By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
Published April 3, 2019
LYNNFIELD — Peter Marinelli is back for his ninth season as the manager of the Lynnfield High softball team this spring. Last season, the Pioneers reached the Division 3 North quarterfinals, winning their first two playoff games before falling to Amesbury to end the season at 12-9.
The team lost just one senior to graduation, pitcher Hailey O’Brien, who was a Cape Ann League All-Star. She went 12-9 with an earned-run average of 2.37. At bat, she hit .321 and led the Pioneers in runs batted in with 14.
Nine veterans came back when practice started on March 18.
Senior catcher Allie Wing is this year’s captain.
ALLIE WING is the captain of the 2019 LHS softball team. (File Photo)
The other 12th-graders back are Taylor Tringali (second baseman), and Kendall LaConte (outfielder).
Breanna Serabian (utility), Jenna Freni (outfielder) and Samantha Lebruska (outfielder- pitcher) are the three juniors back.
Lynnfield also has three sophomores returning: Reilly Ganter (pitcher- first base), Jillian Babine (third base) and Chloe Shapleigh (shortstop).
Shapleigh made the CAL Second-Team All-Stars last year as she led the team in batting average at .459.
“We have some players with experience but we are still, overall, a pretty young team,” said Marinelli.
Just like last year, the Pioneers will play an 18-game regular season schedule.
Marinelli feels that North Reading and Pentucket will be the teams to beat in the CAL Kinney division again this season as North Reading won the title last year.
Lynnfield went 8-8 in the CAL last spring as they finished in fifth place in the CAL Kinney division.
The Pioneers open the season on April 10 as they visit East Boston in a non-league game. Two days later, they host North Reading in the league opener.
Both of those games will start at 3:45 p.m.
