Classical softball defeats Peabody

LYNN – “Astounding” might be the most appropriate word to use to describe Lynn Classical’s 7-6 softball win over Peabody Monday night at Breed.Improbable might be another.Regardless, it was one for the ages.Click here for a photo gallery.”It might be the most well-played softball game I’ve been involved with in quite a while,” said Classical coach Chris Warren, moments after Danielle Moran hit a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that completed a comeback from a 6-3 deficit entering the inning.”Wow,” said Warren. “Wow. What a win. And it means we’re still mathematically in the hunt (for a Northeastern Conference/Large championship) in the last week of the season for the seventh time in a row.”The Rams will need help. Peabody has three league losses and Classical four. The Rams have league games left against Winthrop and English and need to win them both. And if Revere beats Peabody this week, the two teams will tie for the title.”We have to take care of business,” Warren said, “and we need some help from Revere, but the fact is we’re in it.”Moran’s base hit, which took a high bounce off the infield lip as it went through, scored Franki Galeazzi and Gabbie Kenniston with the winning runs. And it came moments after the Rams thought they’d won the game on a grand slam by Kenniston. That’s what the hit was originally ruled – much to Peabody’s protest – but the two umpires got together and changed the call to ground rule double.”I just wanted to get a hit,” said Moran. “We fought all the way and there’s nobody who deserved it more than we did, as a team. There’s no one I’d rather win with besides this team.”Classical weathered the suspension of three of its key players – Moran being one of them – for school-related issues, going 4-0 during that span.”It’s just good to be back,” she said.What made the win sweeter for the Rams is that they’d just lost a 3-1 lead in the top of the inning. Until then, the game was an incredible pitcher’s duel between Ivy Martin of Classical and Shelbi Wilson of Peabody, both sophomores. The Rams had grabbed a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, one of them on a Martin RBI grounder and the other on a wild pitch.But trouble brewed right away when Alex Romano led off with a walk and Holly Smith singled. One out later, Warren chose to walk Olivia Brothers (for the second time) intentionally.”She hit two homers off us last time,” he said. “I was going to let someone else beat me.”Mikayla Wallace walked, to force home a run, but Michelle McHugh reached on an error, allowing the tying run to score. A wild pitch gave Peabody a 4-3 lead.After Martin got Taylor Dabney on strikes, Shannon Pires hit one in the gap that Moran managed to knock down, keeping it to a single. However, two more runs scored and it was 6-3.Bobbie Dee Regan hit a bullet to lead off the bottom of the seventh, but Jess Raymond made the play in center. However, pinch-hitter Kathy Perez reached on an error, Sam Earp walked and Franki Galeazzi slapped one just beyond third base to load the bases.Kenniston roped one to left that bounced over the fence for a ground rule double, with Galeazzi, by rule, advancing only to third. Moments later, it was over when Moran singled just past the shortstop to score both runners.”We gave the game away,” said Peabody coach Butch Melanaphy. “We just made too many errors. There’s no way we should be giving up a 6-3 lead in the last inning.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].