PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Lynn Tech’s Coral Gonzalez gets set to throw to first from her knees after making a play on the pitcher’s mound during the Agganis All-Star Softball game.
By SCOT COOPER
LYNN — If you’re going to hold an all-star game in Lynn for the area’s top high school softball players, you might as well have great performances by the girls from the city’s four high schools.
That’s what happened Sunday afternoon at Fraser Field as the North stars rallied to tie the South stars, 4-4.
The South got on the board in the top of the first off of Danvers’ Dara Papamichael. St. Mary’s battery mates, Mia Nowicki and Emily Stephenson got on base to start things off. Nowicki, a pitcher, drew a walk, and Stephenson followed with a single. Classical’s Alaina Gridley scored Nowicki with a sacrifice, and Stephenson strolled home on a single by Malden’s Caitlin Leonard.
The game stayed at 2-0 through the first three innings, Papamichael didn’t allow another South run in her three innings, and Nowicki whiffed eight of the first 12 batters she saw, allowing only a single to Triton’s Kendall Mitchell in the bottom of the second. Papamichael was helped by English infielder Emma Trahant, who made several great plays at second base, taking sure base hits away from the South team.
The South pushed another run across in the top of the fourth to make it 3-0. Once again it was the Lynn connection coming through, Stephenson reached on a single and came home on a groundout by Gridley, her second RBI of the game.
South coach Paige Licata of St. Mary’s usually sends a runner in for Stephenson, but her catcher told her before the game that she would be doing her own running Sunday if she got on.
“Emily told me before the game that she was running today and she certainly got some running in, scoring two runs and stealing a couple of bases,” Licata said. “We usually have a courtesy runner for her, but she wanted to run today, it’s a fun game and she certainly was having fun on the bases.”
Down by three, the North got in the board when Georgetown’s Kylie Hayward and Swampscott’s Kasey Kennedy scored a pair of unearned runs to make it 3-2 with the South up after four innings.
Stephenson gave the South a two run lead, driving in Everett’s Samantha Uga with her second hit of the ballgame, this one off of Lindsey Lannon of English. Lannon got that run back for the North in their half of the fifth, knocking in her Bulldog teammate Sarah Tobin to make it 4-3.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Lawrence’s Brianna Rivera scored on a South error, and the game ended tied at four. And that’s how it ended.
At the conclusion of the 20th Agganis softball game, Trahant was named the game MVP for the North team and Nowicki took the honors for the South. Trahant, who will play soccer at Curry next fall, said it was really great to play with so many good players.
“It was a lot of fun to be out there with this group of girls, it means a lot, being a Lynn player and playing in this game,” Trahant said. “It was an honor to be picked to play in this game.”
Nowicki, who will play at Assumption, said it was great fun to play in the Agganis game.
“If it looked like I was having fun out there, it’s because I was, I always have fun playing softball,” Nowicki said.
Swampscott’s Gary Moran, the coach of the North team, said he had the easiest job Sunday.
“I just roll them out there, all these girls can play, and play well, no signs, no nothing just send them out and let them play,” Moran said.
“A lot of these girls had a loss in their last high school game, so to wrap up their career’s in a fun game like this one today is great,” Licata added.
Tech’s Coral Gonzalez, St. Mary’s Victoria DiCenso, Casey Fraher, and Classical’s Emma Dejoie were also on the South squad, and Rachel Calnan, from English, was picked for the North squad.