By Lorenzo Recupero
Everett High School softball was dropped from the MIAA playoff ranks on Sunday with a, 9-4, loss to top-seeded Concord- Carlisle in the first round, but how they improved before it ended suggest the team’s headed for a new start.
Yes, the Crimson Tide may have lost to maybe the best overall softball team on the north side of the division 1 bracket, but the team actually took giant steps towards making next season an even greater success.
Following the playoff loss, the team finished 13-9 — its best overall record in the last 3 years.
“People expected us to be slaughter-ruled and we went out there and gave it what we got,” said EHS head coach Stacy Schiavo on playing top-ranked CC. “The turnaround in the girls play shocked a lot of people I think,” she said.
After missing the tournament for a few years, the team made it back and gave a heavyweight a battle. That type of fight that almost always sets up a rematch and a possible turn in fortune.
The facts are the entire starting infield, including Maddy Duraes, Ashley Fitzgerald, Kaylee Nearen,Veronica Bento, Ariana Garay, and Madison Smith are all returning next year. That core of players mixed in with some fresh newcomers is a good looking team, according to coach Schiavo.
“We’ve got a lot of good players coming up from the youth program and the JV team,” Schiavo said of her talent next season, “we definitely have a group of kids that will be back [to the playoffs] again next year.”
Until next season, the transition from a team under a playoff drought to a regular participant looks to be in the works for EHS softball.
NOTES
Nearing a major milestone: The Preliminary round win over Newton South was Stacy Schiavo’s 280th win as head coach of the Crimson Tide. She finished her 20th season at the helm with an overall 280-185 record.
Playoff update: The Pope John TIgers were dropped from the MIAA tournament by St. Mary’s, 12-2, in the quarter finals.
Alumni basketball game: In honor of the legend, coach John Dibiaso, Everett High School gymnasium will play host to the Alumni Game on Thursday, June 14 at 7PM. All are invited to attend and admission is free.