LYNN — A complete-game shutout by Aidan Dow and a pair of RBI doubles from Deniel Ortiz was all it took for the Classical baseball team to earn a 4-0 win over crosstown rival English Thursday at Fraser Field.
Dow allowed five hits and struck out two.
“Aidan ended up at 85 pitches,” Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. “In the first four innings he attacked them. I liked the fact that he was working inside against batters early. It kept them off balance and was a little uncomfortable for them. I think that set the tone early.
“English can swing the bat,” Zukowski said. “So I was really proud with him doing that. With his curveball not exactly working, he was placing his fastball all over the plate and changing speeds. It was a great outing.”
Zukowski was also happy to see freshman second baseman Ortiz (2-for-3 with two RBIs) come through at the plate.
“We saw (Ortiz) field the ball with some really smooth hands early in the season,” Zukowski said. “We knew he would fit into the puzzle in some way. Second base was up for grabs and he had two huge hits in two huge at bats. He had a big smile (after the game) and we’re happy for him.”
Dayshon Anderson (2-for-3, RBI) and Nico Galeazzi (2-for-3) also contributed at the plate and scored a run each. Dow (1-for-3) and Brendan Lannon each scored a run.
English had nine base runners throughout the night, but a few too many mental mistakes came back to haunt the Bulldogs.
“We pitched well, we played defense well, but mental mistakes killed us,” English coach Doug Mullins said. “Just overall our execution was nonexistent. We deserved to lose this game by more runs than we did truthfully. Just little things that we talk about and work on in practice.
“We faced Dow last year,” Mullins said. “We talked about his move and his stuff before the game. To get picked off three times without any stealing or anything on is very frustrating. Whether it’s a win or a loss we need to learn from our mistakes and just get better.”
Classical got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. Galeazzi laced a double to start things off and moved over to third base on a ground out from Brett Bucklin. Anderson laced a two-out double to right-center to score Galeazzi and give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
From there both pitchers settled in. Dow allowed just three base runners in his first four innings, picking off two at first base while Galeazzi caught a runner stealing second.
English starter Julien Silvestri (six innings with three earned runs on five hits and two walks) cruised through the next two innings after allowing the first-inning run, striking out three batters.
Dow helped his own cause with a two-out infield single in the fourth. Dow stole second and third base before the next batter, Brendan Lannon, walked. Classical then executed a perfect early steal allowing Dow to score on the play and Lannon to reach third on an errant throw.
“We’re trying to get (Silvestri) to balk there,” Zukowski said of the play. “He didn’t, he pulled all the right moves, but Dow made a great break for the plate when he saw him turn and run towards the runner. We were able to take advantage of that.”
Ortiz drove Lannon home on a RBI double to give the Rams a 3-0 lead before English got out of the jam.
The Bulldogs finally put some runners on thanks to a walk by Juan Subervi and a single from Albert Torres in the fifth inning but English couldn’t get the big hit it needed.
Ortiz drove in another run in the sixth, plating Anderson on a RBI double to stretch the Rams’ lead to 4-0.
English loaded the bases with singles form Subveri and Torres and a walk by Ethan Labbe in the seventh inning, but Dow forced a fly out to close the game.
Both teams will continue Northeastern Conference play with outings at Revere. The Rams (4-1) hope to keep rolling Saturday (3) while the Bulldogs will hope to bounce back Monday (4).
