Maybe Yogi Berra was thinking of the Lynn English Bulldawgs when he said “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
The Bulldogs seemed on their way to defeat at Winthrop on a gusty Patriots Day morning at Veterans Field, trailing 5-3 after six inning with Winthrop lefthander Jaiden Brown in control on the mound.
And then, the seventh inning.
Lynn English busted out with six runs and held on for a 9-6 win, proving Berra’s venerable wisdom in fine fashion. Winthrop jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on singles by Jaiden Brown and Jake Adamson, who both scored on sacrifice fly balls by first baseman Luigi Spinazzola and centerfielder Jack Wallace. Lynn English tied the game in the bottom of the first when Jeraldo Rojas singled and Briston Maynard walked and were driven home on a single by designated hitter Billy Allen.
English went up 3-2 in the second inning when rightfielder Julio Figueroa singled, stole second, moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on an error by Winthrop pitcher Jaiden Brown.
The see-saw continued as Winthrop tied the game in the third when Brown was hit by a pitch, stole second and then third, and came home on a Spinazzola double. The English bats were dead silent the next three innings, as Brown retired the side in order in the third, fourth, and fifth and shut down a rally in the sixth. Meanwhile, the Vikings went ahead 4-3 in the fourth after Christian Natareno hit a one-out single. After Patrick Stafford flied out to center, Dan Gillis hit into a fielder’s choice to move Natareno to second. Brown walked, and Jake Adamson lined a single to score Natareno.
Winthrop went ahead 5-3 with a solo run in the fifth, Chris Zuffante single, who had singled, scoring after a pair of pass balls.
Then Lynn English lowered the boom in the seventh. Erick Ubri walked and moved to second when Alex Rodriguez hit into a fielder’s choice. Wilbur Rosario singled, scoring Ubri. Winthrop pulled Brown and put Spinazzola on the mound, but Spinazzola had control problems and walked JC Gonzales, gave up a single to Geraldo Rojas to score Rosario, and walked Briston Maynard; with a pair of pass balls mixed in, English moved to an 8-5 lead and added a final run when Winthrop’s Jack Wallace, playing left field, couldn’t get the handle on a wind-blown fly ball to move to a 9-5 lead. Winthrop responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn’t enough as Lynn English took the win.