Mounties, 'Canes Meet Up In Western Mass. Tourney
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The top two baseball teams in the South Division this year will get one last chance to figure out who the best squad really is on Sunday.That's when third-seeded Mount Greylock hosts sixth-seeded Hoosac Valley in the quarterfinals of the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament. The two clubs battled each other all season long in the South standings before the Mounties (15-5, 9-4) got hot down the stretch to pull away for the division title. Steve Messina's club won 10 of its final 12 contests, all starting after Greylock lost a heartbreaking 4-3 nine-inning game at Hoosac at the end of April.
That was arguably the best game all season long in Berkshire County, and the defeat was just what the Mounties needed to propel them to a new level. Since then, Greylock has played very well both from the mound and on defense, allowing less than three runs per game over its final 12 outings.
"I think that is typically what teams will do," Messina's said of his team's response to the loss at Hoosac. "The game against Hoosac was a really good game. It was a tough one to lose, but it was a really good baseball team. I think things like that either bring teams together or it kind of separates them. The kids were a little upset and down after the loss, but I think our team pulled together a little tighter after that game and we seem to have slowly been improving ever since."
Messina has three quality pitchers he can lean on to start games this postseason, but junior Andrew Leitch will get the call against the Hurricanes. Leitch has definitely been a force on the mound this year for the Mounties, going 7-1 with a 1.35 ERA in just under 47 innings of work. He also has 32 strikeouts compared to only 12 walks this year,
Messina said it's Leitch's mental toughness mixed with his ability to trust his defense that has made him such an effective pitcher this season.
"The thing about Andrew is he is very tough mentally," he said. "Even if he gets in bad situations, he stays tough mentally and is able to pitch himself out of those situations. He trusts his defense, and that makes it easier for him to throw strikes. If you're not comfortable with your defense, you tend to nibble a little bit. He's not really a strikeout pitcher. He can strike people out when he needs to, but I think because he trusts his defense so much that's why he's able to consistently attack the strike zone."
One of Leitch's wins this season came in the rematch of the two teams on May 18. Unlike the first time the two clubs met, Greylock was able to put some distance between itself and Hoosac (11-9, 7-6) by getting to Hurricanes' starter Mike Koperniak for six runs. Senior Josh Fortier went 4 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs for the Mounties, who pulled away in the later innings for an 8-3 win at home.
It was one of the rare times Koperinak wasn't on his game this season. The senior starter has been Hoosac's ace, going 5-2 with a 2.54 ERA in just over 41 innings of work. He has 55 Ks compared to 31 walks this year and is capable of ringing up double-digit strikeout totals on any given day.
Hurricanes' head coach Bob Rivard said Koperniak will most likely get the start if he feels well before game time. He did say Koperniak has logged a lot of innings in what has turned out to be a long season so far, so don't be surprised if classmate Tanner Bird is called on at some point as well. Bird has been Hoosac's top reliever, going 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA in just under 18 innings of work.
Rivard's main concern for tomorrow's game isn't his pitching staff, however. The Hurricanes' skipper said it's been his offense's inability to get timely hits that has been his team's biggest problem down the stretch. Hoosac started the season off with a 7-2 record, but has gone just 5-7 since pulling out the extra-inning victory over Greylock.
"We have to hit more productively," Rivard said. "In the second game against Greylock, we had the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning, and we only got one run. We have to score runs when we get the opportunity. We need to do more damage when those big opportunities are given to us. If you don't take advantage of those opportunities, you allow the other team to stay in the game longer.
"Mount Greylock is a team that doesn't make mistakes much. If they're not making a lot of mistakes, it's up to us to score runs when those opportunities present themselves. I think over the past two seasons we've been successful when we've been hitting with runners on base. Even when we've been successful this season, we haven't scored a lot of of runs. If we can hit a little bit better, I think we'll be fine."
Both teams are capable of hitting and playing great defense. One of the advantages the Mounties have is playing at home. Greylock is an impressive 11-1 playing on its home field this year, while Hoosac is just 4-6 on the road. But as Messina points out, it's usually the team that makes the least amount of mistakes that ends up having the best chance at winning.
"I'd say 95 percent of the time that is the case," Messina said. "The team that has the best chance to win is the one that makes the least amount of mistakes and gives up the least amount of walks. If we can just play smart mentally and keep the ball in strike zone, we'll have a better chance of winning."