English softball win in extra inning barnburner

LYNN – For the Lynn English softball team, it looked like another tough loss was on the horizon as it trailed Everett 7-3 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday at Keaney Park.Then craziness ensued.The Bulldogs rallied to score four times and force extra innings. In the extra frame, they won the game, 8-7, on Leanne Paula’s walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth.”We’ve been talking all year about coming back when we’re down,” English coach Alisa Fila said. “And we haven’t been doing it. What just happened is what we’ve been talking about.”For English (6-6) it was set to be another game of what could have been’s, having had numerous chances against Crimson Tide pitcher Michelle Zullo over the first six innings. But the Bulldogs had left 10 runners on base in that span despite having nine hits in the game.There was no indication that something special was brewing when Lauren Walsh (2-for-4) grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the seventh. Paula gave English a bit of life when she reached on a dropped fly ball to right but Zullo looked to have snuffed that out when she got Amanda Witunsky looking for the second out.Larissa Paula then worked a walk to put runners on first and third for pinch hitter Taylor Newhall, who stroked a single to left that scored Leanne Paula to make it 7-4. Zullo had English on the precipice but she walked lead-off batter Val Fiaccaprile (2-for-4, 2 runs scored) on a 3-2 count to load the bases.That brought Jen Mageary (3-for-5, 3 RBI) up and Zullo had her 2-2 when the English third baseman popped a single into centerfield, scoring Newhall and Larissa Paula to make it 7-6 and put the tying run in Fiaccaprile at third.”Jenny is a ballplayer and she got some key hits for us (Friday),” Fila said.Mageary’s hit got the always dangerous Cara Crowley (3-for-4, 2 RBI, run scored) to the plate with a chance to tie. Zullo got her to ground to short, but the throw across the diamond to Amanda Ray was bobbled, allowing Fiaccaprile to score the tying run and send the game into extra innings.”They didn’t give up and I am very proud of them for that,” Fila said.Tiffany Drown (8 IP, 6 ER, 2 strikeouts, two walks) got her offense back up quickly in the eighth as she worked around a hit by Samantha Bruce. Walsh then led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to center.She was replaced by pinch runner and sister Lyndsey Walsh, who stole second on the second pitch by Zullo. And when Haley Ellsworth’s throw went into center, Walsh headed for third.One pitch later, Leanne Paula lined a hit to right, scoring Walsh with the game-winning run.”This was something we needed as a character builder,” Fila said. “Everyone contributed and it showed.”The start for English didn’t offer much in the way of a chance to comeback as Everett scored four times on four hits, an error and a hit batter to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. The Bulldogs got one run back in the bottom of the inning but saw a chance for more thwarted by a rare 3-6-2 double play from the Crimson Tide.Everett added runs in the second and third innings to go ahead 6-1 before English got a run back in the bottom of the third on an RBI double from Lauren Walsh. It stayed 6-2 into the sixth where Everett pushed another run across.In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs had a glorious chance to get back in the game as they scored once and had the bases loaded with two outs, but Zullo struck out Cathia Hernandez to end the inning.