Lynch, Lee Blank Smith Vocational
LEE, Mass. – Bri Lynch Monday struck out 15 and allowed two hits to lead the Lee softball team to an 8-0 win over Smith Vocational.
Kayla Clark went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to spark Lee’s offense as the Wildcats snapped a three-game skid.
“It felt very nice [to get a win],” Lee coach Scott Sibley said. “We’ve been playing teams that are very good. We’ve competed with them. We’ve just found ways to kind of self-destruct. Even that last game against Lenox. It was 4-0. But it could have been a 1-0 game. We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.
“But it was nice to see us get a lead today. It kind of kept our energy up.”
After Juliana Schuerer and Lynch earned back-to-back walks with one out in the bottom of the first, Clark singled up the middle to give Lee a 1-0 lead.
Lynch came home when Lily Brancato reached on an error to make it 2-0.
The Wildcats then tacked on three runs in the second, when Samantha Warner got things started with a leadoff single, and Clark added another RBI single.
Meanwhile, Lynch was cruising, not allowing a base runner until a one-out error in the top of the fourth.
Lynch struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced.
“Lily called a great game,” Sibley said, referring to catcher Brancato. “We threw out a couple of different pitchers at times to keep them off balance. I think [Lynch] really had the rhythm going today. She was mixing up the pitches really worked well for her.
“Everything except one of her pitches was working for her. Everything else was working pretty well.”
Lynch lost her no-hit bid when the Vikings’ Willow Hicks singled to center field with two out in the top of the sixth.
The visitors got another two-out hit in the seventh, but Lynch closed the door by recording her 15th strikeout to end the game.
Delaney Reed and Lynch each had a single in the win.
One thing that kept the Wildcats from threatening to score in double figures was a problem on the basepaths in the third inning, when back-to-back runners were hung up in rundowns when Smith Vocational catcher Vanessa Antil caught them off base.
“We’re trying to be aggressive,” Sibley said. “We’re trying to make other teams make mistakes. We’re kind of offensively challenged a little bit. So if we can get on base adn cause some damage with some of the speed we have, we’re going to try to take advantage of it.
“Today, there were one of two that maybe I wish we could take back. But, overall, I think we played a pretty good game today. Errors have really killed us. In our five losses, we’ve had 22 errors and only scored 10 runs. Much better effort today.
Lee (3-5) hosts Westfield Tech on Wednesday.