Winthrop rallies late to knock off English

LYNN – This one stung for the Lynn English softball team.After rallying from a 6-2 deficit in the second inning to have a 9-7 lead going to the seventh, the Bulldogs saw Winthrop push across four runs to take the lead and steal away an 11-9 victory on a cold afternoon at Keaney Park on Wednesday.Click here for a photo gallery.”This doesn’t look like a great team physically, but what they are is a bunch of gamers,” Winthrop coach Dave Guffy said. “You can’t coach that. This is a group that, when the game is on the line, they find a way to win somehow.”In direct contrast, frustration reigned for the Bulldogs (5-7). After fighting back to take the lead in the third, English went the final four innings without a hit against Winthrop’s Alex Ferri and reliever Elaine Lanza.”This one definitely hurts,” English coach Alisa Fila said. “We basically gave them a bunch of runs early and then fought back to go ahead. But you can’t win when the bats go silent like they did for us.”This game was crazy right from the beginning as the Vikings (10-5) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first against English starter Tiffany Drown.Abby Belcher (3-for-5, 2 RBI, 3 RS) started the game with a single. Haley Benson (4-for-4, 2 RBI) followed with another hit one batter later before Taylor Brown’s single loaded the bases.Drown struck out Andrea Martucci for out No. 2 before Belcher scored on a fielder’s choice, beating Drown’s throw home to Cara Crowley, for a 1-0 lead.The Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the first as Sam Earp led off with a double. Val Fiaccaprile walked and Cathia Hernandez singled to load the bases for Crowley and she delivered a 2-run single to center, scoring Earp and Fiaccaprile.The see-saw swung back across the diamond in the second as the Vikings sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring five times.Ferri walked and No. 9 hitter Liana Ferullo (3-for-4, 3 RS) singled to lead off. Belcher then singled to center to score Ferri, and she and Ferullo came around on the play following an outfield error to make it 4-2.Lanza and Brown sandwiched singles around a Benson walk to reload the bases for Martucci, who dumped a single to right, scoring two more runs for a 6-2 lead.English clawed back in the bottom of the second, scoring once on a throwing error and then adding two runs on a Crowley double that cut the lead back to 6-5.Winthrop scored again in the third on Benson’s 2-out single that scored Ferullo, who had doubled to lead off.”Liana is very composed for a freshman,” Guffy said. “She’s been getting on like that for us all year.”English responded again in the bottom of the third to take the lead for the second time in the game.Drown walked, and went to second on Lindsey Walsh’s sacrifice and to third on an error on the play. Jess Dellazoppa bunted for a single before groundouts from Kaitlyn Barrera and Earp scored two runs.Fiaccaprile followed with a single, scoring Dellazoppa to make it 8-7, Bulldogs.”We gave them those runs in the second and then fought back right away,” Fila said.The fourth inning proved pivotal as the Bulldogs loaded the bases on three walks from Ferri, who suddenly struggled with her control. Guffy summoned Lanza from center to try to put out the fire at that point.Drown grounded into a fielder’s choice that erased Taylor Newhall at home for the first out. Walsh then struck out before Dellazoppa walked, scoring Crowley for a 9-7 lead. Lanza got Barrera on a comebacker to end the threat.”Those are the growing pains with a sophomore pitcher,” Guffy said. “But Alex has been great for us all year and she settled down really well after that.”Ferri returned in the fifth as the game stayed 9-7 into the seventh, when Winthrop made its final push.A one-out walk to Rachel Delsolio was the catalyst. Ferri and Ferullo followed with singles that cut the lead to 9-8 and put the tying run at third.Belcher delivered Ferullo home with a single to center before Benson put Winthrop ahead with a 2-out, 2-run base hit to right. Ferri then wen