Bulldog softball scores two in seventh to beat Classical

LYNN – It looked for all the world like the Lynn English softball team was about to watch a 7-1 lead against Lynn Classical evaporate on Friday at Grace Rogato Field.The Rams had cut the lead to 7-6 and had Hannah Byrne at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning against reliever Tiffany Drown. Drown, though, got Byrne to line out to Jen Mageary at third and then provided English with the game winning runs via a 2-run single in the top of the seventh that insured a 9-8 win for the Bulldogs.”That was a heck of a hit by Tiffany off the bench,” Classical coach Chris Warren said. “It was a great move by coach (Alisa Fila) to put her in and change speeds when Cathia (Hernandez) tired.”English (3-2) got five strong innings from Hernandez in her first varsity start before Drown helped close the door down the stretch.”Cathia pitched very well and Tiffany came in and did a great job of finishing it up for us,” Fila said. “You’re never confident, even with a lead like we had, against Classical because they are a good team.”The Bulldogs came out swinging in the top of the first, putting the first five batters on base en route to four runs against Classical starter Jenny Garrity.Val Fiaccaprilli began the game with a walk and headed to third on Mageary’s double to right. Cara Crowley then gave English a 2-0 lead when she ripped a double up the gap in left, scoring Fiaccaprilli and Mageary.Hernandez followed with the first of her four hits in the game, driving in Crowley to make it 3-0. A passed ball and a single by Lauren Walsh brought Hernandez around for a 4-0 lead through a half inning.”That definitely was a great start for us,” Fila said.The Bulldogs added to their lead in the second, moving out to a 6-0 lead thanks to a pair of passed balls that scored Taylor Newhall. Mageary walked with one out and came around on Hernandez’s second RBI single of the game.Classical got a run back in the bottom of the second as Garrity, who went 3-for-4 on the night, singled and scored on Jennie Erekson’s one out single.English got that run back in the fourth against reliever Katie Cuozzo.Mageary and Crowley walked with two outs. Hernandez then picked up her third RBI of the game with a single that got Mageary across for a 7-1 lead.Classical cut the lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth and then made things very interesting in the fifth. Rachel Carroll singled to lead off before Kayla Walleston and Byrne reached with one out to load the bases.Garrity followed by slicing a double into the right field corner that cleared the bases and cut the gap to 7-5. Hernandez then got Bartlett to line out to Fiaccaprilli in center to start a double play that got Garrity at second.Classical inched even closer in the sixth when Erekson reached on an error with one out. Carroll and Fitzgerald then reached with two outs to load the bases for Walleston, who slapped a hit in front of third to score Erekson to make it 7-6.”The girls have been learning all year to not quit,” Warren said. “And they did a good job of not packing it in and coming back.”After sweating out Classical’s bases loaded chance in the sixth, the Bulldogs came up with two runs that proved to be critical in the seventh. Crowley and Hernandez singled in front of a one out walk to Amanda Witunsky that loaded the bases.After Crowley was erased at home on a grounder to short, Drown stepped up and ripped a single up the middle to score Hernandez and Witunsky for a 9-6 lead.Those runs proved crucial as Classical rallied again in the bottom of the seventh, pushing two runs across on a Jessica Stevens double and an Erekson groundout. But Drown got Cuozzo to ground to third for the final out.”We had to battle for this one,” Fila said. “It’s never easy against Classical.”