Published in the May 18, 2016 edition
HAYLEY O’BRIEN pitched a complete game for the Pioneers in a nine-inning battle against Manchester-Essex, striking out 12 and earning the win in the 6-5 victory. (John Friberg Photo)
By JESSICA VALERIANI
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High School softball team beat Manchester-Essex in a close game that went into two extra innings last Wednesday.
“It was a game of give and take, give away and give back. Luckily we pulled it off in the end and they gave us more than we gave them,” said Lynnfield head coach Peter Marinelli.
Starting pitcher Hayley O’Brien played the entire the game on the mound and presented a very solid effort.
In nine innings, she struck out 12 batters and gave up two walks and “four or five hits,” Marinelli said.
“She had a little trouble throwing strikes but battled through the whole game. I’m very happy with her effort and that she pulled out a win in the end,” he said, adding that O’Brien has earned three of the team’s six season wins.
Lynnfield had 15 hits in the win, with Taylor Tringali leading the team with five hits. Allie Wing and Abbie Weaver both had three hits, Kelly Dillon had two hits and Annika Han and Christina Castadoro each added one.
The game remained close the entire time, with very strong efforts showing from both teams. The Pioneers plated their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the third when both Tringali and Weaver scored.
After being retired in order in the home half of the fourth, both Dillon and Wing scored two more runs for Lynnfield in the bottom of the fifth inning. Weaver scored the fifth and tying run in the bottom of the seventh, forcing extra innings.
The Pioneers held off the Hornets in the top of the eighth and were retired in order in the bottom half of the eighth.
Allie Wing opened the bottom of the ninth with a double. She was sent to third with a hit from Weaver and scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Tringali for the walk-off win.
“When we run the bases aggressively, we do ourselves a lot of big favors and that really helps our offense,” said Marinelli.
The victory marked the fifth win of the season for the Pioneers.
Defeat Georgetown
The Pioneers won their third game in row last Friday and sixth win of the season. They traveled to Georgetown for a rare night game where their bats came alive as they defeated the Royals 14-1 under the lights.
Lynnfield competes in the large school Kinney Division of the Cape Ann League and has a current league record of 4-7. The team’s overall record is now 6-7 for 12 points toward the 18 points needed to earn a state tournament berth. Lynnfield needs to win three out of these five games to earn a berth.
Upcoming games
The team’s remaining five games also count toward the league standings. The Pioneers traveled to Triton Monday (after press time) and will host Pentucket May 18 at 3:45 p.m. On Thursday, they’ll travel to Masconomet and next Monday, the road series continues with a game at Newburyport.
The Pioneers return home for their final regular season game on Wednesday, May 25 against rival North Reading at 3:45 p.m. The team’s seniors will be recognized during this game.
