LYNN — A solid effort from junior starting pitcher Kyle Finnigan put the Classical baseball team in good position to win Thursday afternoon’s game against Somerville at Fraser Field. Add in a strong performance from Classical’s lineup, which tallied 14 hits, and the end result was an 11-3 win for the Rams.
Finnigan, making his first varsity start on the mound, tossed seven innings, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts. Save for a string of three consecutive hits from Somerville in the fifth and a pair of Classical errors in the seventh, Finnigan had little trouble getting through the Highlanders order.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better from Kyle,” Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. “We talked before the game and we said, ‘get the ball over the plate, let guys make plays for you and keep their hitters off balance.’ He did just that. He came out, threw strikes, kept them off balance and got his outs. For a kid making his first varsity start that’s pretty impressive.”
The Rams were the visiting team in Thursday’s game. The Highlanders were originally scheduled to host Classical but the game was moved to Fraser due to unplayable field conditions in Somerville.
Classical stormed out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Dayshon Anderson scored the game’s first run when he raced home on a wild pitch. Three batters later AJ Luciano (3-for-4, three RBI) hit a 2-RBI triple, scoring Cesar Carrero (2-for-4) and Kevin Durant (3-for-4).
“We’re working on our approaches,” Zukowski said. “It’s still early. We haven’t seen a lot of live pitching. We’re working on our approaches on the plate, looking for what’s our pitch versus swinging at their pitch. I was pleased at some of the at bats. There’s still some things we need to work on, like two-strike hitting, but I was happy with the approach at the plate today.”
After a scoreless third, Classical put three more on the board in the top of the fourth. A wild pitch brought Jared Defillipo (1-for-3) home and Danny Lilja’s (1-for-4, two RBI) 2-RBI single plated Carrero and Durant.
“Not only is the top of the order producing but we have guys in the bottom hitting line drives, getting them through and getting those RBI’s,” Zukowski said. “Sometimes you see guys stranded but I like the fact that we’re producing at the bottom of the order too.”
With a 6-0 lead, Finnigan mowed through the Highlanders and kept them scoreless until the fifth. After consecutive singles, a RBI double got Somerville on the board.
“The game plan was to go after them and make them hit the ball,” Zukowski said. “We have a lot of confidence in our defense and they made the plays for us.”
Classical fired back with four runs in the top of the sixth. Brett Bucklin (2-for-4, RBI) and David Barnard (1-for-4, RBI) hit RBI singles, scoring Lilja and Luciano, to bump the Classical lead to 8-1. Aidan Dow (1-for-1, two RBI) followed suit with a 2-RBI single, giving the Rams a 10-1 advantage.
Luciano’s RBI triple in the top of the seventh rounded out the scoring.
Somerville took advantage of a pair of Classical errors in the bottom half of the seventh to put two more runs on the board for the 11-3 final.
Classical (2-1) hosts Swampscott Monday afternoon (1) at Fraser.
“Swampscott always has a great team,” Zukowski said. “(Swampscott coach) Jason (Calichman) always does a great job with them. We’re expecting everyone’s best this year. I think teams will be gunning for us. We just have to play at the top of our game.”
Thursday’s win was the second victory in a row for the Rams. Classical defeated Winthrop, 16-0, in a 5-inning mercy-rule game Wednesday. Starting pitcher Bucklin earned the win on the mound in Wednesday’s game, tossing five inning with eight strikeouts and three hits. Luciano hit for the cycle to lead the Rams offense, going 4-for-4 with six RBI and three runs scored.