Classical baseball defeats Salem

LYNN – For three years, the Classical baseball team has been building towards a run at a Northeastern Conference title. And judging by the Rams’ effort on Monday against Salem, that might very well be a possibility.Jorge Perez held the Witches to three hits while his teammates pounded out 13 hits as Classical rolled to a 12-2 win at Fraser Field.”I really like the chemistry that these guys have,” Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. “These are the guys we started with as freshmen when we took the program over and I can’t say enough about the leadership our seniors are showing.”It was a team effort in every sense on Monday for Classical. The Rams (2-1) saw four different players drive in runs; eight players get at least one hit and six different spots score a run.”This lineup keeps raking the ball,” Zukowski said. “When you put the ball in play, it makes things happen.”The Rams gave Perez all the runs he would need in the bottom of the first.Wilfredo Feliz (2-4, 3 RS) led off with a triple and scored when Kyle Gauthier reached on an error. Kyle Devin (3-3, 2 RBI, 2 RS) and John Finnigan (2-3, 3 RBI, 2 RS) added singles to increase the lead to 2-0.Angel Tavares reached on an error and Perez (2-3, 3 RBI) had a sacrifice fly that plated Devin to make it 3-0. The Rams then stole a run as Finnegan scored on the back end of a double steal for the 4-0 lead.Salem (2-2) would get a pair back against Perez in the top of the second on two hits and an error but that would be all it’d get as the Rams hurler settled down and shut down the Witches the rest of the way.”Jorge went out there and threw a tremendous game,” Zukowski said. “He changed speeds well all game and kept them off balance.”Classical got a run back in the bottom of the second as Devin singled home Feliz with two outs. The Rams then added two more runs in the fourth on an infield hit from Devin and a Finnigan sacrifice fly.Any hopes of a Salem charge died in the sixth when Classical blew things open with a six hit, five run barrage that saw the Rams send 10 batters to the plate. Perez drove home two runs in the inning with Gauthier, Finnigan and Francisco Tolentino adding RBI.