LYNN — Sometimes, all it takes is one inning for a game to break out.
For Lynn Classical’s softball team, all it needed Friday morning was a big fifth inning to turn a deficit into a win against Lynn English. The Rams defeated the Bulldogs, 17-5.
But it wasn’t easy.
Trailing, 5-3, Classical scored 13 runs in the fifth for a commanding 16-5 advantage.
“Classical started squaring up the ball well and hitting the gaps,” said English Coach Ashley Aldred. “That inning, I think we only had one error, but they started to hit the ball well and kept finding the gaps and they just executed better with the bases loaded than we did, unfortunately.”
Classical Coach Joe Morin said his team is capable of those big innings. First things first, just “put the ball in play.
“We found holes and the pressure started to mount,” he said. “It’s hard to slow us down when we have momentum like that.”
The Rams collected 10 hits in the inning and took control of the contest. Despite a poor inning, starting pitcher Kate Johansson (8 K) of the Bulldogs threw a strong game.
“She’s pitched unbelievably for us all season. She’s kept us in every game. She stepped up big today in the circle,” Aldred said. “There were many situations today in which we were stuck and she got us out of it and left runners on. Throughout the game, we just needed the defense to back her up a little bit more, but she pitched one hell of a game.”
The Bulldogs struck first in the third inning when Annika Johansson brought in LeaNyah Pineiro from scoring position. Later in the inning, Amelia Serino hit a two-run single to left-center field to make it 3-0.
Aldred was full of praise for Serino, who is playing softball for the first time.
“It’s unbelievable because she’s in 10th grade and she’s never played softball – not even when she was growing up. She’s a hockey player, so her bat speed is just like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Aldred said. “She’s not trying to kill the ball. She’s just very quick, so when she does make contact, good things start to happen.”
To start the fifth inning, the Bulldogs had the bases loaded with no outs, but failed to bring any insurance runs across the plate thanks to a strikeout and double play at first base.
“This is probably the best hitting performance we have had all the way through the lineup. It was nice to see them execute,” Aldred said. “When we have bases loaded and nobody out, we just have to do a little bit better in executing in those situations, but it was nice to see some hitters who struggled lately get some hits today.”
If you ask Morin, tides shifted after escaping the bases-loaded situation.
“I think the biggest changing-point in the game was when they had bases loaded and no one out,” he said. “We got a strikeout and then a double play, and I believe that shifted all momentum to us.”
Classical’s Emma Chevalier played a big role in the win, recording five RBI.
“She’s been on fire this year. I think she’s 6-for-10 or 7-for-11 on the season. She’s been hitting the ball hard and even when she finds herself down 0-2, she finds a way to get the bat on the ball and put the ball in play,” Morin said. “I think she had two hits on two strikes. She has speed and is a really good bunter. She’s a really hard worker. Everything she does, she puts in maximum effort.”
Power hitting isn’t new to the Rams. Despite not being outside much due to weather conditions, Morin’s players have spent a lot of time swinging.
“We’ve been in the gym a lot and I think the one positive thing about that is that we have the pitching machine in there, so a lot of our kids are getting a lot of swings in,” Morin said. “Our No. 2, 3, 4, Emma, Nevaeh (Eth), and Brooke (Braswell) are all hitting over .500 this year. They’re hitting the ball hard and everyone else is getting the ball in play, so I feel like we’re very capable of big innings.”
The Bulldogs look to bounce back Monday when they host Chelsea at 10 a.m., while the Rams travel to Somerville on the same day and at the same time.
