LYNN — On an evening dedicated to the seniors, it was fitting that Lynn English’s veteran group helped deliver a 4-3 walk-off win against Malden at Fraser Field.
Better yet, Wednesday’s tilt came with extra baseball.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, English had its bases loaded with one out and senior Kyle Furlong at the plate. Head coach Esteban Paula called for a squeeze play. When Furlong saw his pitch, he executed a perfect bunt to score Ewerd Beato from third base.
That was all she wrote.
“We talked about doing it before it happened. I told Kyle to be aware after one strike that we’re going to do it and he did it very well,” Paula said. “With Ewerd and his speed on third base, he did an unbelievable job.”
After conceding an RBI triple (1-0), it didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to fire back. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with Beato on first, senior Gilbert Galva hit a deep one to center field that cleared the fence.
“He told me during batting practice that he was going to go deep today. I told him that he just needs to stay short and quick to the middle and hit line drives,” Paula said. “He said he wanted to dedicate a home run to Saul Herrera, one of the seniors who got hurt in the first game and is out for the season. He dedicated that home run to him. It was so exciting to watch him go out and hit that home run for him. For Gilbert to be with the program for four years and be a captain of the team, it was nice to see him get that moment.”
The blast gave English a 2-1 lead before an infield single from Adriangel Santana scored Julian Rodriguez to make it 3-1.
Malden knotted the game 3-3 during the seventh inning, but English stayed confident — much to Paula’s delight.
“In baseball, you never know what’s going to happen. That’s why everyone needs to stay ready,” he said. “After they tied it in the seventh inning, we did a great job remaining confident that we were going to win this game at some point.”
In the top of the eighth inning, starting pitcher Angel Thomas (8 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 7 K) tossed a 1-2-3 inning.
“Angel is one of the best pitchers that we’ve had since last year. Going into the eighth inning, he saw someone warming up and he told me not to get him out of the game,” Paula said. “He told me that he needed this game and that this was going to be one of his last games here with the seniors.”
Speaking of seniors, Paula was quick to reflect on Herrera, Galva, Furlong, Thomas, and Angel De La Cruz.
“My seniors. It’s been a long ride. A lot of them have been with me since their freshman year. It’s going to be sad not seeing these seniors around next year,” he said. “They’ve been doing an unbelievable job. They showed great leadership and have great work ethic. It’s been an amazing ride.”
English is back in action Thursday when it hosts Peabody at 7 p.m.
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
