a pair of runs to their advantage in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a RBI single from Wood and sacrifice fly from Munafo. Howard scored on Wood’s single and Cat Schena crossed home plate on Munafo’s sacrifice.
Sachems starting pitcher Wood sent the Spartans down in order in the seventh to ice the victory, her third complete-game effort of the week.
“Caitlyn loves to pitch,” Almquist said. “This is her third complete game in a row. She just loves to pitch and she always wants the ball. She’s a quiet kid, doesn’t say much but she’s a tough competitor. She keeps us in the game and she’s been our team MVP at the plate and on the field. I can’t say enough good things about her.”
