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'Big Mama' delivers again for Lawrence

Thursday, May, 05 By Hector Longo

LAWRENCE — A slightly pudgier Edwin Brito found the gym over the winter, muscling up and trimming down from over 230 pounds to about 210.

The Lawrence High senior had a mission, and it wasn't about finding a prom date.

"The girls are going to like me no matter what," joked "Big Mama" Brito after he smacked a walkoff RBI single to sink Central Catholic, 4-3. "I had to get in shape to play my position (third base)."

As promising as the plumper Brito had appeared, swinging it at a .282 clip in a part-time mode, the svelte third-baseman could make a case for first-half Merrimack Valley Conference MVP for 9-3 Lawrence.

His 2 for 4 yesterday actually dropped Brito's season average by a fraction. At 21 for 39, he's hitting .538 with a double-double — that is 10 runs scored and 11 RBIs.

"I've put in the work, just listening to my coach," said Brito. "Like he said, we have the pitching. Now we just have to go out and hit and win some games. I knew I'd be one of the big bats. I had experience, and I knew they'd be counting on me."

Brito's seventh-inning bullet past the dive of Raider third baseman Dan Shields capped a thriller that saw Lawrence stake Yunior Vasquez to a 2-0 lead, fall behind 3-2 in the sixth and end it with the heroics in the bottom of the seventh.

Ricardo Matos worked a walk to start the frame, and pinch-hitter Albert Abreu slapped a single to right to put runners on the corners. Darwin Brito's grounder to short was kicked, scoring the lead run.

That chased starter and tough-luck loser Paul Trabucco, who deserved a better fate after 6-plus innings of six-hit ball. Reliever Zach Bardwell came on and got a force at third on Juan Ventura's bunt, but a walk loaded the bases for "Big Mama," who confidently sauntered to the plate.

"I was relaxed. I had to come through for my teammates," said Brito. I had played summer ball with (Bardwell) but I really didn't know what to expect. They told me he's good. I just thought stay relaxed, drive the ball, and win the game."

That's exactly what Brito did.

GAME NOTES

With the defeat, Central now 4-4, falls three games behind MVC Divison 1 leader Lowell in the loss column. Lowell is 6-1 in the league. Meanwhile, Lawrence is 7-2 with four to play in MVC Division 2. The nearest challenger in the small has four losses. ...

It certainly wasn't vintage Yunior Vasquez, but the Lancer senior righty gritted out the complete-game win, despite walking eight. He fanned six and allowed four hits. Vasquez is now 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 31.2 innings...

Central showed exceptional patience in scratching out its runs, especially in the sixth. Sophomore Nick Gorski won a huge at-bat with the bases loaded vs. Vasquez, fighting off a pair of nasty two-strike pitches before working a walk to tie. With two down, Andrew Breen walked to plate the tying run.