GLOUCESTER — Murphy's Law was in full effect for the Gloucester softball team in yesterday's matchup with Lynn Classical.
Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong for the Fishermen.
Gloucester committed eight errors in the field, misplaying a number of routine fly balls and pop-ups. The Fishermen also had their hot bats cooled off by Rams pitcher Jenny Garrity in a 15-3 loss at Burnham's field. The loss broke Gloucester's four-game winning streak, a streak in which they outscored their opponents 34-18.
"We just had a bad day, every team has them," said Gloucester head coach Julie Ferguson, whose team is now 8-4. "We didn't come to play against a good team and we paid for it."
Lynn Classical head coach Chris Warren credited his entire team with the victory.
"Every girl on the team contributed to this win," Warren said. "It was nice to see us bounce back after losing our last game, the team really showed character."
The Rams jumped out to an early lead by plating four runs in the top of the second inning. Hannah Burns made it 1-0 when she singled in Sam Barker, who had also singled. Burns and Garrity made it 3-0 when they both came around to score on a Gloucester throwing error. Katie Fitzgerald then drove in Rachel Carroll to make it 4-0.
The Fishermen bounced back with a run of their own in the bottom of the second when Nicole Whipple came around to score on a throwing error after reaching on a fielder's choice.
The Rams, however, would make sure that was as close as the Fishermen got. After scoring one in the fourth, Classical broke the game wide open with a five-run top of the fifth inning. Amanda Stevens made it 7-1 Classical when she doubled in Barker and Afton Dean. Hannah Burns singled in Stevens one batter later to make it 8-1. Burns later scored on a double steal to make it 9-1. Fitzgerald capped off the scoring in the inning when she singled in Carroll to make it 10-1.
The Rams added one more run in the sixth and four more in the seventh.
Barker led the way offensively for the Rams with four hits and four runs scored, Stevens added three hits and three runs scored of her own. Alysha Clayton and Addy Blakely led the Fishermen offense with two hits each.
"We have been a great hitting team all year, and we kept it going today," Warren said. "It was really nice to see us get back on track."
The Fishermen will have two more games this week as they try to put yesterday's loss behind them. Gloucester travels to Lynn English tomorrow and hosts Revere on Friday.
Despite the loss, Ferguson still feels there is nothing to be concerned with, as the Fishermen just had a bad day and have been known to bounce back after a loss.
"There is nothing to worry about," Ferguson said. "We have a good team and they always stay positive and focus after a loss. We have two more games this week and we are looking to sure up our defense and get the offense going again."
Lynn Classical 15, Gloucester 3
at Burnham's Field, Gloucester
Lynn Classical: Katie Fitzgerald rf 5-0-2; Katie Sullivan cf 5-1-1; Afton Dean ss 5-1-1; Sam Barker c 5-4-4; Amanda Dean 1b 4-1-0; Amanda Stevens 2b 5-3-3; Hannah Burns 3b 5-2-2; Jenny Garrity p 3-1-1; Rachel Carroll dh 3-2-0. Totals 40-15-14.
Gloucester: Alysha Clayton 2b 4-0-2; Jill Lukegord p 3-0-1; Olivia Frontiero c 2-0-0; Savannah Jacobs c 1-0-0; Ali Kippen ss 3-1-1; Lani Gannon dh 3-1-1; Nicole Whipple cf 3-0-1; Addy Blakely 3b 3-0-2; Kelly Benson rf/p 2-0-0; Allie McCarthy 1b 3-0-0. Totals 27-3-9.
Lynn Classical: 040 151 4 — 15
Gloucester: 010 002 0 — 3
WP: Garrity; LP: Lukegord.
