Briggs Pitches Drury Past Mount Greylock

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Not much came easily for Drury High School's Tyler Briggs on Monday afternoon.

 

About the only thing harder than being the senior right-hander was beating the senior right-hander.

 

Briggs stranded 10 runners in six innings to lead the Blue Devils to a 9-2 victory over Mount Greylock.

 

Drury won its second straight to improve to 6-2 this spring.

 

Briggs struck out four, walked seven and scatttered four hits before giving way to reliever Schuyler Robinson, who pitched a scoreless seventh.

 

"Tyler Briggs went out this day, and I use this expression — probably a bit too much — just a good old fashioned 'bulldog' performance," Drury coach Patrick Boulger said. "You know what he did? He weathered the storm in the first and minimized the damage with one run.

 

"He wasn't getting a couple of calls. His curve ball wasn't getting called. But he didn't panic. He didn't falter. He just rode through it."

 

And after falling behind, 1-0, after the first, Briggs was rewarded with a four-run explosion by Drury's offense in the top of the fourth.

 

That's where the winning pitcher was putting the emphasis afterward.

 

"These guys just battled back," Briggs said. "Everyone was behind me, getting hits. I just give it to these guys. They did it all today.

 

"They did a great job. It was just huge. They came through with the runs, and I just supplied the pitching."

 

Thaylen Harrison got the big inning started with a walk and moved into scoring position on a single by Robinson (3-for-3, two RBIs).

 

The key at bat to the inning came when Jake Tatro beat out a bunt down the third-base line to load the bases for Shayne Garvey.

 

Garvey singled to right to bring in two runs with nobody out, and Joe Liporace and Tyler Cote followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies to make it 4-1.

 

Drury tacked on a run in the fifth and added three more in the sixth. The big blow there was a two-run double by sophomore Kody Crosier batting in the nine hole.

 

Another double, by Kirby Bryce, drove in Drury's final run in the seventh.

 

Mount Greylock (7-2), which scored the game's first run off a triple by leadoff man Eric Hirsch and a passed ball, did not get a hit in 20 straight plate appearances before Delaney Pudvar's fifth-inning double.

 

The Mounties scored their second run in the bottom of the sixth when Hirsch drove in Dan Flynn to make it 8-2.

 

"I had a bad feeling when we left six on base in the first three innings," Mount Greylock coach Steve Messina said. "You can't do that.

 

"And that was the difference. Those guys got hits when they had to. They had situations, and they drove them in, and we didn't.

 

"They played great."

 

Boulger could not have agreed more.

 

"We did the things we needed to win this ballgame," he said. "I'm so proud of this team, so proud of them. This is a huge win in a very tough week.

 

"This is a great way to start the week. To be 6-2 right now, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am right now. Against a very good team on their field, I'll take that any day."