SWAMPSCOTT– The 2018 season didn’t go the way the Swampscott softball team hoped it would. Swampscott, fresh from a Division 2 North state tournament run in 2017, struggled with inexperience. The Big Blue finished the 2018 season at 7-12 and missed the state tournament. They ended the season on a positive note, winning the John Holland Tournament in Lynn.
Swampscott now turns the page on 2018 and gears up for a new season.
Offensively, the team returns senior second baseman/shortstop Katie Watts. A multi-sport athlete who committed to play softball at Division III Endicott during the offseason, Watts is projected to bat in the middle of the order. Last spring, Watts batted .559 with 32 RBI, 32 runs scored and 16 doubles.
“We’re going to need Katie to be our spark plug,” Swampscott coach Gary Moran, entering his fifth season, said. “She’s a second-year captain. She’s an all-around great kid, great player and great leader.”
Senior centerfielder Sydney Cresta, also a multi-sport athlete, will bat leadoff.
“Sydney’s fun to watch,” Moran said. “She gets on base all the time. We’ll rely on her to get things started for us.”
Also returning to the mix are freshmen Nicolette Fraser (catcher) and Chloe Rakauskas (third baseman). Both were on the varsity roster with starting roles last season as eighth-graders.
Moran said the rest of the batting order is yet to be determined.
“I think our offense is going to score some runs, especially with those girls at the top,” Moran said. “The question is whether or not the back end of the lineup, whoever that may be, can get on base for the girls at the top.”
In the circle, Swampscott will lean on junior right-hander Caleigh Hopkins.
“Caleigh had her ups and downs last year,” Moran said. “It was her first taste of full year varsity softball. Moving into this season it will be very helpful for her to have that full year under her belt. We’re expecting a lot of big things from her.”
Hopkins will co-captain the Big Blue along with Cresta and Watts.
“I think they’re going to take us as far as we’re going to go,” Moran said. “Katie’s one of the most well-rounded young ladies I’ve had the pleasure of coaching. Sydney’s a great softball player and a great leader. Caleigh’s working her way up there as well. We’ll go as far as those three take us.
“Senior leadership will be our strength,” Moran said. “Sydney and Katie have been around since they’ve played JV. This is their fifth or sixth year in the program. We’re going to rely on them heavily to show the younger girls how things are done.”
Moran foresees a competitive Northeastern Conference this season.
“The conference changed up the divisions again so we don’t get to see everybody,” Moran said. “We’re in the NEC South with Danvers, Gloucester, Marblehead and Peabody. We have an uphill battle with some very good pitchers on our side of the division. We’re looking to compete, play the best softball we can and see how things work out.”
Swampscott opens the season April 13 in the Krystle Campbell Tournament in Medford (opponent TBA). The Big Blue play their home opener April 17 against NEC rival Marblehead at Swampscott Middle School.
