Westfield Voc Denies McCann Baseball Team

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- A game that was moving along very quickly went wrong just as quickly for the McCann Tech baseball team on Wednesday.

 

Westfield Voc rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth to break open a 1-1 pitchers duel and hand McCann a 5-1 loss at Joe Wolfe Field.

 

The Hornets (9-7) got seven strong innings from starting pitcher Sean Davis, but  a miscue in the infield and outfield, a pair of walks and a balk by Davis helped Westfield Voc (11-4) plate the first four men to come to the plate in the decisive inning.

 

McCann coach Pat Ryan said his team once again played tight as it nears a major goal: winning its 10th game and qualifying for the Western Mass tournament.

 

"This past week, we were trying to play for the top of Tri-County," Ryan said. "And now that is out of the picture, which is OK. The focus is obviously Western Mass from the beginning.

 

"I told the kids, we're trying so hard that we're out of the moment. Our heads are out of the moment. We're not sure where we're going with the ball. We're relying on our pitcher so much that when the ball is hit to them, we're not sure what we're doing."

 

Westfield Voc's winning rally started with a ball to the outfield that should have been a single but instead left a runner on second to start the inning.

 

Davis, who walked just two men in the first five innings, then walked the next two to load the bases with nobody out.

Nick Wood dropped down what should have been a run-scoring sacrifice bunt, but nobody covered first base, leaving Davis to stand in the center of the infield with the ball in his hand and head back to the mound with the bases reloaded.

 

The balk call brought home another run, and Walter Halleck ripped a clean double to right to score the last two runs.

 

Davis finished with 11 strikeouts against six hits and four walks.

 

But he was more than matched by Westfield Voc starter Jake Parsons, who struck out 11 while giving up just three hits and two walks.

 

Parsons beat the Hornets for the second time this season. Earlier this spring, McCann suffered a 4-3 loss in Westfield.

 

"The only thing I can honestly say is he looked a little stronger today," Ryan said of the Westfield Voc southpaw. "The first time we played, I think he was coming off another game. He had a lot of rest this time. He looked rested today. He looked confident."

 

Westfield Voc scratched out a run in the top of the first with a one-out single by Nick Clegg, a passed ball and a wild pitch to get him to third and an infield single by Parsons.

 

McCann responded in the third when Tim DeBlois drew a leadoff walk, Collin Racette bunted him over, Justin Schneider singled to left, and Davis picked up an RBI with a groundout.

 

Westfield Voc coach Kyle Dulude said it was a good day for his team -- and not just because it ended up on the right side of the scoreboard.

 

"What I think about right now at the end of the game is our shortstop made a great play, and the kid who hit it went over and gave him a high five, and there was another play where they made a great play -- I think the sportsmanship was fantastic," Dulude said. "In a game like this, it can get heated and it can turn a different way. But it was baseball, and there was sportsmanship.

 

"I was really impressed with some of their players, how they handled themselves when they made a play or we made a play on them."

 

McCann gets its next chance to pick up its 10th win of the season on Friday at home against Putnam. It plays its last two regular season games on the road next week.