SAUGUS — The town’s spring sports season had its ups and downs, but overall it was a solid campaign for the Sachems. The future looks bright across all the sports teams including boys lacrosse, which is coming back to the program after having to cancel the season due to insufficient numbers.
“I think our spring season went pretty well. We ended up just having one team qualify in our softball team, who unfortunately got eliminated in the play-in round game,” Saugus Athletic Director Terri Pillsbury said. “We had a lot of very young teams and I think they gained valuable experience, which will help them in the future, but it was rough in terms of records. It was a solid season.”
The Sachems didn’t have one senior on the baseball or softball team while track, tennis, and girls lacrosse only had a small amount. When Pillsbury was asked why she thinks there was a small number of senior athletes, she pointed to the impact COVID-19 might have had.
“These seniors had their freshman spring sports season taken away from them because of COVID,” Pillsbury said. “I wonder in the back of my mind if the numbers of participants are impacted by it. They didn’t have the opportunity to have a JV year, so they didn’t have the base year to build on.”
Pillsbury mentioned that this past senior class’ numbers were smaller than in previous years.
“I’m looking next year at the crop of juniors we have, they’re a whole bunch of athletes, but this senior class was small in regards to numbers compared to what we’re used to having,” Pillsbury said.
Pillsbury mentioned that the baseball team had a strong ending to the season.
“Our baseball team, despite being young, had a successful season. I know wins and losses wise it wasn’t that way, but they almost exceeded expectations,” Pillsbury said. “We play in an extremely competitive league in the Northeastern Conference, and with a team composed of freshman and sophomores and only a couple of seniors they finished the season winning three of their last four. [It] was a good culmination of staying on track and hanging in there, despite having some tough times.”
“Athletics is not just about winning and losing and playing on a team,” Pillsbury continued. “It’s about what it does for kids by building character and building the ability to overcome adversity. It gives them a good feeling heading into next season.”
The Sachems’ softball team had a strong campaign, and Pillsbury said Saugus’ softball team is “always solid.”
“I always anticipate that our softball team will be a solid team for us. They have consistently made the tournament over the years,” Pillsbury said.
One of Pillsbury’s favorite memories from the spring season wasn’t a specific play or moment on the field, but rather a gesture the softball team did for an opponent.
“Our softball team did a class-act gesture this season against Somerville,” Pillsbury said. “Our final game was against Somerville and we had no seniors on the team, so there wasn’t a traditional senior-game celebration. Coach [Steve] Almquist reached out to Somerville’s team, and he recognized Somerville’s seniors and gave them flowers. That was one of my feel-good moments from the spring.”
Something that Saugus’ fans will be pleased to hear is that the boys lacrosse team will be back next spring after having to cancel this season because of insufficient participants.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on track with the boys lacrosse program,” Pillsbury said. “We have a good crop of freshmen and eighth-graders coming in and are excited to play for their high-school team.”
