LYNN — The Lynn Classical softball team got its revenge Wednesday, beating visiting Revere 5-0 in an all-around solid performance.
It was a flip of last Friday’s matchup where the Rams fell to the Patriots 5-2 on the road.
The turnaround is especially notable since the first matchup against Revere was an extra scheduled game — each Greater Boston League team only plays each other once — while Wednesday was the pair’s official league game.
“This team had something to prove (Wednesday),” Classical coach Erica Richard said. “It goes to show that we came ready to play from the first inning. Last time we played them we had those mistakes at the beginning. This time it was like, ‘let’s be the one to put those runs on first.’”
Senior pitcher Brooke Warren (four hits, no walks with five strikeouts) was great on the mound after graduating Wednesday morning and junior Izzy Faessler (1-for-2, two walks, two RBI) laced a key two-run triple in the fourth to get Classical started in the third inning.
“We played great defensively and Brooke pitched unbelievable,” Richard said. “Izzy had the biggest hit. It brought us from wanting to win to thinking we can do this. And we did the little things (Wednesday). It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest, but we put the ball in play. That’s what we didn’t do last time. We put the runners on and we found a way to score.”
Reese Brinkler and Gianna Coito each had one RBI and one run scored. Abby Fila added one RBI, while Emily Tineo, Delaney Dana and Kylie Poisson each scored one run.
For Revere, things finally cooled down after a red-hot start to the season. Pitcher Adrianna Fusco still had an impressive 14 strikeouts, but allowed five hits, six walks and hit one batter on her way to giving up five runs.
Revere put the bat on the ball, but only had four hits to show for it.
“(Wednesday) was the exact opposite of (the) last game,” Revere coach Joe Ciccarello said. “We made the right bunts, we made the right hits last time, and they couldn’t make the plays while we did. This game is the exact opposite. They put the bunts down, we didn’t make the plays. They got the right hits and we didn’t. That’s just the way it goes.”
Fusco and Warren combined for nine strikeouts in the first two innings before the Rams got things started in the third. Coito and Brinkler laid down perfect bunts before Faessler laced a fastball to left field and brought them both home to go up 2-0.
An inning later, Tineo walked and moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Fila before Brinkler drove her home on a single to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Revere threatened in the fifth with runners in scoring position and a red-hot Julianna Raffa at the plate, but Warren knocked down her line drive up the middle and got an out at home to shut it down.
The Rams added a pair of key insurance runs thanks to RBIs from Fila and Coita in the fifth. The 5-0 lead was enough for Warren, who allowed just one more hit and ended the game with a strikeout.
“We never let up,” Richard said. “From the first pitch to the last pitch we were in it, dialed in, focused and wanted to win. I was really proud of them.”
“Sometimes you can learn a lot from a loss,” Ciccarello said. “I hate to lose but when you step back and learn from it, sometimes you look back at the season and that loss can make you get better.”
Classical (3-2, 3-0 in GBL play) is at Medford Friday (4).
Revere (3-1) is at Lynn English Friday (4).
