Howland's Walkoff Hit Sends Hornets to Final

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Jacob Howland hit a two-out RBI single to score the winning run in the bottom of the seventh Thursday as McCann Tech topped Greenfield, 5-4, in the semi-final round of the Western Massachusetts Class C Tournament.

 

The second-seeded Hornets (13-5) advance to face Drury in Tuesday’s regional final. The Blue Devils Thursday advanced by beating Westfield Tech.

 

McCann Tech Thursday went to the bottom of the seventh tied, 4-4.

 

With one out, Austin Buda reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an error.

 

Another error put Dylan Turner on first, but the Green Wave got a line drive out to leave both runners where they were.

 

That brought up Howland, who singled to center field to bring home Buda and send the Hornets on to the championship game.

 

Buda went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs to pace McCann Tech’s offense.

 

Zach Howland went 2-for-4, and Troy Tassone drove in a pair of runs.

 

On the mound, Lukas Rylander went 6 and two-thirds innings, striking out six and allowing just three earned runs. Howland took over in the seventh and threw two thirds of an inning of scoreless relief.

 

In the regular season, McCann Tech faced Drury twice, falling by scores of 5-1 and 3-1.