Mount Greylock Wins Slugfest With McCann
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Mount Greylock and McCann Tech played an atypical softball pitcher's duel on Friday afternoon.
Instead of dueling one another, the Mounties' Heather Tomkowicz and Hornets' Jordan Owensby battled a common foe: Mother Nature.
Tomkowicz got the better end of it, overcoming a rainy afternoon and a potent McCann offense to earn a 19-12 victory.
"Both of us had to deal with the conditions of the field and the outside temperatures and the rain, obviously," Mount Greylock coach June Blake said. "It's tough for the pitchers to get their grip on the mound.
"But I think we able to settle down in the latter part of the game and make some things happen and finish it off."
Tomkowicz, Owensby and McCann reliever Haley Malloy combined for 22 walks, and the teams combined for 11 errors.
"We try to rotate those balls out as best we can, but sometimes they don't get it to us quick enough, and they hold onto it too long," McCann coach Kate Galli said. "But it's part of the game. You just have to get through it. It's the same conditions for the other side."
The tone for the game was set in the second inning, when both teams batted around and they combined for 12 runs.
McCann (1-3) took a 7-1 lead in the top of the second thanks to five hits, including a triple by Alanza Quinones and a two-run double by Olivia Esoldi.
But Mount Greylock (2-0) answered right back with six runs of its own in the bottom of the frame.
Two McCann errors proved costly in the rally, but the biggest blow was a two-run home run to center field by Miranda Voller.
Mount Greylock took 9-7 lead in the fourth when Samantha Joy singled to right to drive in Samantha Betti and Meredith Dezieck.
The Hornets then rallied for four in the top of the fifth to regain the lead.
This time, two Mount Greylock errors were a driving force, but Alexia Andrews had a clean single to center field to help her team go ahead, 11-9.
That lead did not last long.
The Mounties scored three times before McCann recorded an out in the bottom of the fifth. Six walks in the inning were the difference, but Dezieck (2-for-2) delivered an RBI single as her team rallied for six runs and a 15-11 lead.
It was 15-12 before Mount Greylock tacked on four more in the sixth thanks to singles by Hailey Guest, Dezieck and Markell Shea.
McCann nearly cut into the Mounties' seven-run lead in the top of the seventh, but Quinones was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch her triple into a home run. Dezieck took a throw from Voller in left and delivered a strike to catcher Kendall Frye, who held on for the out.
Mount Greylock hosts Monson on Saturday at noon.