baseball.htm

Congratulations to Tyler Gauthier, Eddie Terrero, and Kyle Devin for being selected to the NEC All Star Team.

LYNN -- Not even the best of screenwriters could have dreamed up the ending to Thursday's Classical-English baseball game at Fraser Field. If they had, it probably would have been rejected sight unseen.

Playing for their tournament lives, the Rams had a 3-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and Kyle Gauthier throwing a gem, but a dropped third strike on Gabe Smith gave the Bulldogs life...and English took it.

Dani Vicente played the hero as he blooped a single into short left to score two runs and complete a dramatic 4-3 comeback win for English.

"We got the break with Gabe on that third strike and sometimes you have to get that in this game," English coach Joe Caponigro said. "Classical played their hearts out and Kyle threw a great game for them. Baseball can just be crazy sometimes."

For the green-and-gold, it was a shocking end to a day that had seen them do everything to near perfection for 6.2 innings.

"I couldn't have asked for any more from Kyle," Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. "I knew when he came in to the park (Friday) that he had it. He just had that look in his eyes. The ball just didn't bounce our way in the seventh."

The bottom of the seventh started innocently enough as Gauthier (6.2 IP, 9K, 3 BB, 6H) got Eric Bransfield and Ben Bowden to quickly ground out. Pinch hitter Matt Burnham then drew a walk to keep the Bulldogs alive and bring the top of the order up.

Smith then waved at a sharp breaking ball that would have ended the game but it was too good of a pitch and got away from Eddie Terrero, allowing Smith to reach.

Junior Santos then increased the drama as he reached on an infield single to load the bases. Another passed ball with Vicente up brought Burnham in from third to make it 3-2 and put the tying and winning runs in scoring position.

Then with the count at 3-2, Vicente lifted a blooper to left that dropped in front of three converging Rams, scoring Smith and Santos easily to give English the win.

"Dani has been hot for us all season," Caponigro said. "And we told the kids at the start of the seventh to play to the last out. And to their credit, they did just that."

Classical (7-11) had an early threat against Bulldog (14-4) starter Sam Hill in the first but left a pair of runners on. English then grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning as Smith singled, was sacrificed to second and scored on Vicente's base hit.

It stayed 1-0 into the third when the Rams broke the ice. Gauthier walked with one out and raced home when Terrero doubled up the gap in left-center to tie the game at 1-1.

The Rams pushed into the lead in the fourth as Tyler Gauthier walked and later scored on a triple by No. 9 batter John Finnigan. A passed ball allowed Finnigan to cross for a 3-1 lead.

After that, Kyle Gauthier practically stole the show, holding English to one hit over the second through fifth innings and then surviving a sixth where the Bulldogs made three very loud outs.

"Kyle was mixing up his curveball and fastball very well," Caponigro said. "He really had us off balance and guessing."

The Rams also had a chance to add some insurance runs in the sixth as Kyle Devin doubled and went to third on Terry Finnigan's one-out single. But Hill dug deep and got the next two batters to set up the crazy finish.

BEVERLY -- The Lynn Classical baseball team came to Cooney Field on Monday knowing full well there was no wiggle room if it wanted to remain alive for a state tournament berth.

Needing to win their final four games, the Rams were down to their final three outs against Beverly, trailing 4-1 and facing a pitcher in Kyle Johnson that had shut them down most of the game. But a 2-run homer from John Finnigan got Classical going and the Rams later took advantage of two critical errors to plate five runs and steal away a 6-4 win from the Panthers.

"I've said it so many times, but this team works so hard and doesn't give up," Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. "We can't lose if we want to get in and they played like they want to be there."

Johnson had breezed relatively harmlessly through the first six innings, striking out nine and walking none while holding Classical to five hits.

The seventh, though, started on an ominous note as Buddy Ford was hit by a pitch. Johnson got the next batter before No. 9 hitter Finnigan made it a game when he blasted a 2-run homer over the left field fence to cut the lead to 4-3.

"Johnny came up from the JV's seven or eight games ago and has been swinging the bat very well," Zukowski said. "And that was a good at-bat. He waited for a pitch he could handle and drove it like we practice."

Wilfredo Feliz followed with a single to right, knocking Johnson from the game. Chris Mitchell took over on the mound.

Kyle Gauthier reached when a routine fly ball in center was dropped to open the door for the Rams a little more. Mitchell got Eddie Terrero on a popup for the second out before Ellido Reyes doubled down the line in left to tie the game at 4-4.

Kyle Devin then reached when his grounder to second was thrown away, scoring Reyes and Gauthier to make it 6-4, Classical.

Greg Rybak, who was brilliant in relief of Tyler Gauthier, took the mound and worked around an Ethan Trowt single by getting Austin Butler to ground into a game-ending double play to short.

"Greg came in and was huge for us," Zukowski said. "He stepped up and just threw strikes and we made the plays behind him we needed to."

Classical (7-10) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first as Feliz led off the game with a double and scored on Terrero's one-out double. Beverly rallied in the bottom of the second, scoring a pair of unearned runs on two Classical errors.

An inning later, Rybak made his lone mistake of the game and Trowt planted it over the centerfield fence to increase the Panther lead to 3-1 as Johnson was settling into a groove.

Classical loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth before Johnson struck out Tyler Gauthier and Joe Scuzzarella. Terry Finnigan was then called out for interfering with Johnson when the two collided as the Beverly pitcher was chasing a popup in foul ground.

The Panthers added a run in the fifth when Trowt doubled and scored on a Joe Wioncek single.

Salem 6, Classical 3

At Fraser Field, the Witches (10-6, 9-5 Northeastern Conference) qualified for the state tournament. Sean Linehan went the distance, striking out six and not walking a batter. He was also 2-for-3 with three RBI. Raphy Medrando went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.

The Rams (6-10) scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning with Eddie Terrero driving in Wilfredo Feliz on a sacrifice. Kyle Devin tripled in Kyle Gauthier (single) and then scored on a single by Tyler Gauthier. Ryan Powers took the loss with Greg Rybak going the final three innings.

LYNN -- A few more wins like this one, and the Lynn Classical baseball team will be using the "t" word - tournament - for real.

In his first complete game since undergoing arm surgery, Tyler Gauthier allowed just three hits and one earned run as the Rams defeated Peabody, 3-2, Friday night, at Fraser Field.

Classical (5-8) has won four of its last five and needs to go 5-2 the rest of the way to earn what seemed two weeks ago an unlikely spot in the post-season.

"If we play the way we played tonight, we can absolutely make the tournament," Classical coach Mike Zukowski.

The Rams got all their offense in the first inning on a walk and three straight hits, including a single from Ellido Reyes that drove in two runs and another single from Kyle Devin that drove in the other.

After that, Peabody pitcher Ryan McCarthy was nearly untouchable, allowing just two hits the rest of the way and setting down 12 in a row at one point.

But the story of the game was Gauthier, whose fastball hit 86 mph and had to pitch around two errors that put runners in scoring position and a booming double by Peter Sucharewicz that made the score 3-2 in the fifth.

"This one stings a bit," Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. "We had opportunities, but you have to give their pitcher credit. He bowed his neck and made great pitches when he needed to."

The Tanners (10-4) broke on top in the first inning when Andrew Bucci reached on a 2-base error, went to third on a sacrifice by Jim Leavitt and scored on a one-out single up the middle by Bob Losanno.

The Rams roared right back with three in the bottom of the first. With one out, Kyle Gauthier drew a 4-pitch walk and went to third on a single by Eddie Terrero, with Terrero taking second on the throw to third.

Peabody drew in its infield for Reyes, who hit a sharp grounder that broke off Bucci's glove at shortstop and went into shallow left field to score both runners.

"That was a tough break," Bettencourt said. "That's a play we usually make, but the turf is a little bit faster and we're not used to it."

Reyes went to second when Peabody had trouble picking up the ball in left field, and Devin hit the first pitch he saw to center to drive in the third run of the inning.

The Tanners squandered a leadoff single in the second from Ramses Vittini when they couldn't execute a sacrifice bunt, and another attempt at small ball in the third backfired when they couldn't get down a suicide squeeze.

"I'll take the hit for the squeeze," Bettencourt said. "I was trying to make something happen; get their pitcher out of his rythm, and it didn't work."

While McCarthy was mowing down Classical in the middle innings, Peabody drew closer when Derrik Pereira drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and scored when Sucharewicz's double one-hopped the fence in center.

In the sixth, Joe Gruntkowski reached on a 2-base error with one out, but Gauthier induced a flyout to end the inning and then retired the side in order in the seventh, though both Sucharewicz and Wes Sanders put up good fights before going down.

"Tyler was just tremendous tonight," Zukowski said. "He did a nice job of mixing in his off-speed stuff with his fastball. That's a very good (Peabody) team over there and he battled all night long."

Gloucester 7, Classical 2

At Lynn, Tyler Gauthier knocked in a run and scored a run for the Rams (4-8). Wilfredo Feliz knocked him in, and Kyle Gauthier scored the other run.

Classical 15, Swampscott 9

At Swampscott, the Rams (4-7) won their third in a row as Kyle Devin and Tyler Gauthier each went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. John Finnegan also had a homer as the Rams pounded out 18 hits.

"It's nice to see the hard work start to pay off," Classical coach Mike Zukowski said. "We're very happy."

Kyle Gauthier went the distance for Classical, allowing five earned runs in the win. Swampscott (2-10) got three hits and two RBI from Mike Walsh. Alex Patkin and Matt Barbuzzi each had two hits and two RBI in the loss.

Classical 6, Saugus 2

At Lynn, the Rams (2-7) had a power surge, as freshman Kyle Devin hit two homeruns and Tyler Gauthier hit one shot. Wilfredo Feliz hit an RBI single. Ellido Reyes and Ryan Powers both scored a run.

Greg Rybak went the distance and allowed two runs on four hits, while striking out three and walking three. Rybak was the winning pitcher for both Classical wins.

Danvers 6, Classical 1

At Fraser Field in Lynn, the Rams (1-7) played perhaps their best game of the season but it wasn't enough to overcome the brilliant pitching of Danvers (6-3) ace Greg Ladd. The senior struck out nine, walked one and allowed only four hits to get his fifth win of the season.

Classical broke on top in the third when Steve Smith reached on an error and later scored on Joe Scuzzarella's base hit. Danvers came right back in the fourth with a quartet of runs to assume the lead for good.

Falcon shortstop Kyle Larson was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Scott Hovey was 2-for-3 with two RBI; Mike Harris and D.J. Yost each went 2-for-3. Classical freshman Kyle Devin was 2-for-3; Tyler Gauthier had the other Ram hit.

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Marblehead 12, Classical 9

At Seaside Park in Marblehead , Classical ran out to a 7-1 lead after five innings before the Magicians (4-4) scored 10 times on eight hits in the fifth to grab the lead and win.

Colton Dana was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Flynn McCormack was 1-for-2 with two RBI for the Magicians. Dan Colbert got the win in relief with Evan Comeau picking up the save.

Beverly 16, Classical 6

At Fraser Field, the Rams (1-4) led 3-0 after one and were in a 6-6 tie after three innings before the Panthers (4-2) exploded for seven fourth-inning runs.

Kyle Devin had a pair of doubles and drove in three runs for Classical. Jason Fraher and Kyle Gauthier also drove in runs for the Rams.

Chris Mitchell and Ethan Trowt each drove home four runs for Beverly. Austin Butler had two hits, including a homer, along with Joe Wioncek

The Lynn Classical baseball team's early-season woes continued Friday morning as Salem spotted the Rams a first-inning lead before coming back to win, 2-1.

The star for the Witches (3-2) was pitcher Dan Dobroscielski, who went the distance, giving up four hits, striking out four, and walking one.

Dobroscielski also knocked in the game-tying run in the fifth. Brett Remon was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and, after a walk, Dobroscielski singled home the equalizer.

Classical pitcher Ryan Powers, who had held the Witches in check until the fifth, ran into difficulty, and walked home the go-ahead run.

"It was a very good game," said Salem coach Jim Tgettis. Both teams played well. And Classical made some nice plays in the field.

The Rams, 1-3, got their run in the first inning when leadoff hitter Wilfredo Feliz singled and Tyler Gauthier doubled him home.

LYNN -- Wednesday's Classical-Revere game was a strange one to begin with. But the ending was truly bizarre.

From the get-go, Classical was in a giving mood, allowing four unearned runs in the first inning. The Rams' largesse was even more charitable at the end, as the tying runner was picked off third base after a play that -- hopefully -- would have brought him home fell apart.

The result was a 7-6 Revere win, and a mighty frustrated Classical coach.

"We dug too much of a hole," coach Mike Zukowski said. "And we couldn't quite catch up."

The bottom of the seventh was the culmination of all the Classical frustration for the day. Down 7-5, Revere starter Jonathan Chiarelli got two quick outs (the second one when Ellido Reyes was ruled to have swung at strike three as he was hit by the pitch)

But Kyle Devin singled, and Justin Hart walked, with both moving up on a wild pitch. Joe Scuzzarella reached on an error, with Devin scoring and Hart moving to third.

With leadoff hitter Wilfredo Feliz up, Classical tried a double steal, designed to confuse Chiarelli and Revere and, with any luck, get Hart home with the tying run.

Instead, Hart was picked off third to end the game.

"We tried something, and it didn't work," Zukowski said. "That's all there really is to say. We hoped he'd balk, or throw wildly, or something."

Pitcher Greg Ryback deserved better as the Rams made two errors (and could have easily been charged with another one) in the first, allowing four Revere runners to score. The big hit was a two-run single by No. 8 hitter Russ Gordon (the bottom third of the order knocked in four runs and scored two).

Classical got a run back in the bottom of the first when Tyler Gauthier knocked in his brother, Kyle, with a base hit. But Revere was back with two more in the third on a single by Dale Paradise, and back-to-back doubles by Paul Norton and Gordon.

Classical was handcuffed throughout the middle innings by Chiarelli's assortment of off-speed pitches. However, the Rams finally got to Chiarelli in the fifth inning, scoring four runs. They got RBI from Eddie Terrero, Ryback, Reyes and Devin. It could have been more, too, but Revere second baseman Nick DiMare made a nice diving play on Devin's grounder. A run scored, but it could have been more.

But Chris Adreani's home run in the top of the seventh that made it 7-5 proved to be crucial, considering how the game ended.

"I thought Jonathan pitched real well," said Revere coach Joe Ranno, whose team moved to 2-1. "He has a nice little curve, and he kept their kids off balance with it.

"We hit the ball well today too," he said. "I think we're coming around."

Classical pitcher Kyle Gauthier only allowed three hits Thursday, but unfortunately for the Rams, Peabody freshman pitcher Patrick Ruotolo was also spinning a gem and the result was a 3-1 win for Peabody at Peabody.

The Tanners went up 1-0 in the first inning when Joe Gruntkowski scored on an error by the shortstop. Classical tied things up in the third when Wilfredo Feliz singled and came home on a hard-hit ball to right field by Eddie Terrero that went in and out of the fielder's glove. Peabody added two runs in the fifth with Andrew Bucci knocking in the first run and the second coming on an outfield error. Classical threatened in the sixth inning, but the comeback fell short.

Ruotolo, in his first varsity appearance, went six innings. He allowed two hits and struck out eight. Ryan McCarthy came on in the seventh for the save. Gauthier allowed three hits, fanned three and walked four.

"When you put a freshman on the mound and come out with a win, that's a positive thing," Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. "But I give their pitcher credit. He was all about throwing strikes. He kept the ball away from us. He threw a very good game."

Spring forward, fall back, runs the Daylight Savings Time maxim, and Lynn Classical baseball coach Mike Zukowski hopes his Rams will continue to spring forward.

Two years ago, Classical finished 5-15 in Zukowski's rookie season as Classical head coach. The 2009 Rams won two more games to post a 7-13 record.

"I want to build on that," Zukowski said. "We have talent."

This year's Rams also have experience, starting with senior co-captains Ellido Reyes and Tyler Gauthier, who both headlined Zukowski's list of key returning players. Reyes will start at third base for the third year (a position he is "solid" at, his coach said), while Gauthier will pitch and play first base. Last season, Gauthier played first, but a shoulder injury prevented him from pitching.

Gauthier is one of five returning varsity pitchers. Rounding out the list are classmates Ryan Powers (who is also a shortstop), Justin Hart (a reliever), junior Greg Rybak (a "very valuable" utilityman when not on the mound, his coach said) and sophomore Kyle Gauthier (who plays second and short as well, and is Tyler's brother).

With so much depth at the position, Zukowski characterized it as a strength of his team. He characterized Tyler Gauthier as a power pitcher, whereas Rybak, Powers and Kyle Gauthier have a style that is more "ground ball, pop fly, let's-get-the-outs, keep-our-fielders-in-the-game," Zukowski said.

Of his pitchers' velocity, the coach said, "I can't tell you how fast, but they throw pretty hard." However, he reminded, "It's not about how hard you throw."

Catcher Eddie Terrero, who is also a returning senior, will set up behind the plate for the pitching staff, while fellow veteran classmate Terry Finnigan will vie for the position of second base.

Hitting-wise, Zukowski liked what he saw from Tech transfer Wilfredo Feliz at practice on Tuesday. (The coach is unsure what position Feliz will play.) Terrero and Tyler Gauthier will probably bat in the middle of the order, while "Reyes will have to play a big role at the plate for us," his coach said. Terrero and Rybak each have some power, with both players hitting several home runs for the Rams last season.

Zukowski does need to fill his outfield spots, as the previous season's edition -- Mike Gallo in left, Brian Kolodziej in center, and Wilson Mercado in right -- have all graduated.

"It's kind of up in the air right now," the coach said. "It's still really between a handful of guys."

He will have just under a month to make personnel decisions, as the Rams start their season on April 14 in a non-leaguer with Georgetown. The Rams and Royals have played the last two seasons. Two days later, Classical opens Northeastern Conference play against Peabody.

If the coach is looking for signs of progress, the weather can serve as a metaphor. Monday's rain kept the Rams indoors all day, but on Tuesday the clouds departed enough for the team to practice outside, albeit in a parking lot.

"The dirt's still a little muddy," Zukowski said. "The cement was fine." Referring to the conditions, he added, "You don't need too much to throw a ball."

About 65 players came out on Monday and Tuesday to do just that. The Rams have 22 freshmen on the team (one of them, Kyle Devin, drew praise from the coach) and just under 20 sophomores.

The coaching staff includes varsity assistant Jeff Waldron (who is also the manager of the North Shore Navigators), JV coach D.J. McNulty and freshman coach Wayne Marabito.

Zukowski's expectations, he said, are "to compete. To be in every single game. I told them, 'We've got to practice hard, every day.' We set short-term goals. Our number-one goal is to get 10 wins and a tournament (spot)."

Classical Baseball 2010