REVERE — It may have taken 10 innings, but the Revere softball team simply wouldn’t be denied in Wednesday’s Greater Boston League title game at Griswold Park.
Following a three-run rally in the top of the 10th, the Patriots took down Lynn Classical to claim the GBL crown and end the regular season on the highest of notes.
“It was a battle, just like every other time we play them,” said Revere Coach Joe Ciccarello. “They’re a tough, well-coached team and it took everything we had to pull this one out. My starters are all seniors and they really wanted this one, and they went out and took it.”
The real story of the day was the pitchers’ duel between the two teams, as Revere’s Adrianna Fusco and Classical’s Brooke Warren both pitched all 10 innings and battled the whole way. Fusco came out on top, allowing two runs on seven hits with 13 strikeouts. Warren allowed five runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
“Adrianna has been great for us all year,” said Ciccarello. “She’s tough as nails and she’s been waiting for this for a long time, and she went out and took advantage of her opportunity to be great.”
“Brooke is just always going to keep us in every game,” said Classical Coach Erica Richard. “She’s the most dependable person out there, and she’s going to make teams work hard to get their runs. She’s just an all-around awesome kid, and I’m really proud of the way she’s pitched this year.”
On the offensive end for Revere, Nina Cassinello went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the way. Adrianna Keefe went 2-for-6 with a double and an RBI, while Erica Anderson (2-for-5), Julianna Raffa (1-for-6), Gianna Uminski (1-for-5), Lynzie Anderson (1-for-5) and Elianni Monge (1-for-4) all had hits.
For Classical, Mekayla Poisson (0-for-5) had the lone RBI on the day. Izzy Faessler went 2-for-5 with a double, while Warren (2-for-5), Gianna Coito (2-for-5, double) and Kylie Poisson (1-for-4) added hits.
“Both teams showed up to play and both teams played a great game, and it just came down to who was going to get that key run last,” said Richard. “We played a good game against a good team, but we need to be more consistent with getting runs across when we get runners on base.”
Both teams got runners on base and threatened in the early innings, but the score remained tied at 0-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning. A walk, a single and a passed ball put runners on second and third for Mekayla Poisson, who notched an RBI groundout to put the Rams up 1-0. Rachel Dana was up next and hit a ground ball as well, but Revere tried to throw out Kylie Poisson at home instead. Kylie Poisson slid under the tag and was called safe, making it 2-0 Classical.
Revere answered right back in the top of the sixth, loading up the bases with one out for Erica Anderson. A Classical error brought home a Revere run, then an unsuccessful fielder’s choice resulted in another Revere run to tie the score at 2-2.
And the score remained there for the next four innings, until Revere came up in the top of the 10th. Two singles and a stolen base put runners on second and third with no outs, and the rally was on. It started when Cassinello smacked a two-run double down the left field line to make it 4-2, then Keefe followed it up with an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 Patriots.
Fusco took over from there, shutting down the Rams in the bottom of the 10th to seal the win.
Revere (9-1) has earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Division 1 North tournament and will play No. 28 Masconomet in the preliminary round Friday (4).
Classical (7-5) will be the No. 12 seed in the Division 1 North tournament and will host No. 21 North Andover in the preliminary round Friday (5).
