Hornets Go Out Quietly in Loss to Ware
WARE, Mass. -- The McCann Tech softball team faced its second straight quality pitcher in a row on Friday, and the result was the Hornets' second consecutive shutout in a 12-0 road loss to Ware.Indians' starter Veronica Shader picked up her second victory over McCann (5-15) this season, allowing just two hits and zero walks in a game shortened to just six innings. Shader struck out 10 batters to help Ware finish the regular season with a record of 15-3.
"With a long delay in between a doubleheader, we were not able to come out focused," Hornets head coach Robin Finnegan said. "Ware put up seven runs on us in the first inning on three errors and a hit batter. We then settled down defensively but couldn't break through on the Ware pitcher. This concludes a tough year for us. Hopefully, we can rebound for next year. We are better than our record indicates. We just need to find the mental toughness."
After a tough seven-run first inning, McCann starter Erika Ziemba and the McCann defense played solid softball the rest of the way. Still, Ziemba was charged with five more runs over the final five frames, finishing with six earned runs on 10 hits. She struck out three and walked three to take the loss, dropping her final record to 5-14 this year. While her control in the circle was inconsistent this season, Ziemba was rock solid at the plate, leading the Hornets in batting average (.424), hits (25) and RBI (17).
The Indians were the hot team at the plate on Thursday, however, led by Jessica Daley's three hits and three RBI. Kali Adams and Kaylie Robidoux also drove in three runs apiece for Ware, which drew the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Division 3 Western Mass. tournament. The Indians will host No. 5 St. Joe's in a quarterfinal game on Friday.