By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — In his first year as head coach of the Lynnfield High softball team Hector Longo led his team to the second round of the MIAA Division 4 state tournament before losing at Uxbridge, 9-1, in the Round of 16 game to end the year at 12-10.
In the Cape Ann League, the Pioneers went 6-8 as they came in 5th place in the Kinney Division.
The team lost five seniors from that roster to graduation: Abi Travers, Celia Carbone, Lauren Amico, Ava Marotta and Trinity Gesamondo.
Seven veterans returned when spring practice officially opened back on March 18. Three of them are this year’s senior tri-captains: Ava Gamache, Catie Kampersal and Sophia Brown.
Gamache is a two-time Cape Ann League First-Team All-Star as the third baseman finished hitting .457 (37 for 81) with three homers, 33 runs scored and 21 runs batted in last year. She had a .506 on-base percentage.
Brown is a pitcher while Kampersal, who just finished playing for the Lynnfield-North Reading Peabody High co-op hockey team this winter, is a center fielder.
The three juniors back are Libby Considine (utitlty), Kaila George (utility) and Morgan Hubbard (shortstop and first baseman).
Hubbard was named to the CAL Second-Team All-Stars last year as she hit .519 (29 for 56) with 21 runs scored and 15 runs batted in. Her on-base-percentage was .672.
Catcher Lily Williams is the lone sophomore back.
Four of the new players were on the junior varsity team last spring. Those four are Gia Gagnon (sophomore- pitcher and second baseman), Olivia Kelter (sophomore- shortstop and outfielder), Julia Corrente (sophomore- first baseman) and Sierra Scanlon (junior- outfielder).
The lone ninth-grader to make the roster is Chloe McEwen and she is an infielder.
With the bad weather in the first week of tryouts, it made practice tough although they did get outside a couple of times.
“It was a very cold week but the girls were upbeat,” recalled Longo. “We have a solid nucleus coming back and that helps.”
The Pioneers will play a 20-game regular season schedule with 16 league games, and four non-league contests.
They will play home-and-home games against Boston Latin and Lowell Catholic for their four non-league matchups this year.
“Amesbury, Triton and North Reading will all be very tough,” said Longo. “It seems like most teams in the league are returning their top pitchers from last year.”
Lynnfield opens the season on April 3 as they will host Boston Latin at 4 p.m. They then visit Lowell Catholic on April 5 with that game also starting at 4 p.m.
