LYNN – Beverly coach Dave Wilbur had a feeling before the season even started that this year’s Panthers program had the potential for a big spring after returning eleven seniors and juniors from last year’s successful 16-5 campaign.
So far, the early results have backed up Wilbur’s intuition.
Yesterday morning in a cold and windy affair at Fraser Field in Lynn, senior pitcher Mike Brauninger went the distance, striking out nine, while classmate Nick Berry finished 2-for-4 (double) with an RBI as Beverly improved to 4-1 overall with a ground-it-out 3-2 victory over Lynn Classical in a Northeastern Conference tilt.
“It starts with Mike Brauninger, and in his first start of the season, he was awesome today,” said Wilbur. “We needed a big game from him, and he gave us one and our offense came up with some big hits when we needed them.”
Brauninger and Lynn Classical starter Aidan Dow each breezed through the first two innings before the Panthers finally broke through on offense in the top of the third. A one-out single from Spencer Brown, followed by back-to-back steals of second and third set up Clayton McAlpine, who drove a pitch into center to plate Brown with the game’s first run.
Lynn Classical (3-3) would immediately respond on the bottom of the frame after Danny Lilja led off with a walk and took third on a base hit from Brett Bucklin before coming around to score on a wild pitch.
The Panthers looked to have an opportunity to break the game wide open in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded and just one out, Brown ripped a line drive that first baseman David Barnard snagged out of the air before racing to the bag to double off the runner at first to quell the threat.
But after another shutdown inning from Brauninger, Beverly regained the lead in the top of the fifth after McAlpine doubled and later came around to score on a run-scoring single by Jack Ploszay. The Panthers would tag on a much-needed insurance run in the sixth on Berry’s RBI double because in the bottom of the seventh, with Brauninger looking to finish off the game, Classical rallied.
Dayshon Anderson fanned out to begin the frame but took first on a swinging strike three passed ball before moving to second on a single from pinch-hitter Chris Baio. Both runners would advance up a bag on a wild pitch before Anderson scored to make it 3-2 on an RBI fielder’s choice groundout by Lilja.
With a runner now at second and one out, Brauninger bore down and got a fly out to right field before closing out the win against Bucklin.
“Mike showed some composure in that seventh inning, but we’re a veteran team so we expect to show toughness in those tough spots, and today we did,” said Wilbur.
