LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield softball team went back and forth with visiting Triton Monday, but in the end the Pioneers gutted out a 8-6 win over their Cape Ann League rivals.
It was the first win of the year for a young Lynnfield team that didn’t falter despite facing a 5-3 hole in the fourth inning.
“We didn’t quit the whole game,” Lynnfield coach Peter Marinelli said. “And that’s the important thing. I just love that. When you’ve got young kids, it all depends on if mistakes bother them and they carry it or they let it go. (Monday), they let it go. And we obviously played better than we did the last game against North Reading (a 8-1 loss).I was very happy with what the team did (Monday).”
The Pioneers got contributions up and down the roster on the offensive side. Chloe Shapleigh brought the big bat for the Pioneers, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run in the third inning and three runs scored. Ava Marotta (1-for-3 with one walk) had two RBI and one run scored, while Reilly Ganter also drove in a pair of runs.
Ava Gamache and Celia Carbone each had one RBI. Catie Kampersal ran for Ganter — who also pitched all seven innings — and scored two runs. Lauren Amico also scored a pair of runs.
“We’ll take it,” Marinelli said. “Reilly Ganter got her first hit and it was a shot up the middle. If Chloe and Reilly get it going, then you have a few of the younger kids around them chipping in here and there it will be a good season for us.”
Ganter had a solid outing on the mound, with six strikeouts while allowing one walk, five hits and five earned runs.
She helped her own cause right from the start, knocking in Marotta on a fielder’s choice to get Lynnfield on the board in the first inning. A Triton error also allowed Shapleigh to score and the Pioneers went up 2-0 early.
But a Lynnfield error also got Triton started in the third, and the Vikings added a pair of runs of their own to even things at 2-2.
Shapleigh broke the tie in a big way next inning with her solo homer to right-center, but Lynnfield stranded two runners later in the inning. Triton followed with a big two-run double and a wild pitch to go ahead 5-3 in the fourth before Ganter struckout back-to-back batters to get out of the inning.
Lynnfield chipped away from there. Marotta knocked in Amico in the fourth and Kampersal scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Gamache in the fifth to tie things up at 5-5.
The Pioneers finally took control in the sixth when Marotta drove in another run, followed by an RBI single from Ganter. Kampersal scored again later in the inning to stretch the lead to 8-5.
Triton scored on a sacrifice fly after a nice grab from Gamache in left field but back-to-back putouts by Shapleigh at shortstop put the game away for Lynnfield.
“I thought Reilly pitched well (Monday),” Marinelli said. “Six strikeouts and one walk is obviously good. She pitched very well. You need pitching. We’ve got pitching this year. We have a good shortstop. We have two good senior leaders. Now it’s just a matter of bringing it along with the younger kids. I like what I see. It’s just a matter of giving them all as much playing time as we can.”
Lynnfield (1-1) hosts Rockport Wednesday (3:45).
