LYNN — Wednesday morning brought picture-perfect baseball weather – it was warm with a slight breeze and plenty of sun at Fraser Field.
Weather aside, it could’ve been better for Lynn English’s baseball team, which lost to Malden, 9-4.
Call it a tough start for the Bulldogs with Malden finding the scoreboard early. Next thing you knew, it was 3-0 in the first inning with the hosts on their heels.
“I think the first inning set the tone,” said English Coach Esteban Paula. “Right after that, they controlled the whole game.”
But the Bulldogs grabbed a run right back in the bottom of the first, courtesy of an RBI single to left field from Gilbert Galva.
Meanwhile, Malden’s offense kept pushing. The visitors scored in all but two innings, constantly forcing English to respond.
After a two-out double from Galva in the third inning, Jariel Benzan drove him in with a single to left-center field to cut the deficit to four (6-2).
By the fourth inning, Paula decided to make a pitching change with no one out and runners at first and second.
Paula elected to give Guilmer Galva the ball. Minutes later, he got out of the jam with a fielder’s choice, fly out, and strikeout.
“That was huge for us. He came in with nobody out and two guys on base and got us out of the inning,” Paula said. “I thought we had a chance to come back and win the game after that inning.”
The Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize in the bottom of the fourth inning, which led to Malden putting up another three runs in the fifth to take a commanding 9-2 lead.
Fast forward to the seventh. With two outs, English’s Ewerd Beato was hit by a pitch before stealing second.
Malden walked Guilmer Galva, forcing Gilbert Galva up to the plate. From there, he hit a deep bomb to left field that brought in both runners (9-4).
“Gilbert has been swinging the bat really well lately,” Paula said. “I hope he can keep hitting the ball like that for the rest of the season – he just started to get his confidence at the plate.”
When asked if he thought that ball had a chance to clear the fence, Paula thought it could’ve.
“That’s what I thought, but the wind was blowing in, so I was 50/50,” Paula said. “He’s feeling more comfortable at the plate right now and that’s a good sign for us.”
English looks to bounce back Thursday when it hosts Newburyport at 1 p.m.
“We didn’t come focused enough to play this game – it was a huge game for us. It would have been nice if we could’ve gotten the win,” Paula said. “We just have to learn from the loss and keep moving forward, and make sure to stay focused for the next game.”
