Pittsfield Softball Edged in D1 Final
AMHERST, Mass. -- The No. 5 seeded Pittsfield softball team fell just short of clinching the Western Massachusetts Division 1 title Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 to No. 3 Agawam at Sortino Field at the University of Massachusetts.
Agawam went ahead in the first inning after sending Pittsfield down in order. It came from junior Allison Wheeler with an RBI single to right field, driving in Katelyn Grasso to take a 1-0 lead.
The Generals got on board in the fourth inning, and it started with a slam to left field from junior Allie Hunt that was inches from going out. Hunt earned a triple, putting one on with one out.
"I got on, I got a little bit under it, it was just going and I just had to run it out," Hunt said. "After one at bat, you get a general idea of how she pitches and you can prepare for the next one."
Following Hunt's, triple Haley Tobin stepped up to the plate and grounded out to first, but drove in Hunt for the run to tie it at one.
Agawam came out in the bottom of the inning and Sabrinna Dubiel hit and RBI single with two outs to go ahead 2-1.
Agawam had 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth.
In the seventh, Bella Aitken, Julia Murphy and senior Lauren Carnevale each got a piece of the ball, but Agawam made the plays to put the game away.
"It's tough, we came out here to win," Pittsfield coach Greg Marchbanks said. "A ball falls in the right spot we win, a call goes our way we win, a call doesn't, ball doesn't fall we don't and that's what it came down to, it was that close of a game."
Both teams were fighting hard and I think it was a very evenly matched game. It really came down to a couple calls and a couple balls falling in and that was it."
The Generals finished the season 18-3. They are losing two seniors from their squad this season: Libby White and Carnevale.
"Playing infront of a crowd, this type of venue at UMass it's amazing," Marchbanks said. "They're going to be back again and now they're going to now exactly what it feels like and they'll be able to use that, now they're hungry and they know what it feels like to be right there."