Gwozdz Pitches McCann Past Smith Voc

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- After pitching the McCann Tech baseball team to an 11-2 win over Smith Vocational on Monday, senior Joe Gwozdz said his offspeed pitches were not working for him.

 

They're about the only things that weren't.

 

The Hornets (12-3) pounded out 14 hits and played flawless defense behind Gwozdz en route to their seventh straight win.

 

It was a 1-1 game midway through the third, but McCann collected 10 runs in its last three at-bats including five in the bottom of the sixth to walk off Joe Wolfe Field with the "W."

 

Gwozdz struck out five and scattered five hits along the way.

 

"My offspeed wasn't really on today, so I was trying to locate pitches all day," Gwozdz said. "I was trying to hit the corners, try to get them to fly out and ground out. I wasn't really trying to do anything too special -- just throw strikes."

 

And when the Vikings did put the ball in play, the Hornets were up to the task.

 

Middle infielders Collin Racette and Austin Miller turned a 4-6-3 double play to stymie a first-inning scoring threat, and McCann's defense made all the routine plays along the way to hold the Vikings at bay.

 

By contrast, Smith Voc's defense committeed nine errors -- several in the outfield -- behind three different pitchers who combined to allow just two earned runs.

 

McCann did its best to take advantage of those mistakes.

 

Leadoff man Eathan Heller in particular went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Miller was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three stolen bases to keep the pressure on the Vikings' "D." Nathan Biron doubled, stole two bases and scored three times.

 

"I like the way our team is handling the bats," Gwozdz said. "We've got a very solid offense this year. I'm very confident in our team's offense to allow me to perform and be comfortable out there."

 

Monday was the sixth time this year the Hornets have scored 10 runs or more. They also had nine runs each in a pair of wins to start their current seven-win streak.

 

"We're playing solid right now," McCann coach Pat Ryan said. "It's unfortunate that we wait until the sixth inning to get the five runs, but it's fortunate that we get the big 'W.' "

 

McCann travels to meet Westfield Voc on Wednesday.