LYNN — It was a cold evening at Breed Middle School, where Lynn English’s softball team hosted Rockport. The Bulldogs (0-2) fell to the Vikings 22-5.
Lopsided defeat aside, first-year English coach Bri Skinner said there were positives.
“My first baseman, Adriana Martinez, had two unassisted double plays, which was really cool. She’s really sharp in the field,” Skinner said. “It was Amiyah Gibson’s first time catching behind the plate, ever, and I thought she did fantastic. Annika Johansson came in to pitch and that’s not her primary position, but she did well and tried her best. We had some positives and we were able to get everyone into the game. We just have to keep working; we have a lot of games left.”
Martinez made multiple eye-catching plays at first base, in addition to the pair of unassisted double plays. During the second inning, a Rockport batter hit a line-drive that looked destined for a base hit, but Martinez jumped and made a great snag.
“She has previous experience playing softball. She didn’t play last year, unfortunately, because she had double-knee surgery,” Skinner said. “She’s just a natural leader. She’s in ROTC and is our captain. She’s very vocal and very aware. I think it also helps that she’s a lefty. She always knows what’s going on and she tries to take control of the field. She’s sharp and accurate with her throws.”
Offensively, Cassandra Miranda reached base twice. During her first at-bat, she drew a walk before stealing a base and eventually stealing home on a passed ball. Miranda’s speed was too much for Rockport.
“She’s probably one of our best base runners. She walked to first and made her way all the way around to home. In her second at-bat, she stretched a hit into a double, which was awesome,” Skinner said. “She’s a freshman who has experience playing travel ball. She’s very knowledgeable and I know I can put her anywhere in the field and have all the confidence in her.”
Rockport struck first, scoring a run before the Bulldogs responded with two in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to Miranda stealing home and an RBI groundout from Jianny Bernabel.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Rockport plated 10 runs in the second inning and English couldn’t recover.
The Bulldogs look for their first win on Monday when they host Everett at 5:30 p.m.
“We’re going to practice tomorrow and work on what we saw from today and yesterday. We want to try and help our pitcher out by keeping her up and keeping her in momentum,” Skinner said. “We need to keep practicing the routine plays — that’s what we need to work on.”
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
