LYNN — Green and gold against blue and white – it doesn’t get much better than Lynn Classical and Swampscott going toe-to-toe on the diamond.
Beneath the bright sun at newly-renovated Fraser Field, the Rams are moving on to the championship game of the Doug Mullins Memorial Tournament after a 6-3 victory Friday evening.
Classical takes on St. Mary’s at 2 p.m. in Saturday’s title game, while Swampscott battles Lynn English in the consolation at 11 a.m. Both will be at Fraser Field, and in honor of Lynn baseball coach Doug Mullins, who passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer.
“The tournament itself is awesome,” Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. “A fabulous human being, a great coach, and did so much for the city… He’s missed.”
With Mullins Memorial merchandise being distributed by the front gate, and fans celebrating the weekend with some baseball, Friday was a good one.
After a back-and-forth first three innings – with Swampscott’s Jason Bouffard and Classical’s Christian Figueroa registering RBI (1-1) – a four-run fourth inning catapulted the Rams to a 5-1 lead.
Classical’s Brady Warren singled to plate two, while he and Christian Spates scored the other two runs after defensive Swampscott mistakes.
Defense was a problem for the Big Blue, something Swampscott coach Joe Caponigro acknowledged postgame.
“We made four errors [and] dropped a ball at first base that would’ve been a double play,” Caponigro said. “We left eight guys on base.”
Both Warren and Spates are seniors, and Zukowski was loving their leadership in the inning.
“I like how some of our seniors came out and got some big hits for us in big situations,” Zukowski said.
That said, Swampscott made things interesting. Will Roddy picked up an RBI-single and Luca Croft scored on a passed ball. Suddenly, it was 5-3 heading into the fifth – and sixth – innings.
“They showed some resilience and that’s one thing I’m proud of,” Caponigro said. “We’ve got a bunch of kids who work hard.”
Spates scored again in the sixth to make it 6-3 in favor of Classical – the eventual final. He was sent to home plate after rounding third with speed, and Swampscott’s throw-and-catch to home wasn’t executed.
“I like the fact that we took advantage of their mistakes,” Zukowski said. “They gave us opportunities and we had to take them.”
From there, Figueroa did his job on Classical’s mound, and was just an out away from a complete-game win as TJ Walsh took care of the final out.
“Pitchers throwing strikes and getting their outs,” Zukowski said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys this year.”
As for Figueroa – who snagged his fourth win of the season Friday – Zukowski credited his mental state.
“He doesn’t think too much,” Zukowski said. “He just prepares very well and that translates to game day.”
Swampscott – which led the hitting category 8-7 in defeat – had two men on with two outs in the final inning, but a batter struck out looking to end the game.
“We hit the ball OK, but then towards the end, we took some third strikes,” Caponigro said.
You’d think a coach wouldn’t find positives from a late-inning scare, but Zukowski took some positives away from it.
“I like playing close games,” Zukowski said. “I think it prepares these guys to play in the state tournament, and for tomorrow.”
Swampscott pitcher Jamison Ford – who kept his team in the game with a quick top of the seventh inning – played well in relief for Swampscott, which looks to rebound against English Saturday.
“I thought Ford came in and did a really decent job,” Caponigro said of his freshman. “We’ll regroup and be back here tomorrow morning.”
