Sports
Winchester Softball Team has a Rough Night
The Sachems played tough, but competing against one of the top teams in the league proved too tough for the under-14 softball team.
It was a cool summer night under the lights with some 30 plus fans and a flock of mosquitoes in tow. Bugs aside, it was still a tough night for the Winchester Sachems under-14 girls softball team, getting beaten by the Wakefield Fury by a score of 21-7 Tuesday night at Ginn Field. The game only lasted five innings however, as games are only allowed to go an hour and forty-five minutes.
Filling in for Head Coach Bernie Schipelliti (who is away on vacation in California) was Coach Bob Sutherland.
"Pitcher Jenny Benedict is developing good form, and had some really strong defensive innings," Sutherland said. "She was here early in fact, at about five working on pitching and fielding drills."
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The Fury's big roster was one reason they managed to beat the Sachems – Winchester only having eight players who could make it to the game Tuesday night where Wakefield had double that with 16.
"It's really a combination of trying to improve and have fun," Sutherland said. "It was up and down, some good innings some bad. I thought the girls really held their own at times. At this level it's all about defining what to do in the moment and what to do when the ball comes to you. Most of the time we did all right, other times the girls got flustered. But again, it's all about fun and getting better. The kids really have an understanding of that and an understanding of some of the weaker players."
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"We had some good defensive innings," said Olivia Sutherland, Bob's daughter. "Our troubles were on base, base running, and following the count and outs. We fought hard though."
That's what the MiddleEssex Summer Softball League is all about: developing athletic skills for the future and having a good time while doing so.
This marks the half-way point for the girls this season; the beginning was right after school got out on June 25. The league goes for seven weeks, ending right before the fall semester starts up again. The girls play 14 games, and then have playoffs at the end of the season.
This game was specifically part of the 14B League, which is composed of 47 teams, some reaching as far away as Salem, NH.
The standings now have Winchester in 34th place with a record of 2-5. Wakefield is in 4th with a record of 8-1. The Manchester Essex Hornets lead the pack with a perfect record of 9-0.
