Sports
Sports Recap: Winchester Softball Team Shows Improvement
Here's a look back at the Winchester softball team's season.
After improving from one win to six wins last season, the this year,
finishing 8-12 despite a young roster that included freshman pitcher
Rachael Smith, sophomore pitcher/shortstop Catherine Pitts and
sophomore catcher Emmalee Morton.
"Overall it was a pretty successful season," coach Steve Swymer said.
"We're a young team, and our goal this year was to be more competitive with the bigger teams in the league and we did that."
The Sachems started off with a bang, winning four of its first six
games. They handed as Smith gave up just four
hits and Morton went 3 for 4 with two RBI, and followed that up with a
16-4 win over Belmont that was shortened by the mercy rule. Winchester scored eight runs in the first inning and Morton hit a two-run homer in the fifth.
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The Sachems then came up with one of their most dramatic wins of the season against Wakefield. Down to their final out, Winchester tied the game in the seventh inning when Pitts doubled and Julia Staffiere
singled her in, and Maddie Lepore had the game-winning hit in the
eighth inning when her two-out single scored Morton.
Catherine Pitts earned her first win a few games later against
Watertown as the Sachems won again by the mercy rule, 17-2 in five
innings. Pitts actually had as many hits (she went 3-for-3) as she
allowed against Watertown, while Emma Morton was 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and five RBI and Kristina Shattuck and Julia Augenstern both went 2-2.
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Though the Sachems eventually fell below .500 against tough Middlesex League competition, there were still signs of improvement — Winchester lost to Burlington 12-0 in its first meeting of the season, but was much closer in a 7-3 rematch defeat.
Still, Winchester's hopes of a playoff berth ended in the final weeks.
Needing to win its last four games, the Sachems fell to Woburn 4-0 to
end its postseason chances. Shattucks had two of the Sachems' four
hits, while Smith gave up two earned runs and struck out eight in a
complete-game performance.
Winchester did end their season with two straight wins, adding to
hopes that the young Sachems squad will continue its positive trend
next season.
