O'Donnell Walkoff Lifts Taconic over Lenox
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Taconic's Ethan O'Donnell ripped a two-run single into left field with one out in the bottom of the seventh Thursday to give the Thunder a 7-6 win over Lenox at Doubleday Field.
The first game of a Berkshire County tripleheader in the shadow of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum may not have been the prettiest game. But it kept the fans who made the trip on the edges of their seats.
Damon Pause and Chase Wendling combined on the win on the mound for Taconic, which trailed by scores of 4-0 and 6-5 but came back to get the win.
"Honestly, I think we were sleepwalking for the first three [innings]," Taconic coach Kevin Stannard said. "I think we were still on the bus.
"But, you know, I do give them credit. They battled. They stayed together. And that's the sign of a decent team that they're starting to grow a little bit."
Max Shepardson took the loss on the hill for the Millionaires, striking out seven and allowing five earned runs in a complete-game effort.
"Any time Max goes out there, you've got a chance to win the ballgame," Lenox coach Kevin Downer said. "I wish I had a bunch of Maxes.
"Max was outstanding there. I think he was throwing too hard at the end there. I think that's why he hit a couple of batters. But he pitched a fantastic game.
"I told these guys. any time you play a team like Taconic or Pittsfield and it's a one-run ballgame, you played a helluva game."
Shepardson was dominant early, allowing just one base runner in the first three innings. He pitched around an error in the bottom of the second, an inning that also featured a diving catch in center field by Zack Nicotra.
Meanwhile, Lenox's offense gave him two runs in the second and two more in the third.
In the second, Robert Bazinet led off by reaching on a two-base error and moved up to third on a ball to the backstop. Jack Hicks then worked a walk and stole second to put two runners on base with nobody out.
After Pause got the next hitter on a called third strike, Brady DiGrigoli reached on a RBI bunt; a throwing error on the play allowed in a second run to give Lenox a 2-0 lead.
"We'll put a little pressure on the other team," Downer said. "I've been preaching that. There are going to be games, especially when you get in a tournament, where you get a pitcher who throws hard, and you're gonna have to play a little small ball. You're going to have to do things you normally don't do to win games."
Mason Abdalla led off the top of the third with a double to center field and came home on Shepardson's RBI single to right. Shepardson then stole secondmoved up on a ground ball out and scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.
Taconic finally got on the board in the fourth. Pause reached on a one-out single, moved up on a wild pitch and a steal of third and scored on Mitch Hall's RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Lenox got that run back in the bottom of the frame Abdalla reached on an field single and eventually scored on a passed ball.
One inning later, a Christian Salzarulo home run over the left field fence plated Eddie Ferris and got Taconic within two at 5-3. Pause then singled and came all the way around to score when Quentin Christopher reached on a two-base error.
O'Donnell then came up big for the first time in the game with a single up the middle to score Christopher and tie the game, 5-5.
Shepardson got the next batter to fly out and sat down Taconic 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hicks led off with a walk and moved up on a strikeout and a passed ball before Blake Hoff's infield single scored him from third to give Lenox a 6-5 lead.
Taconic got a single up the middle from Ferris to start the bottom of the seventh. After a fly ball out, the next two Thunder pitchers were hit by pitches to load the bases for O'Donnell.
"Basically, the first pitch was a ball, and [Shepardson's] been working quickly, so I tried to keep my hands back and explode the hips, and that's what I did," O'Donnell said. "He threw a fastball inside, and I turned on it."
And fortunately for Taconic (9-3), it was able to turn things around to get the dramatic win.
"Partially, it [was] due to us as a team making errors and not helping the pitching," O'Donnell said of the early deficit. "But we came together as a group hitting, and we contributed — everyone."
The Thunder on Saturday hosts Westfield.
Lenox (5-5) is at Mount Greylock on Friday.