Bulldogs open season with win over Medford

LYNN – All in all, it wasn’t too bad of an opening game for the Lynn English baseball team on Thursday at Fraser Field against Medford.The Bulldogs overcame an early 1-0 deficit with six unanswered runs; got solid pitching from Sam Hill and Ben Bowden; and also showed some character in holding off a seventh-inning rally from the Mustangs to take a 6-4 win on a chilly afternoon.Click here for a photo gallery.”I was impressed with how our pitchers threw strikes and we got the hits when we had to,” English coach Joe Caponigro said. “It was a good start for us.”Breaking in three new starters to the lineup, the Bulldogs got off to a bit of a slow start on Thursday as Medford cracked the ice in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead against Hill. English, though, quickly settled down and pushed ahead in the bottom of the second.Bowden and Brendan Carritte singled to open the second. A passed ball moved each up a base before Pat Cullen’s groundout scored Bowden to tie the game.Walks to Junior Santos and Gabe Smith from Dan Gilchrist loaded the bases. An Eric Bransfield fielder’s choice erased Carritte at the plate for the second out before Dani Vincente singled to right, plating Santos and Smith to make it 3-1 Bulldogs.Hill worked a quiet third to get his team right back to the plate and keep the momentum going in the bottom of the inning.Bowden walked with one out and Carritte was hit by a pitch. Cullen went down swinging for the second out before No. 9 batter Santos slapped a single to right that scored Bowden and Carritte for a 5-1 lead through three.Hill also was settling down nicely after his first inning struggles, holding the Mustangs to a single hit over his final three innings of work.”Sammy was on a set pitch count (Thursday),” Caponigro said. “But I thought he threw very well.”English added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth as Smith led off with a single and scored on Bransfield’s triple to the fence in center.Bowden took over for Hill on the bump in the fifth and worked a quiet inning. English had a chance to extend the lead even further in the fifth and sixth innings but stranded runners in scoring position each time.”We let a couple of chances get away in the fifth and sixth,” Caponigro said.The Bulldogs almost would have to kick themselves for the missed opportunities in the late innings as Medford stormed back in the seventh to make them sweat.Gilchrist reached on a one-out throwing error. Greg Wilson and Ian Fitzgerald followed with hits that scored Gilchrist to make it 6-2. Another throwing error on a Kyle Heath fielder’s choice allowed Wilson home to cut the gap to three.Andrew Waldrop made things even more exciting when he doubled down the left field line, scoring Heath and bringing the tying run to the plate. Bowden, though, shut the door on Medford by striking out Chris Salvati on three pitches.