ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Tori Adams, left, celebrates with teammate Maddie Dana after scoring the winning run.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN — Down four runs heading into the bottom of the seventh, the girls on the Classical softball team knew they’d have their work cut out for them against pitcher Madi Ernst and undefeated Marblehead.
But the Rams didn’t quit. And their perseverance was rewarded as they stunned the Magicians in a walkoff, 6-5, handing Marblehead its first loss.
The Rams struck first in the second inning, as Maddie Dana beat out an infield single. Dana advanced to third on two wild pitches, and was driven in by Emma Dejoie, who singled to third.
Meanwhile, Rams’ starter Tori Adams was keeping a powerful Marblehead lineup under wraps. In the top of the second, Classical escaped a potential Marblehead threat. Emily Trasher walked to lead off the inning, and took third on Emily Promise’s single. Montana Joyce struck out, but the third strike got past catcher Meg Leavitt and Trasher tried to scored. But Leavitt rifled a throw to Adams, who was covering home, to nail Trasher at the plate for the second out.
With two runners in scoring position, Adams fanned Sammy Treff for the third out.
The Magicians got on the board in dramatic fashion in the fifth. Montana Joyce started the inning with a single to left. With one out, pinch-hitter Sabrina Doughman put the Magicians ahead with one swing of the bat, sending the second pitch she saw over the fence in dead-center.
The Magicians added to their lead later in the inning as Ashley Stiles drove in McKenzie Joyce, who tripled after Doughman cleared the bases.
With things looking like they might get out of hand, especially with the heart of the Marblehead lineup seeing Adams for the third time, the Classical pitcher bore down, getting Allison Kapoll to fly out to deep center, and Trasher to ground back to the mound.
“I’d rather have them get hits than walks. If she’s throwing the ball across the plate and they’re being aggressive, we have to make the plays behind her,” said Classical coach Erica Richard. “It was just one of those days when they had a couple of good swings. I told the team that we’re not always going to win scoring one or two runs. We’ve got to be able to put runs on the board.”
The Magicians struck again in the sixth, as Sarah Bornstein led off with a double to right. Promise’s double knocked her home, and Montana Jove lined a double to left.
With a runner in scoring position and no outs, Adams sent down the next three hitters in order.
The Rams went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, and their prospects looked bleak, as Ernst was dealing.
But that just set the stage for what Richard called “the craziest seventh inning” she’s ever seen. Dejoie beat out an infield single with one out, sparking the rally. She stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. That’s when Ernst started to lose control.
Rebecca Walker drew ball four to put two runners on. Taylah Piazza popped up to second, and it looked like the Rams’ rally was in trouble.
Dejoie scored on a wild pitch with Kaitlin Marcinko at the plate, and Marcinko walked to keep the inning alive. Johnna Calder was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Adams beat out a ground ball to short, scoring Walker and closing the gap to 5-3. Two consecutive hit-by-pitches (Alaina Gridley and Leavitt) pushed across the tying run.
With Dana at the plate, a pitch bounced past Kapoll, and Adams took a chance as the ball skipped to the backstop. Adams slid in safely, and the Rams completed the improbable comeback.
“We’re a very young team and that’s a great win to keep us going and give us confidence. We were putting the bat on the ball all day, but we couldn’t seem to find a hole, said Richard. “We were waiting for that inning when we could break through. We said ‘we’re not giving up until we have to, until the game’s over. These are the types of games they’ll always remember.”