The Saugus softball team is headed back to the Division 3 state tournament (x8).
Yes, make it eight consecutive trips for the softballers, who defeated Winthrop, 17-1, Wednesday evening to reach the 10-win mark.
Saugus, 10-9, is led by coach Steve Almquist, who has led the Sachems to the postseason every year he’s been in charge. Almquist is in his ninth season, and other than a spring that was wiped out by COVID, his players have always tasted the postseason.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” he said. “It’s quite an accomplishment. It’s a testament to the types of kids we have in the program.”
Almquist admitted his team doesn’t have many girls who play travel ball, or consider softball their primary sport. And in a loaded Northeastern Conference, you could say Saugus has to work hard to pile up wins.
“It’s a tough division with a lot of great players and coaches. Our goal every year is to go in and be competitive. We want to give teams a battle and not make it easy on them. We’re not afraid to play anyone and we’ve hung with the best of them,” Almquist said. “Against Peabody, it was a 2-0 game going into the bottom of the fourth before they broke things open. We played hard against Marblehead and Beverly. When we show up, we’re normally in the game.”
What sets Saugus apart? Its work ethic, according to Almquist.
“The type of kids we have are blue-collar, hard-working kids. They take pride in their games and putting on that Saugus uniform,” Almquist said. “We do our best to try and prepare them in practices and in the games. They have a lot of fight in them. They won’t back down to anyone.”
It wasn’t straightforward for the Sachems, who sat at 5-8 before winning five of their next six to clinch.
“We were pretty much in a must-win situation after our game against Peabody. We had Salem, Watertown, and Winthrop, and we were pretty confident that we could win those games even though Salem beat us pretty bad the first time,” Almquist said. “The one in question was Masconomet. We knew we needed to win one of those games we weren’t expected to win.”
The Sachems defeated Masco, 2-1, in an extra-inning thriller, then rallied off two more wins to qualify.
Look no further than the team’s spark, Taylor Deleidi, who has delivered when her team needed her the most.
“We don’t have a lot of pitching. Taylor Deleidi has pitched all but two innings this year. She’s really stepped it up and turned it up a notch the last seven games,” Almquist said. “We’re also playing better defensively. Also, some of our bats are starting to come around. Some of our All-Stars from last year were hitting 200 to 300 points lower than they did last year. Now, the team is confident at the plate and everyone’s average is starting to go up.”
Deleidi is also helping herself out at the plate, hitting .426 compared to last year, when she averaged .221.
More offensive help came from Lily Ventre, Felicia Alexander, and Sabrina Tamburello, among others.
“Lily Ventre is always solid. She’s hitting over .500 and had to battle through some nagging injuries,” Almquist said. “Felicia Alexander has been another good surprise. Last year, she only played seven games before getting sick and missing the rest of the season. This year, she’s hitting close to .400. She’s been crushing the ball. She’s second on the team in RBI and I couldn’t be happier with her performance.”
“Sabrina Tamburello splits time at first base, but she’s been really impressive. She’s hitting over .300 as an eighth grader,” Almquist said. “She’s come up with some big hits for us.”
Almquist mentioned Danica Schena as another key member in the teams resurgence.
“She’s the captain of the outfield and is having a phenomenal season. Everything hit her way she grabs and goes and gets it,” Almquist said. “She’s taking charge in the outfield and she’s been extremely impressive.”
And for Almquist, his coaching staff has been with him since the start.
“I’ve had, essentially, the same coaching staff since the beginning. My longtime assistant, Joe Cimetti, recently retired after last season, but my other longtime assistant, Amanda Naso, is on the bench in addition to Anthony Ascolese and Mike Shaw.”
High school goes by quickly, and Almquist reminds his team to enjoy its time with one another.
“The bus rides are one of my favorite parts of the season. Seeing the joy of the kids, regardless of if we win or lose, singing karaoke, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I tell the kids all the time that it goes by fast, so they need to enjoy the experience.”
