U-14 Softball Team Looking to Make Noise

Sarah Cuffe had a no-hitter after two innings last week in Everett, but the wheels fell off and the Marblehead U-14 softball team lost, 12-3 to even their record at 3-3.

“We were playing well,” manager George Shapiro said during practice Thursday night. “Unfortunately we made a few mistakes and ended up on the losing end.”

The U-14’s started the season at 2-0 after wins over Ipswich and Everett, the girls lost to Lynnfield and Winthrop to go 2-2, beat Triton, and lost the rematch against Everett. They now have a record of 3-3 heading into Monday’s game on the road against the Pentucket River Dogs at 6:15 p.m.

The girls are home tonight at Veteran’s Field, hosting Beverly at 6:15 p.m.

“I’ve been here since we started the program in 2006,” Shapiro said. “We’ve got over 100 girls playing on six teams in Marblehead this summer, from U-10 to U-18, the enthusiasm is wonderful.”

“This is a great feeder program for the high school team, Johnny (Marblehead High School softball coach Johnny Gold) is a good friend of mine and it’s great to see girls from our programs move up and have success in high school softball,” he said.

Marblehead made the state softball tournament this spring and knocked off the number one seed Amesbury before bowing out in the third round.

Shapiro’s daughter Alexa is one of the 14 girls making up this summer’s squad, and Shapiro has been a softball coach, a player and a manager for over 25 years, heading into the 2011 season.

Paul Ehrenberg, Walter Tierney and John Countie are on Shapiro’s coaching staff this summer.

“It’s a great program we’ve got in Marblehead, more and more girls come out every year, the numbers keep growing, it’s great to see,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro attended the University of Dayton, where he majored in Physical Education, after graduating from Swampscott High School on 1971.  Shapiro has lived in Marblehead since 1994, and has been in the textile business for over 30 years.

“It’s a hot one today (Thursday) but he girls are here, they want to practice, they want to improve, it’s a great group to work with,” Shapiro said

Information about the other Marblehead teams and the league can be found on the league’s website, www.middleessexsoftballleague.com.

The U-14 roster for 2011 includes: Kaitlyn Bernato, Taylor Bouchard, Kaylyn Countie, Sarah Cuffe, Maeve Daly, Sabrina Doughman, Alexa Ehrenberg, Elizabeth Payne, Lindsey Rae, Alexa Shapiro, Meghan Tierney, Melanie Treff, Caroline Tucker and Amanda Zarni.

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