Thunder, ACS Swat Reach 12-Year-Old County Final
DALTON, Mass. -- Avery Lane and Gianna Witek Monday combined on a two-hitter to send the Greylock Thunder Black to the championship game of the Berkshire County Fast Pitch Softball League 12-and-under division.
The Thunder beat Dalton, 8-1, at Chamberlain Park to earn a date against Adams-Cheshire-Savoy Swat, an 18-17 winner over the Berkshire Force Black on Monday in Adams.
The Thunder and ACS will play on Tuesady at 5:45 at Albert Reid Field for the county's summer championship.
Monday's semi-final in Dalton was dominated by pitching.
Dalton's Kaylee Prew struck out 12 in a losing cause.
Lane and Witek struck out 16 between them in the seven-inning contest.
Lane started and went four innings, leaving with a 2-1 lead.
She got all the offensive support the Thunder pitchers needed in the top of the third.
Atlee Peras drew a leadoff walk to start the inning. She then stole second and came home on a one-out single by Bailey Tatro to make it 1-0.
Tatro took second on the throw and scored on an RBI double by Witek, who went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt and two RBIs to lead Greylock's offense.
After Avery Lane worked a walk, the Thunder got runners to second and third with one out. But Prew closed the door with a strikeout and an infield fly to get her team in the dugout down just 2-1.
Dalton then got one run back in the bottom of the frame. Gianna Salvatore drew a leadoff walk, moved up on a pitch to the backstop and eventually scored on Prew's RBI double to make it 2-1.
After the teams each went scoreless in the fourth, the Thunder built on its lead.
In the fifth, Marie Fachini dropped a two-run single into left field to make it 4-1.
In the sixth, Greylock used two hits, two walks and a hit batter in a four-run rally to put the game out of reach.
Witek drove in a run with a single up the middle, and Lane hit a two-run single to right to help build the seven-run margin.
Photos from Berkshire Force Black vs ACS Swat here.
Photos from Greylock Thunder Black vs Dalton here.
