ITEM PHOTO: OWEN O’ROURKE
Classical’s Madison Angelli drops down a bunt during a game against Beverly in the Division 1 North tournament on Friday.
By STEVE KRAUSE
LYNN — In a game full of superb defensive plays, Friday’s 3-2 Beverly softball win over Classical in the preliminary round of the Division 1 North tournament came down to a whacky play on the basepaths.
“I’m sorry I even had to call that,” said the base umpire as he left the field after the game ended.
Classical was in the middle of a seventh-inning comeback and things were looking fantastic for the Rams — this coming after left fielder Marlee Hamor had hauled in Meghan Leavitt’s towering drive for her third stellar catch of the day. The Rams had gone into the bottom of the seventh down 3-1, and after Hamor caught Leavitt’s drive, things started happening. Johnna Calder singled to left, and Emma DeJoie followed by reaching on an error — Beverly’s only miscue of the game.
Madison Dana came through with a single to left, and the throw to the plate was just enough off the mark to allow Calder to score Classical’s second run. On the throw, everyone moved up a base.
Pitcher Tori Adams looped one that Beverly third baseman Olivia George caught on the way down, and in one motion, she slapped a tag on the runner diving back into the base for the unorthodox double play to end the game.
The win puts the Panthers (12-9) into the first round against No. 1 seed Central Catholic Tuesday (4). The loss ends the season for Classical (11-10), but coach Erica Richard sees the cup as definitely being half full.
“For such a crazy off-season, if anyone had told me we’d be in the tournament I’d have taken that,” she said, referring to ACL injuries to both Shannon Magner, who never got to play an inning of her senior season; and Ally Dunnigan, who played, but with a big brace on her knee, and who was relegated to designated-player duty.
“We (Beverly and Classical) were both very competitive with each other,” said Richard. “Every time we played, we had good games.”
Friday’s was the tiebreaker as the teams split during the regular season. And if Classical wanted any portent of what was to come the first inning would have been a good place to start. After a great Kaitlin Marcinko-to-Dana-to-Leavitt relay cut down a run at the plate and limited the Panthers to a run on a two-out single by Hamor, the Panther left fielder went all the way to the fence to track down Alaina Gridley’s bid for a game-tying homer.
“She was unreal today,” said Beverly coach Megan Sudak. “She came up really big for us. I can put her anywhere and she’s going to come through.”
Classical finally came up with the game-tying run in the bottom of the fourth, but not before Hamor went well into the gap to rob Dana of extra bases in the second. Gridley led off the fourth with a single and was sacrificed to second by Marcinko. Leavitt followed with a double that brought home Gridley, but despite getting their bats on the ball, neither Calder nor DeJoie could get her home.
Beverly broke that tie in the fifth, and the entire rally occurred with two out. Maddy Jalbert and Julia Pitman hit back-to-back singles, with Jalbert taking third on Pitman’s base hit. Pitman stole second, and Caitlyn Munzing followed with a single up the middle, and the runners, both going on contact, made it home easily without drawing a throw to the plate.
“She really came up huge with two outs,” Sudak said. “For a senior and a co-captain, this is what you hope for.”
Richard said that while she’s disappointed at the way the season ended for the Rams, the future looks bright.
“We have a lot of juniors and sophomores who started,” she said, noting that both Adams (7 hits, 5 strikeouts) and Leavitt are 10th graders. Her only regular-playing seniors were Gridley, Marcinko in left field and Madison Angelli in center.
