LYNN — The St. Mary’s softball team was locked in a pitchers’ duel with Lynn Classical all afternoon on Friday, but in the end the Spartans figured things out in time to have a four-run sixth inning and take down the Rams, 5-0, in a non-conference game at Breed Middle School.
“Overall, it was our defense and our pitching that picked us up today,” said St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca. “Offensively, Classical’s pitcher was good and really threw us off at the beginning. We started to do things better in the sixth when we were able to open it up, but we’ve got to come with better approaches at the plate moving forward.”
Spartans pitcher Lily Newhall was dominant in the circle, tossing a complete game and allowing just three hits with nine strikeouts. She had a no-hitter going into the top of the sixth inning before it was broken up.
“Lily was really on point today and she was moving her pitches around really well,” said Pagliuca. “Even when she allowed a couple of baserunners, she was able to bare down and made good pitches.”
On the offensive side of things, Sam Porazinski led the way after going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Alyssa Grossi (2-for-3) and Anna Fringuelli (0-for-3) each added one RBI, while Felicia D’Alessandro (1-for-2, run scored), Emely Rodriguez (1-for-2, run scored) and Jill Kirby (1-for-3, run scored) all contributed hits.
For Classical, it was the first softball game in nearly two full years — and it was long overdue.
“I’ve been like a little kid since (we started practice) Monday after not being on the field for so long, and some of these kids were freshman the last time they played and now they’re upperclassmen,” said Classical coach Erica Richard. “It’s a whole different team now, and to have only four days of practice coming into this game, I’m really proud of what we were able to do out there and how we battled until the very end.”
Brooke Warren had a great game in the circle herself for the Rams. The senior lefty pitched six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. She had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the fourth inning before it was broken up.
“She is just rock-solid,” Richard said of Warren. “She’s just going to make you work for every single run. (St. Mary’s) is one of the best teams in the state with one of the best pitchers in the state, and Brooke kept us in that game the whole way. She was awesome today.”
The Classical bats were largely quiet in the loss, with Warren going 1-for-1 with two walks, Reese Brinkler going 1-for-3 and Mekayla Poisson going 1-for-2.
The game was a scoreless tie until the bottom of the fourth inning, with neither team able to notch even a hit to that point. But D’Alessandro opened up the bottom of the fourth with a single, and then Grossi stepped in and laced an RBI double into the left-center field gap to put the Spartans on top 1-0.
Classical threatened to tie things up in the top of the sixth, moving a runner to third base with one out. But Newhall remained poised and got the job done, notching a strikeout and inducing a groundout to get out of the inning.
Then came the bottom of the sixth. Two singles and a fielder’s choice put runners on second and third with one out, then Porazinski came through with a clutch two-run double to make it 3-0. A fielder’s choice brought in another run after that, then Fringuelli capped the scoring with an RBI groundout to make it 5-0.
Newhall took over from there, maneuvering around a bit of trouble in the top of the seventh to seal the win.
Classical (0-1) plays on the road at Somerville Monday afternoon (4).
“We came out here (Friday) after not playing for two years, and we took great swings, we were scared and we played a really solid game,” said Richard. “I think we have a lot of great things that we can build on, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.”
St. Mary’s (8-1) has a quick turnaround with a Catholic Central League matchup against Bishop Feehan Saturday afternoon (12).
“It’s going to be a tough league game (Saturday), and we’re going to have to come with a better approach at the plate,” said Pagliuca. “Hopefully we can take some of the good things we did late in the game (Friday) and put those to good use.”
