Lynn Classical’s Brooke Warren will leave the stage as one of the most unheralded stars in Lynn’s high school sports history.
But Warren will go out in style, having nailed down the save in her South team’s 4-3 victory in the Harry Agganis All-Star Softball Classic Sunday at Fraser Field in Lynn.
The crafty lefthander struck out the North’s final batter to complete two stellar innings of work in relief. Warren also had a basehit and patiently worked for a walk with runners on base in her other at-bat. Had she been competing for herself and not putting her team first, Brooke Warren could have aggressively pursued an RBI basehit and emerged as the premier MVP contender, though Saugus pitcher Leah Ventre (2-for-2, 2 RBI, two innings pitched) was a deserving choice.
Like many high school athletes, Warren saw her junior season (2020) canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rams played an abbreviated softball campaign in the Greater Boston League this spring.
Warren delivered big for Coach Erica Richard’s contingent, leading the Rams to the GBL championship game where she gallantly pitched 10 innings in a tough 5-2 loss to the Revere. Warren also excelled in a 2-1 defeat to North Andover in the opening round of the Division 1 State Tournament.
But the matchup of aces everyone wanted to see – Classical’s Brooke Warren versus St. Mary’s Lily Newhall in the championship game of the Holland Memorial Softball Tournament – never materialized due to the pandemic.
The two mega-pitchers did face off in the Rams’ 2021 season opener but the dream matchup occurred after just a four days of pre-season practices. Newhall outdueled Warren for the 5-0 victory.
Following Sunday’s career finale in the Agganis Classic, Warren deflected a question about her game MVP credentials.
“She [Ventre] deserved it,” said Warren in true sportsmanlike fashion.
Warren understood the reality that her career was played under unprecedented circumstances.
“I’m happy with my career,” she said. “It’s sad that it’s over, but it was a good run. There was a lot going on this season [because of the effects of the pandemic]. The season kind of felt rushed, but it was still a good time.”
Selected as Classical’s GBL Scholar Athlete of the Year, Warren, also a standout volleyball player, will be attending Emmanuel College and studying Biology. Brooke hasn’t decided whether she will be continuing her softball career in college.
Because the pandemic derailed a regular four-year career path and denied the rising totals in strikeouts, shutouts, and no-hitters (she did pitch a perfect game in her freshman year) that Brooke Warren could have compiled, there is no telling the records she would have set or the individual awards she would have amassed. The hope is that when the Lynn Classical Hall of Fame Committee considers Brooke Warren’s candidacy a decade from now, they will make note of the obstacles she and her teammates encountered during the final years of their high school careers. Warren truly deserves to be recognized among the school’s best all-time athletes.
Warren credited her coach, Erica Richard, for being such a positive influence in her softball career.
“I love my coach,” said Brooke. “She’s helped me so much. She’s just been the best for the past four years and I can’t thank her enough for everything she’s done.”
Brooke also thanked her parents, former Lynn English Super Bowl quarterback Chris Warren, who is a vice principal at Classical, and Leah Kalapinski Warren, a teacher at Classical, for their support and inspiration from her beginnings in East Lynn Little League through her high school career.
“They’ve just helped me through everything,” said Brooke. “They’ve been my support system forever and I don’t know what I’d do without them. I’m so grateful to them.”