SAUGUS — The Saugus softball team hosted Wakefield Memorial in a Wednesday afternoon scrimmage. Head coach Steve Almquist enjoyed the feeling-out process ahead of the regular season, and is ready to play ball.
“Today was about knocking the rust off. It was also about seeing where people may play,” Almquist said.
One thing Almquist liked was his pitching unit.
“They threw strikes and that’s what we wanted from them. [Wakefield is] a good team, so they’re going to hit the ball,” Almquist said. “We struggled [to make] some plays with some players playing out of position.”
The coaching staff has been shuffling players in and out of various positions, as Saugus lost key members from last season.
“We lost our All-Star pitcher, All-Conference third baseman, All-Star second baseman, and starting centerfielder,” Almquist said. “This year, we have a good core of juniors, and also have some underclassmen in some eighth graders and freshmen.
Of the players returning, Almquist praised the leadership of his three captains in Lily Ventre (catcher), Devany Millerick (shortstop), and Ava Rogers (first and third base).
“They’re all good leaders. They’re very positive and very encouraging,” Almquist said. The other kids look up to them. I think that is what we’re going to need this year because we may go through some growing pains.”
Despite being young, Almquist refuses to use that as an excuse as the season-opener creeps closer.
“We’re going to have ups and downs this year, but just because we’re young, that’s no excuse,” Almquist said. “We still expect to compete for the division and we expect to make the tournament again. These kids are hungry and they’re competing for positions.”
The Sachems may be young on paper, but some have enjoyed each other’s company since the youth league days.
“This team has the desire to get better. A lot of these players have been together since youth league. We’ve coached these kids through our youth league setup. They’re pulling for each other,” Almquist said.
“We don’t measure our success based on wins and losses. We tell the kids, ‘if you leave the year better than when you came in, that’s success. Leave better than you came,’” Almquist said.
The Sachems compete in the Northeastern Conference (NEC), to which Almquist admits is “very good at softball.”
“There’s never an easy game in the NEC,” Almquist said. “The Northeastern conference has phenomenal coaches – some of the best coaches, I think, in the state, and we get to go head-to-head with them.”
Saugus’ first game is Friday, April 7 at Marblehead Veterans Middle School with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
