Division 3-5 softball preview, players to watch: Middleboro could be a hit

The Middleboro girls enter the 2022 season with a very deep squad that should contend for the Div. 3 South crown.

South Shore League All-Star juniors Eva Jenness, Cassidy Machado, Melody Rees, and Alexandra Welch hit above .330 in 2021. They make up four of the 11 players returning to a team that reached the Div. 2 South final. Machado struck out 91 batters with a 0.71 ERA, and Jenness and Rees join her in the rotation, caught by senior captain Lexi Bouldry.

Senior All-Star first baseman Brianna Meroli will captain Catholic Central League side Austin Prep. Senior outfielder Jodee Domey, sophomore outfielder Ava Intoppa, sophomore pitcher Juliana Iannibelli, and senior All-Star catcher Melina Fedele are the other returnees for the Cougars.

Foxboro will feature a mostly young squad. But senior All-Hockomock shortstop Peyton Feldman will provide power from the leadoff spot and a threat on the bases, while senior catcher Allie Willis is set to work with underclassmen pitchers Emma Callahan and Angelina Rifai.

Gloucester maintains six players from last season, including Northeastern All-Conference pitcher Jenna Hoofnagle and catcher Chloe de Gaspe Beaubien. Shortstop/second baseman Natalie Aiello and center fielder Riley Thibodeau were Northeastern Conference All-Stars a season ago. Ashlee Aiello and Cameron Carroll will pitch and play in the infield, and they can throw hard and hit for power.

Alyssa Cassarino and Mia Vitozzi are the North Reading captains, and they will take the mound and play shortstop and first base. Caitlin and Olivia Reilly will be in center and left field. Keely Hannon will pitch as well, with Kristen Galvin behind the plate for the Hornets.

Norton returns nine players aiming to make noise in the Tri-Valley League. Outfield captains Morgan Antosca and Sienna Petrasiewicz will lead the Lancers. Junior Bella Vittorini is the top starting pitcher, having struck out 93 batters with a 2.40 ERA last year.

Div. 4 will have its share of competition as well. Abington has three big threats at the plate in junior captain Maddi Perry, sophomore infielder Calli Pineau, and junior pitcher Shannon Varvitsiotis. Varvitsiotis, coming off a South Shore League All-Star season in which she posted a 1.65 ERA, is the ace for the Green Wave.

Amesbury brings back six players, led by senior captains Ella Bezanson, Alana Delisle, Olivia DeLong, and Olivia Levasseur. DeLong, a Boston University commit, comes in off an All-Scholastic Div. 3 Player of the Year season in which she batted .732 and threw two no-hitters. Junior Ella Delisle will be behind the plate, with sophomore Izzy Levasseur in the infield.

Case will be returning five players, including All-Scholastic junior catcher Olivia Silva. Silva hit .589 and allowed one stolen base last year. South Coast Conference All-Star Hailey Berube and Emera Marcello will make up the Cardinals pitching staff, with third baseman Brooke Orton and All-Star outfielder Abby Sirois coming back also.

Monomoy retains all nine of its starters from a season ago. Maddie Crossen, Caroline DiGiovanni, and Courtney Kelley were Cape and Islands League All-Stars. Freshman Alana Ljoko will be on the mound, with sophomore AJ Gates doing the catching.

Northeast has five returning starters. Corinne Halley, Kaitlyn Lawless and Destiny Lopez can play multiple positions, while Commonwealth Athletic Conference All-Star Taylor Nuzzo will handle shortstop and Gianna Scoppettuolo will play third base.

Juniors Lilly Martel and Olivia Razza will be leading West Bridgewater in the Mayflower Athletic Conference. Martel is the catcher, while Razza is a clutch-hitting third baseman. Sophomore shortstop Neala Boyd is also capable of producing at the plate.

Bourne is bringing back seniors Elizabeth Black, Hannah Greene, and Christina Rogers. Sophomore Jaydn Morrell and freshman Paige Meda, the pitcher-catcher duo who spurred a good run in the Div. 5 South Sectionals, return as well.

Sophomore Riley Caulfield will pitch for Millis, with Frankie Pizzarella and Isabelle Jewett behind the plate. Abby Powers and Kyra Rice will fill the outfield.

DIV. 3 PLAYERS TO WATCH

P: Sophia Bruno (Sturgis), Emma Burke (Bishop Fenwick), Emma Callahan (Foxboro), Sophie Estrella (Apponequet), Christina Gentile (Dedham), Julia Hicks (Dennis-Yarmouth), Jenna Hoofnagle (Gloucester), Mallory Johnson (Triton), Ava Loud (Cardinal Spellman), Kara MacDonald (Arlington Catholic), Emma Medeiros (Diman), Madison Medeiros (Greater New Bedford), Emily Meledy (Newburyport), Lily Newhall (St. Mary’s), Eliana Raposo (Dighton-Rehoboth), Gabriella Rocha-Medeiros (Fairhaven), Abby Smith (Hanover), Alanis Toledano (Latin Academy), Bella Vittorini (Norton), Sandra Watne (Shawsheen)

C: Hannah Burton (East Bridgewater), Bitsy Crowley (Medfield), Nicolette Fraser (Swampscott), Grace Habib (Newburyport),Marilena Tsonis (Greater New Bedford), Lily Ventre (Saugus), Alexandra Willis (Foxboro)

1B: Lauren Bernaiche (Apponequet), Sandra Fairbairn (Norton), Emma Gomes (Bishop Stang), Briana Meroli (Austin Prep), Brooke Moloney (St. Mary’s)

2B: Natalie Aiello (Gloucester), Eva Jenness (Middleboro), Cassidy Machado (Middleboro), Taylor Peckham (Dedham), Ava Pepin (Fairhaven), Sarah Peterson (Medway)

IF: McKenzie Foley (Hanover)

SS: Emma Barnes (Cardinal Spellman), Mikayla Brightman (Bishop Stang), Kylee Caetano (Greater New Bedford), Olivia Couto (Fairhaven), Ellie Etemao-Gilbertson (Latin Academy), Abigail Greene (Norwell), Shannon Keating (Sturgis), Kaelyn Larkin (Medfield), Haley Murphy (East Bridgewater)

3B: Madison Connelly (Arlington Catholic), Melina Fedele (Austin Prep), Peyton Feldman (Foxboro), Lauren Fonseca (Dedham), Amanda Murphy (East Bridgewater), Tavish Nunes (Old Rochester), Melody Rees (Middleboro), Carly Ryan (Norwell)

OF: Reagan Bowden (Shawsheen), Isabelle Dagostino (Arlington Catholic), Angie Galligani (Lowell Catholic), Caitlin Reilly (North Reading), Molly McDonoughy (Lowell Catholic), Maura McGraw (Norwell), Mia Mercurio (Bishop Fenwick), Nieve Morrissey (Newburyport), Nina Pacella (Medway), Riley Thibodeau (Gloucester), Alexander Welch (Middleboro)

DIV. 4/5 PLAYERS TO WATCH

P: Kelsea Anderson (Rockport), Hailey Berube (Case), Riley Caulfield (Millis), Sophia Cavicchi (Carver), Izzy Coit (Academy of Notre Dame), Bailey Deleire (Mystic Valley), Anne Feininger (Matignon/St. Joseph), Emily Graham (Whittier), Jenna Klemp (Wareham), Kate Leinson (Seekonk), Samantha O’Leary (Bishop Connolly), Abby Orzechowski (Old Colony), Shelby Parr (Archbishop Williams), Shannon Varvitsiotis (Abington), Maclaine Willett (Nantucket)

C: Kasie Bailey (Abington), Kate Bekelitis (Ipswich), Ella Delisle (Amesbury), Ella Dowd (Rising Tide), Lauren Dullea (Georgetown), Meg Hansbury (Archbishop Williams), Frankie Pizzarella (Millis), Olivia Silva (Case), Abbey Silvia (Westport), Kylie Wheat (Rockport)

1B: Jaclyn Bioren (Whittier), Olivia DeLong (Amesbury), Jaclyn Keefe (Whittier), Courtney Kelley (Monomoy)

2B: Alana Delisle (Amesbury), Calli Pineau (Abington), Catherine Toomey (Cohasset/Hull)

SS: Marina Cadena (Wareham), Maddie Crossen (Monomoy), Bria Dunphy (Seekonk), Angelina Grimes (Cohasset/Hull), Lexi James (Ipswich), Maddie Klein (Matignon/St. Joseph), Taylor Nuzzo (Northeast), Maddie Prado (Carver)

3B: Hannah Marie Akoury (Hamilton-Wenham), Ally Dantas (Seekonk), Caroline DiGiovanni (Monomoy), Ariana Judge (Wareham), Izzy Levasseur (Amesbury), Brooke Orton (Case), Olivia Razza (West Bridgewater)

OF: Brigid Anderson (Matignon/St. Joseph), Ella Bezanson (Amesbury), Caroline Correia (Nantucket), Hannah Greene (Bristol Aggie), Ryanne Haynes (Bellingham), Darcy McGuirk (Rockland), Christina Russell (Bristol Aggie), Kylie Schrock (Rockport), Abby Sirois (Case)

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/XoPKIgd