Hoosac Valley Shuts Out Smith Academy to Reach Final

ADAMS, Mass. — The Hoosac Valley softball team Thursday knocked off Smith Academy, 8-0, to reach the Western Massachusetts Class D title game. 

 

Pitcher Rylynn Witek led the Hurricanes in the game, homering and scoring four times. Shortstop Gracelyn Wright scored two runs, while Izabela Tart and Ella Bissallon each scored one. 

 

Witek scored Hoosac Valley's first run at the bottom of the first inning, before both teams went scoreless until the third inning. Hurricanes coach Mike Ameen said the team is accustomed to playing in close games. 

 

"Most of our games have been that way, so we've got a little bit of experience with it," he said. 

 

Wright and Tart both scored one in the fourth, with Wright scoring a second in the bottom of the fifth inning. With a 4-0 score, Ameen said he told his team to close out the game. 

 

"I said it's close enough where, you know, you don't want to be on the bus driving home 20 minutes after you're in an intense game and you're out there playing all of a sudden, boom, you're done. And you get on the bus when you're driving home," he said. "So I said don't let it happen to you, and play hard and keep your focus. The last outs are always the most difficult." 

 

A home run from Witek at the bottom of the sixth put the team up 7-0, with the team’s final run coming from Bissallon shortly after. Witek said the team is prepared to face any challenge. 

 

"I feel like no matter what position we're putting in, we can keep our composure, and we're ready for any games," she said. 

 

The Hurricanes lost a regular season game 11-10 against Ware the previous day, which Ameen said is a learning experience for the team. 

 

"We won 11 games in a row, 13 out of 14. We hadn’t lost since April 25, I think, so we went the whole month of May without losing,” he said. “So losing yesterday was like, 'hey, you guys can get beat, so come ready to play. I think it was a good wake up call for them."