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BILLERICA, Mass. -- Baseball is not a game that allows much time for reflection -- good or bad.

On Friday, Chelmsford was on the wrong side of a gut-wrenching, extra-inning loss to BC High. Such defeats usually have coaches wondering aloud about the overall mental state of their team’s psyche after such a calamitous loss. Lions coach Mike O’Keefe was no exception.

O’Keefe’s Lions returned to action Monday with a task equally as difficult as the one they encountered a short 72 hours prior. Against unbeaten Billerica, Chelmsford knew they had to get to get the bats off their shoulders to have any chance. The Lions also understood what a victory over their border rivals would do for their spiraling confidence.

Chelmsford rode that premise all the way to a 14-6 victory at Hall of Fame Field, after scoring nine runs in the third and adding five more in the fourth.

“One of the things we preach all the time here is you learn from the past but you can’t live in the past," O’Keefe said. “You learn from it, you let it go and you move on. We did that today. Our kids came out and swung the bats very well today. I know these kids have confidence in themselves but it has been lacking a little bit of late. Hopefully a game like this will improve our confidence a little more."

Falling behind 1-0 early, Chelmsford (6-3) took things over for good in the third by sending 13 batters to the plate. Billerica starter Robert Gambale was effective in his first two innings on the mound, but got punched around in the third as he allowed nine runs on nine hits and the Lions grabbed a 9-1 lead.

An RBI single off the bat of Mike DeDonato (3-for-4, three RBI) followed up by a run-producing triple from Russell Olive gave Chelmsford a 2-1 lead. The Lions bats, which finished with 16 hits overall, continued to pelt Gambale in the inning. Matt Rabbito doubled in Olive. Moments later Rabbito came around on Mike Rosa’s line single. The assault continued after Chelmsford loaded the bases. A fly out produced another run and DeDonato returned to the batters box and promptly blasted a two-run triple off the fence in right field.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a big test for us," said DeDonato, a junior. “That’s a great team we played and we knew we needed to come out swinging or else they would’ve put us away. Today we swung the bats well."

Reliever Chris Murphy took over for Gambale with two outs in the third, and was able to stop the bleeding for the time being. But entering the fourth, the junior righty wasn’t as fortunate. Murphy open things by issuing back-to-back walks and serving up a soft single to load the bases with nobody out. That set things up for sophomore Ben Sauter (three RBI), who drove in a pair with a hard single to right to make it 11-1.

Before the inning was over, the Lions plated three more courtesy of a Jack Campsmith single, a pass ball and an RBI single by Tommy Bishop, extending the lead to 13 runs.

The Indians (8-1) mustered a mini-comeback against Chelmsford right-hander Quinn Cooney in the fifth on the strength of a two-run double from Alec Mattar and an RBI single by Max Frawley. Billerica added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings but the deficit was much-to deep to crawl out from.

“It was great to see them battle back,” Indians coach Joe Higgins said. “Even though the score was so lopsided they never quit. This was just a stinker for us today. Hopefully it’s a wake up call. I hope these kids now realize they need to bear down and know they need to play every game hard right from the beginning.”

CHELMSFORD, Mass. -– Chelmsford starting pitcher Tanner Houle tossed a complete game on Friday afternoon to pick up the win as Chelmsford (9-4) defeated Merrimack Valley Conference rival Lowell, 4-2, for their second victory over the Red Raiders this season and their fifth win in a row.

The Lions wasted little time getting on the board as they plated three first inning runs, sending seven batters to the plate in a 15-minute opening inning.

Chelmsford senior first baseman Thomas Murphy struck the biggest blow in the inning as the lefty clean-up hitter took a breaking ball the other way for a two-run double over the head of the left fielder. The RBI double plated Matt Rabbito and Michael DeDonato. Rabbito had previously raked a double off the left field rock wall that scored lead-off man Mason Trubey.

“I was down in the count so I was just trying to battle back,” said Murphy. “He left one over the plate so I was just trying to go the opposite way.”

The Lions would score their fourth run in the third inning as Russell Olive walked with the bases loaded to force DeDonato in for his second run scored of the game.

With a 4-0 lead Houle made quick work of the Red Raiders in the fourth inning as he did a great job of mixing up his pitches and keeping the Lowell hitters off balance all afternoon. The only trouble that Houle encountered on the day came in the fifth inning as Lowell mounted a rally behind a leadoff single from R.J. Noel and an RBI double from Joe Parisi that would lead to two runs in the inning.

“It feels real good as last year they got us pretty good both games,” recalled Houle. “To get them back this year makes me so happy.”

Houle also picked up the win out of the bullpen during the first meeting between the two teams on April 13. Chelmsford defeated Lowell 11-5 in that contest.

Momentum killer: The Red Raiders scored two runs in the fifth inning and were looking for more as they had runners on the corners with one out.

Rabbito would then come up with the game’s biggest play as the junior backstop threw out R.J. Gray trying to steal second base. The caught stealing halted a feverish Lowell rally and gave Chelmsford a key second out to help curb the Lowell comeback.

“Knowing I have him makes me so happy out there,” said Houle of his battery mate. “I can throw a slow curve and he can still beat them out there and if I throw it in the dirt he will knock it down.”

The Beauty of Ayotte: Ayotte Field in North Chelmsford is one of the classic fields in Eastern Massachusetts as it sports a short, sloped rock wall in left field that often draws the attention of batters. The neighborhood ballpark is set on the banks of Freeman Lake and is named after legendary long time Chelmsford coach Harry Ayotte, who passed away last year.

Friday afternoon was no different, as Rabbito pelted the rock wall on the fly, resulting in a first inning RBI double.

“The rocks are there and that ball that he hit could have bounced any direction,” said Chelmsford head coach Mike O’Keefe. “It is a unique field and we are happy that it is ours.”

Red Hot Lions: The Lions have now won five games in a row, and eight out of their last nine, as they head into the home stretch of their schedule.

“We are working on team chemistry as we go along,” explained Murphy. “Each game we seem to be getting better and I am excited to play the next couple of games.”

The Lions get back to action on Monday as they host Andover in another MVC Large battle. First pitch is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. at Ayotte.

“We are starting to understand who we are and what we do well,” O’Keefe said. “As long as we don’t beat ourselves it gives us an opportunity to do what we did today.”

DORCHESTER, Mass. -- With a number of quality arms graduated from last year's squad, BC High's No. 1 preseason ranking in ESPN Boston's statewide poll is largely predicated on the number of live bats returning to the lineup. But if the performance this morning by senior righthander Johnny Arens is any indicator of the staff's quality, the Eagles might be OK in that department too.

Arens, a Milton resident, threw just four innings with the varsity last year. It wasn't a perfect outing for him, but he threw mostly fastballs, retiring the first 12 batters in succession -- including the first six all by way of fly-out -- en routed to a one-hitter in five innings of work. He fanned four batters and walked three, and managed to get out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the top of the fifth inning to preserve a 2-0 lead.

After that, senior second baseman Chuckie Connors put on the finishing touches of what was a 5-1 win, lining a frozen rope to centerfield in the bottom of the sixth for a two-run single, the final runs of the game.

"I don't think he walked anybody until the fifth," Eagles head coach Norm Walsh said of Arens. "When I talked to him the other day, I said 'Don't walk anybody, and we'll be in good shape', because overall we're going to play good defense. So I was very pleased with that for him. He needed a good start."

"It felt good," Arens said softly. "I was a little off, but the defense definitely got it done."

The operative word there is defense. The Eagles (2-0) boast one of the state's best middle infields, and the leather was on display in the middle innings.

Arens walked the first two batters of the top of the fifth and then -- working from the stretch -- surrendered a Mason Trubey line drive single to center to load up the bases with no outs. Walsh sense discomfort from his starting pitcher working from the windup, instructed him to go back to the wind-up, and the results were much more favorable. Arens rung up Jake Kelley swinging, then Connor Barry hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and preserve the lead over the Lions (1-1).

Battling for Bases: The bottom of the fourth was a good demonstration in run production for the Eagles.

Up 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, BC High's Chris Donovan manufactured a run with the benefit of two throwing errors by Chelmsford on pickoffs. After the first pickoff error that sent Donovan to second, Walsh called for a timeout, went out to meet Donovan and told him to beware of a wheel play the Lions might run.

After taking another bag on a pickoff error, he was sent home by a Ryan Tufts sacrifice fly to left field. Tufts initially went down 0-2 in the count to righty Tanner Houle, but battled back to a full count, fouling off two pitches before getting under a 3-2 curveball to complete the eight-pitch at bat

"I went up there taking first strike, and then I went behind," Tufts said. "I knew [with] a two-strike approach, you just try to protect and hit the ball into play."

Running on Rabbito: Chelmsford junior catcher Matt Rabbito has one of the best arms from behind the plate in the Merrimack Valley Conference, but the Eagles were not afraid to test it. They made three attempts to steal second, finding success twice.

"You don't run on the catcher -- you run on the pitchers," Walsh said. "We were looking for certain things in certain situations from pitchers, rather than so much for the catcher. Obviously if he can't throw, then yes, but we knew he could throw. So we're keying much more off the pitchers than we are off the catcher, and then count situation and you know, you're looking for off-speed, stuff like that to run on."

Hill hurt: Chelmsford third baseman Derek Hill left the game in the third inning with a knee injury, and was replaced by Barry. Head coach Mike O'Keefe didn't yet know the extent of the injury, or timetable, after the game.

"It looks like he twisted his knee, seemed pretty stiff, so we'll re-evaluate that when we get back," O'Keefe said. "Hopefully he's going to be OK. I saw something was wrong. I should have called a timeout and let the guy know I wasn't realy going to see my pitcher, I knew something was wrong with him. But hopefully he'll be fine."

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Sorry, no bulletin board material this time around.

A week after boldly guaranteeing a victory over BC High in an interview with ESPN Boston (his No. 8 Chelmsford Lions lost by three scores), quarterback Colby Emanouil bounced back efficiently in tonight's 42-16 win over Lawrence at Veterans Memorial Stadium. He ran, threw and caught his way to the tune of 162 total yards and two touchdowns, as the Lions won their Merrimack Valley Conference opener.

The Lions dictated the tempo right from the get go, marching 51 yards in seven plays on their first drive to score easily. Setting up the run was a 29-yard scamper by Eddie Sheridan (128 total yards, 3 total TD) off a sweep down the left sideline, breaking loose for 29 yards and running it down to the two thanks in no small part to split end Vinny Maniscalco.

Split wide to the near sideline out of a twins left I-formation, Maniscalco sustained his block 15 yards downfield and kept the Lawrence defensive back pinned towards the sideline, to open up the perimeter for Sheridan and make it a footrace. Sheridan plunged in from two yards out on the next play (with Boston College-bound linebacker Tim Joy as the lead blocker), and tapped on a two-point rush for the game's opening score with two minutes left in the first quarter.

Chelmsford scored three more times in the second quarter on a Sheridan plunge, a 30-yard Connor Brimley interception return, and a back-breaking 44-yard throwback pass from Eric Van Gelder to Emanouil, making it 29-0 headed into the half.

Spoken like a kid on double secret probation, Emanouil was all smiles yet all vanilla following the win.

"We were just looking to get our confidence back after that loss," Emanouil said. "It felt great to get our confidence back again. That's all we wanted."

The momentum swing following last week's loss to No. 3 BC High was evident tonight.

"Sometimes a loss can help you," Lions head coach Bruce Rich said. "Last week we were able to take a good look at ourselves, and we improved. We watched film from that BC game, and I thought our kids showed up with the right attitude tonight. I thought they had a good attitude last week, but we were just able to fix more things with that loss under our belt."

Said Lawrence head coach Mike Yameen, "They just played faster than us. We knew we were facing a good team, they just played faster and were a better team. We're not playing as well as I know we can, but we just lost to a better team today. That's just the bottom line."

Play of the game: Undoubtedly, Emanouil's impromptu flea-flicker (more on that in a second) shifted whatever momentum left on the fence all the way in favor of Chelmsford. The Lions came out in a four-receiver shotgun set, with three receivers in trips to the far right sideline and fullback Matt Rabbito in a three-point stance in the slot one yard off the ball.

Emanouil planted and immediately fired to Van Gelder, who started towards the left sideline like it was an end-around. The play was designed as a change-of-pace play to catch the Lancers off guard, with Van Gelder pushing north around the left side; but with the receiver in trouble, Emanouil broke off his blocking defender and hauled in a short bloop of a pass. Emanouil then reversed direction and raced to the near right pylon some 40 yards downfield, untouched, for the score.

"It wasn't designed for me at all, actually," Emanouil said. "I was supposed to be blocking over there, and I saw him struggling, so I called for the ball. Then I did my thing. It was improvised -- well-improvised."

Said Rich, "I can't tell you if it was exactly by design, with Colby finally catching the ball and running it in, but it's going to make more people work in practice. So, it worked."

Pound and stretch: Rich is known across the state for using the I Formation to pound it hard between the tackles, and tonight wasn't too much of a deviation. The Lions used primarily double-tight and twins packages; in goal line and short-yardage situations, they deployed two fullbacks and a tailback stacked linearly (known more popularly as the "Stack I" or "Maryland I"), with Joy as the lead blocker.

"That's the best play, my favorite play of the game," Joy laughed. "It just comes down to whoever's tougher, and you're not going to be tougher than me."

But in the final four minutes of the first half, the Lions abandoned that altogether and stretched the field, deploying double-slot and trips sets out of the shotgun, or in one instance putting Emanouil under center with four receivers in a diamond formation to the right.

The change of pace was efficient in the Lions' final drive of the first half, as they marched 75 yards in 41 seconds and four plays, capped with Emanouil's 44-yard touchdown reception.

"We're capable of opening up, we've always been," Rich said. "I know it's generally out of the I, running power, but we're able to open it up. Our quarterback is dangerous, he's got good wheels. We're able to run with him, and we've got some pretty good receivers as well. We got protection tonight [too], which I thought was good."

Happy feet, red zone miscues: To accomodate for its lack of size, Lawrence deploys a run-and-shoot scheme, with undersized quarterback Nathan Baez (5-foot-3, 145 pounds) executing bubble screens to the flats, and running backs like Kelvin Severino motioning from either slot and taking a jet sweep handoff.

Coupled with constant pre-snap movement, it's a scheme that keeps you on your toes. But the Lions countered with plenty of movement of their own, with linebackers Joy, Joey Christopher and Corey Everleigh hopping back and forth, and the secondary disguising Cover-2 at times to look like a Cover 0.

"I think when you face the spread offense, you really have to disguise, mix things up up front," Rich said. "They're trying to read from upstairs and tell the people down below what to call, so with all the movement in the secondary and up front, that causes confusion, and I thought it worked tonight.

One of the more commonly-voiced flaws about spread attacks is that they break down in the red zone. The Lancers were certainly able to move the ball, putting up 110 yards at the half to Chelmsford's 176; but twice they had the ball inside the Lions' 20 yard line, and both times they turned the ball over.

Harrington's mix and match: Senior defensive end Brett Harrington is one of the most versatile players on the defensive side of Chelmsford's squad, with his agility as a basketball center allowing him to shade outside in a two-point stance; play a five technique outside the tackles; or kick down to the nose, and shoot the A-gap. And at 6-foot-3 and a lean 220 pounds, he can overpower with force and speed.

It's a welcome change for a guy who before last year's switch to a 3-4 had spent his whole career in a two-point stance.

"Last year, we put him down in that d-tackle spot, and he took to it," Rich said of Harrington. "It was fantastic. He only played three football games for us last year (due to injury), but I think he's as good as they come. He's got great size, great agility. He plays basketball, he's a center on the basketball team, he's a main factor for us on that defensive line. He wreaks havoc, gets his hands up and can change directions and track quarterbacks."

Promise in secondary: Yameen had to be encouraged by the play of senior Demitiro Leonardo at safety. The 5-foot-9 senior was efficient in the second half, coming up with a few jarring stops in run support and keeping a few passes from turning into big gains with a few big hits.

"We had specific keys on them, tendencies we saw on film, which we didn't cover in the first half," Yameen said. "But he did a nice job tonight."

Fire it up: Just before kickoff, Lawrence emerges from the locker room with a lance, a spear and a sledgehammer. The players carrying those items are awarded them as "hit sticks" and "battle sticks" for delivering the game's best hit. The sticks were made a few years ago by an alum, according to Yameen.

"We got fired up tonight," Yameen said. "But after tonight, we've got to go back to the drawing board, see what we can do."

CHELMSFORD 42, LAWRENCE 16

CHM (3-1, 1-0 MVC) 8 21 0 13 --- 42
LAW (2-2, 1-1 MVC) 0 0 0 16 --- 16

First Quarter
C - Eddie Sheridan 2 run (Tim Joy rush) 2:02

Second Quarter
C - Sheridan 5 run (Charlie Calenda kick) 8:08
C - Connor Brimley 30 interception return (Calenda kick) 7:09
C - Colby Emanouil 44 pass from Eric Van Gelder (Calenda kick) 0:00

Fourth Quarter
C - Sheridan 22 pass from Emanouil (Calenda kick) 9:33
L - Joel Rodriguez 32 pass from Nathan Baez (Brian Montero-Ford rush) 5:41
C - Jeff D'Auria 2 run (kick failed) 2:22
L - Tim Lemasurier 85 kickoff return (Bobby Sullivan pass from Baez) 2:04

CHELMSFORD, Mass. -- Things went from bad to worse quickly for No. 8 Chelmsford team Friday against No. 5 BC High. Gordon McLeod fielded the opening kickoff at his 17-yard line and took it all the way for a touchdown. From there, the rout was on and the Eagles came away with a 35-14 victory.

Chelmsford’s Eddie Sheridan took the next kickoff back 60 yards down to the BC High (2-1) 30, and it seemed like the game might turn into an instant classic. The Lions went four-and-out however, and BC High proceeded to drive 75 yards for another touchdown.

The Lions (2-1) got on the board in the second when Colby Emanouil hit Matt Rabbito from one-yard away, capping off a long, systematic drive down the field to make it 14-6.

Not to be outdone by his teammate, Preston Cooper took the ensuing kickoff back 82 yards for a touchdown, negating the entire Chelmsford drive in one play.

“Me and (Gordon) always talk and joke around in practice and say ‘Oh if you get one, I want to get one,’ so he got one and I said, ‘I’m gonna get one this time,’ and I got one,” said Cooper.

Cooper was also the leading rusher in the game, with 20 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.

“Preston is a special player,” said BC High coach Jon Bartlett. “He’s a play-maker. You have to give him the football, whether it’s on a kick return, a handoff, or a pass route, he has to touch the ball.”

BC High took a 28-6 lead into the half and never looked back.

Sheridan was the leading rusher for the Lions, with 18 rushes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He was also his teams leading receiver with three catches for 39 yards. His quarterback, Emanouil, had a difficult night through the air. He finished the game 8-of-20 for 71 yards with an interception and a touchdown. It was hard to tell how much, if any, the wet weather contributed to his struggles.

A few other observations from the game:

Running wild: The ground game was so effective for BC High that Regan attempted only one pass in the second half. He ended the game 3-of-10 for 49 yards and a touchdown. After Chelmsford took 6:44 off the clock in the third quarter driving for its second touchdown, the Eagles answered with a 5:53, 70-yard drive that spanned both quarters. When Luke Catarius punched it in to make it 35-14, that was the final nail in the coffin for Chelmsford.

“We saw that they were tired and Coach wanted us to keep pounding them, so that’s what we did and it worked,” said Cooper. “Being conditioned helps. That’s what got us through that whole drive.”

Bulletin board: There was added motivation in the game for BC High. First, the team wanted to avenge its 49-35 loss to DePaul Catholic last week.

“We went down to New Jersey and really didn’t know what to expect,” said Cooper. “But that’s Massachusetts football and that’s New Jersey football. We just had to come out and play hard and that’s what we did. We didn’t do that last week and that’s what happened.”

There was also talk in the days leading up to the game that fueled the BC High fire Friday.

“We heard there was rumors that their quarterback (Emanouil) was guaranteeing victory and all that, but we just put it aside and used it as motivation and we took it out on the field.”

Weathering the storm: It did not appear that way on the scoreboard, but the elements may have helped the Chelmsford offense during the game. On multiple occasions, Emanouil found himself under immense pressure from the BC High defensive line and had to use his feet to escape. On one particular play, he ran what appeared to be 40 yards horizontally in what ended up being only a one-yard gain. Sheridan also found himself in trouble and had to go horizontally to get away from defensive end Adam Richard and others. It appeared they were being assisted by BC High arm tackles, which might be a result of the wet weather on the field Friday.

“It was a combo of everything,” said Bartlett. “We have to get better, we definitely have to get better. That’s part of (Sheridan) being a good back, but maybe part of it was the weather. I don’t know. But we have to be better tackling.”

Lost in transition: Two particular exchanges proved costly for Chelmsford.

In the second quarter, on the first offensive play following Cooper’s kick return touchdown, there was a fumbled handoff between the quarterback and running back, which was recovered by BC High in Chelmsford territory. Then a Chelmsford player was called for a personal foul penalty, bringing BC High closer. On the next play, a defensive lineman jumped offsides, bringing BC high even closer. That made it very easy for Cooper to run eight yards off left tackle for a touchdown.

Then, after getting the ball back late in the quarter, Chelmsford was driving down to its own 25. Emanouil dropped back and looked to throw to a receiver running an out-pattern. That receiver was double-covered and Richard Roach intercepted the pass, ending any hope Chelmsford had of making it a two-score game going into the half.


BC HIGH 35, CHELMSFORD 14
B (2-1) --- 14 14 0 7 - 35
C (2-1) --- 0 6 8 0 - 14

1st quarter
B - Gordon McLeod 83 kick return (Jackson Bockhurst kick)
B - Jameson McShea 10 pass from Bartley Regan (Bockhurst kick)

2nd quarter
C - Matt Rabbito 1-yard pass from Colby Emanouil (kick failed)
B - Preston Cooper 82-yard kickoff return (Bockhurst kick)
B - Cooper 4-yard run (Bockhurst kick)

3rd quarter
C - Eddie Sheridan 5-yard run (Matt Rabbito run)

4th quarter
B - Luke Catarius 6 run (Bockhurst kick)

LOWELL, Mass. -- It would be very difficult to find a baseball player in Massachusetts that had a better day than Adam Ravenelle Wednesday.

Mere hours after the Lincoln-Sudbury senior was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 44th Round of the Major League Baseball entry draft, he went out and hit for the cycle in a Division 1 North quarterfinal game against Chelmsford, helping propel his team to an 8-1 victory at Alumni Stadium.

The Warriors will play the winner of Thursday night's matchup between Lawrence and Acton-Boxborough, at Alumni Stadium, for the Division 1 North Championship Saturday at LeLacheur Park.

“I would definitely say this is a pretty good day for me,” he said after the game. “There was a lot of anxiety all day, leading up to the final moment I did get drafted, but once I did get drafted, the weight was lifted off my shoulders and I kind of got to relax a little bit and play a game that I love. So it was a good day.”

The Vanderbilt commit had no problem focusing on the task at hand, even with it being such a momentous day. He went 4 for 4 at the plate with a walk.

“If anything, it made me have more of a positive attitude because I was up and I was excited so I came in here excited and we got the job done,” he said.

On the field, L-S (21-4) was able to overcome a tough fielding day for the position players with exceptional offense and pitching. Carl Anderson pitched five scoreless innings, and was able to get himself out of trouble when in difficult spots in the game. In the fourth inning, with runners on second and third with one out, he struck out one hitter and got the next to fly to center to get out of the jam.

“He gave us fits,” Chelmsford head coach Mike O’Keefe said. “We got a little bit out of our comfort zone and tried to do things that we’re not really capable of doing and got a little bit away from the plan that we had. You tip your hat to the kid.”

The lefty exited the game with six strikeouts, while giving up only three hits and two walks.

“He did that on four days rest,” L-S head coach Kirk Fredericks said of Anderson. “We were looking for five innings, but didn’t know if we’d get two, didn’t know if we’d get seven, but we were looking for five. He did a great job and gave us a chance to win the game.”

A walk, fielding error, and single gave Chelmsford (16-8) the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, but L-S caught a break to keep the game scoreless. Dom Zaher, Chelmsford’s No. 3 hitter, hit a scorching ground ball at second baseman Ryan Bassinger, who was unable to handle it.

The ball ricocheted off Bassinger’s body, however, right into Dan Cellucci’s waiting glove at second base. He tagged the bag and threw to first to finish the double play and keep the Lions off the board.

Those breaks in the game and the scoreboard helped mask the five errors the defense made, which was uncharacteristic for a team like Lincoln-Sudbury.

“We were gross today, absolutely awful,” Fredericks said. “We hit the ball a little bit but we were awful. Defensively, mentally, we’re a very tired team. We’re terrible defensively and we’re struggling to be able to get bunts down, base running, etc. etc. So we’re not playing well right now.”

The Chelmsford bats did not come through until the eighth inning when back-to-back hits by Matt Rabbito and Kevin Driscoll plated the only Lion run of the game. Even then, the L-S bats answered back in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back triples by Ravenelle and Michael Barry and a single by Keith Anderson to put two more runs on the board.