By ERIC BENEVIDES

LINCOLN -- After watching East Providence High explode for five runs in the top of the fifth inning and Townies ace pitcher Marion Potter handcuff its lineup to just two hits, it would have been very easy for Lincoln High to pack up its bags and call it an afternoon.
But instead of being down and out, the Lions responded with their biggest uprising of the season, and to date, their most thrilling triumph.
Chelsea Brennan’s two-run single in the home half of the sixth inning capped a five-run rally by the Lions and helped them score a wild 7-6 victory over the Townies on Tuesday in their Division I contest at Saylesville Elementary School’s Sullivan Field.
“Our team never quit,” said Lincoln coach Jon Bruckner, whose squad is 4-2 and winners of four straight games. “I think a lot of teams -- the way things were going -- would have stopped, but this team showed a lot of character and responded in crunch time when they needed to (respond).”
Down by a 6-2 score, the Lions produced their first run of the sixth without the benefit of a hit off Potter, who had mowed down 10 straight batters before walking Barbara Jackson to open the inning and uncorking a wild pitch that allowed her to advance to second.
Jackson eventually scored when the next batter, freshman Emma Hart, tapped an infield grounder that was thrown away for an error, but the Lions were far from done.
After Jess Borden walked (and was replaced on the basepaths by courtesy runner Marissa Walsh), Brianna Ferri belted a double into the gap in left-center field that found the fence on one bounce and drove in Hart and Walsh.
The Lions then loaded the bases when Alyssa McCoart laced a base hit up the middle and Brittny Allen got plunked in the leg with a pitch. Ferri was then cut down at the plate on a fielder’s choice grounder by Coleen Moran, but up to the plate stepped Brennan.
The sophomore catcher and No. 8 batter, who four innings earlier, lined a two-run double off the base of the fence in left, hit a ground single past the dive of third baseman Megan Fisher to drive in McCoart with the tying run and Allen with the eventual game-winner.
“Chelsea’s really been driving the ball well for us,” added Bruckner. “Right now, we feel like everyone in our lineup has the potential to come up with a big game. Today, it was her game and she did a great job.”
An inning earlier, the Townies seemingly took control of the contest by stringing together five hits en route to their five runs that gave them a four-run command.
McCoart, Lincoln’s starting pitcher, had limited the Townies to one hit through the first four innings and retired the first batter she faced in the fifth before E.P. went to work.
Fisher worked a walk, and after she stole second, she headed to third on Lauren Ghazal’s second hit of the game, a ground single to left. Freshman Emily Foeri replaced Ghazal on the basepaths and immediately swiped second to help set the stage for Ashley Curti’s line two-run single to left to give E.P. a 3-2 lead.
Curti, who took second on the throw to the plate and third on a wild pitch, soon crossed the plate on a bloop single to left by Potter that was misplayed for an error and allowed her to advance an extra base. Kelsey Durand followed with a ringing double that hit the base of the fence in left-center and that drove in Potter with another run.
Megan Quigley then produced E.P.’s fifth straight hit, a hard-hit line single that hit Ferri, Lincoln’s third baseman, in the right knee and caromed to the middle of the infield. Ferri crumpled to the ground in pain and ended up sitting out the rest of the inning to tend to her knee.
Bruckner also ended up taking the ball from McCoart and bringing in Borden to put out the fire. Borden promptly struck out the next batter she faced for the second out, but E.P. came back to produce its fifth run when freshman Alyssa Dias’ apparent inning-ending pop fly in the infield was dropped and allowed Durand to cross the plate.
The Townies carried their momentum into the bottom of the fifth, and when Potter (who finished with a five-hitter) was able to set down the Lions in order on just three pitches, it looked like the day was going to truly belong to the visitors. 
“We had that big inning, but Lincoln came back and responded,” added E.P. coach Brian Petsch, whose crew is 3-3 and had also won three games in a row. “It’s a tough loss, but I’m proud of the kids. They’re playing with confidence and they’re swinging the bats a lot better than I’ve seen them previously. They showed heart, they played hard, and they battled, and it was very encouraging.”
The Townies scored their first run in the second when Potter walked, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Durand, and with two outs, scored on a dropped fly ball in the outfield. Brennan’s double in the bottom of the inning came after Allen walked with two outs and Moran dropped a bunt hit that died between Potter and Ghazal, E.P.’s catcher.  
Borden eventually picked up the win on the mound by tossing 2 1/3 hitless innings and striking out four batters along the way.