Howes, Lee Pitch Wahconah Past Mount Greylock

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — There was a smell of hope in the air at the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday at Norm Sweet Field.

 

The home team Mount Greylock Mounties were down, 7-1, coming in to the inning when the leadoff hitter, senior Evan Sheridan, hit a long double. Tyler Canata followed up with a well-placed grounder to drive him home, bringing the Mounties’ total runs up to two.

 

But Waconah’s pitching closed the door, holding on for an eventual 9-2 win.

 

The lopsided score did not convey the closeness of this afternoon’s contest. With no score in the first three innings, Wahconah struck first, driving in three runs in the top of the fourth. Its momentum continued into the next inning, when some shaky pitching from Mount Greylock helped Wahconah extend its lead to 7-1.

 

Outfielder Zak Bernardo had a particularly good hit for Wahconah in the fourth, an RBI shot that was helped along by a fielding error from Mount Greylock.

 

The Mounties consistently hit long balls, but just couldn’t make a true rally happen. Both Sheridan and Dan Buell had nice hits that reached the 357-foot fence, but Waconah’s dominant pitching foiled any chances of the Mounties turning those hits into something meaningful.

 

The pitching on both sides was strong. Senior Mountie hurler Philip Guest fanned four Wahconah batters over nearly five innings, coming in with a particularly clutch strikeout to end the fourth inning. For the Wahconah side, Chad Howes went five innings and only gave up one run. Kyle Lee finished the game for Wahconah and got the save. Dom Paris came in for Greylock after Guest, and held the Wahconah nine to only two runs across the final two innings.

 

The defense was a particular highlight of the game on both sides. Mountie utility player Sheridan turned a nifty double play in the fifth to get Luke Hescock and Gabe Verdi and end the inning.

 

Wahconah's Verdi came back in the bottom of the seventh to turn a double play of his own to end the game.

 

Both teams were aggressive and smart in their baserunning, with Guest stealing second in the third inning and Verdi stealing third for Wahconah in the top of the seventh.

 

 The defense was at the front of Wahconah head coach Ernie Wellington’s mind after the game.

 

“The pitchers threw really well,” he said. “And our kids showed great D.”

 

The Wahconah squad, entirely made up of upperclassmen, proved to be too dominant for the Greylock nine, who have come off of two dominant wins against Amherst High School and McCann Tech.

 

“We really needed this win,” Wellington said.

 

Mount Greylock will travel to Mount Everett (3-2) on Thursday, while Wahconah will host Taconic.

 

When asked how he sees this season, Wellington responded, “Game by game. Day by day.”