Rain not enough to cool off Classical bats

LYNN – A constant and light rain was not enough to dampen the mood of the Lynn Classical softball team on Tuesday afternoon at Breed, as the Rams’ bats led the way to a five-inning 14-1 victory over Beverly.Click here for a photo gallery.After suffering defeat for the first time all season on Friday to powerhouse King Philip, Rams coach Chris Warren liked how his team responded.”It was great to get back into the win column,” Warren said. “The King Philip game was a good lesson for us.”Beverly got off to a quick start, scoring its only run off Rams starter Katie Cuozzo in the first inning. Erin Silvestri led off with a single before a sacrifice bunt put her on second. She would come around to score on a single from Jenna LoVasco.The Rams (14-1) went to work with the bats right away, scoring six times in the bottom of the frame while batting around. Classical showed patience against Beverly starter Kate Silvestri, as the Rams worked five walks in the inning.Back-to-back two-out, two-RBI singles from Adrianna Raymond and Cuozzo put the Rams up by three. Francesca Galeazzi and Sam Earp tacked on RBI singles each to close out the frame.Cuozzo would give up two singles in the second before a stellar play from Galeazzi at shortstop got the Rams out of the inning. On the play, Galeazzi ranged far to her right, picking the ball while on a knee before firing a strike to first to get Erin Silvestri.Cuozzo would not surrender a hit the rest of the way, finishing off her start with three perfect innings.”Considering Katie hasn’t thrown since Wednesday, I thought she pitched great,” said Warren. “She started off a bit slow, but settled in and pitched well.”After tacking on a run in both the second and third, the Rams exploded for another six runs in the bottom of the fourth.Chelsey Bartlett started things off by drawing her third walk of the game (four total) before advancing to second on a Jennie Erekson sacrifice. An RBI single from Raymond plated Bartlett.The biggest hit of the inning came with the bases loaded as Danielle Moran’s rip to left field cleared the bases. With the game out of hand and the rain still falling, the umpires elected to end the game prematurely.A tough matchup is waiting for Classical on Friday, when the Rams travel to Malden to take on a scorching Golden Tornados offense.”I think their offense has scored like 60-something runs and have only given up like seven since we beat them back in April, so we know it will be tough,” said Warren of his team’s next test.Classical defeated Malden 7-5 at Breed on April 29, which proved to be the Tornados’ only loss all season thus far.With the state tournament approaching quickly, Warren is looking for improvement on an already tremendous season.”We are getting better and better the closer we get to the tournament in June,” Warren said, “so hopefully we will come to play Friday, and improve our chances at that top seed.”