Classical bewitched at Fraser Field

LYNN – Let’s just say that the Classical-Salem baseball game at Fraser Field on Friday wasn’t a thing of beauty.With five errors, countless base running blunders and several misplayed balls, you’d wonder if anyone was going to win.Fortunately for the Witches, they brought their bats to Fraser. Salem pounded out 15 hits and scored in every inning but one en route to a 12-4 victory.”It was just a bizarre game,” Salem coach Mike Ward said. “But obviously we brought the bats. We swang them well and we were due to break out offensively.”All but one player (Scott Sadoway) got a hit for Salem, who also had eight different players drive home runs. T.J. Larivee led the offensive charge, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Aiden Church and Colby Boulay also drove home a pair of runs.”Salem is a strong team and they hit the ball well,” Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. “Their pitcher (Justin Williams) threw strikes and the did everything right.”Salem (3-2) didn’t waste a lot of time in getting its offense going as it struck early agaisnst Rams starter Wade Barber.Dan Reddy led off with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. With one out, Larivee ripped a single that brought Reddy around. Aiden Church and Harry Noone followed with a single and a walk that loaded the bases.Larivee then committed the first of the several base running blunders when he was picked off third by Barber for the second out. But Boulay delivered the other two runs when he singled sharply to make it 3-0.The Witches were at it again in the second, knocking Barber out. Beau Theriault tripled to left-center and scored on Mack Ryan’s base hit to make it 4-0.A walk to Reddy was the end of Barber’s outing as he was replaced by Luis Castillo, who immediately got a double play ball and a ground out to end the inning.Classical (1-2) got that run back in a crazy way in the bottom of the inning. Williams got the first two batters in the inning before Ellido Reyes singled.Following a passed ball, Reyes was at second for Greg Rybak. The Rams catcher hit a moon shot pop-up to the left of the mound. Williams was there, but was called off by third baseman Church. But he missed the ball, allowing Reyes to cross the plate.”Our defense was solid for the exception of two pop-ups,” Ward said. “And those were made by a kid who normally would have those in his back pocket.”Salem got that run right back in the fourth off the bat of Noone, who lauched a towering homer over the left field fence. Classical’s response came in the form of a Wilson Mercado double that scored Dan Richard to make it 5-2.After a scoreless fourth, the Witches put more distance between themselves and Classical with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Larivee drove home his second run in the fifth with a single and Matt Payne made it 7-2 with a cue shot base hit in the sixth.Williams, meanwhile, was cruising right along, holding Classical to only four hits over five innings of work.”Justin pitched well and he threw strikes,” Ward said. “He kept us in the game.”Salem put the game on ice in the seventh, scoring five times on five hits and a walk. Classical would add two runs in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Matt Bertone.