AMHERST – Rachel Crafts stood at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning at Sortino Field on the University of Massachusetts campus with Minnechaug’s best opportunity of the game.
As the Falcons had the bases loaded with two outs, Crafts connected on a hard hit that flew out to center field and kept the lead at 3-0 for Westfield.
Westfield head coach Mary Seid saw the situation as a very crucial part to the contest.
Westfield pitcher Hayley Moniz winds up for a Division 1 softball semifinal pitch Wednesday at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The Bombers shut out the top-seeded Minnechaug Falcons, 4-0, to advance to Saturday’s championship game. (Photo by Bill Deren)
“That was huge, that was huge,” said Seid. “I knew if we got out of that, then we got this game.”
Seid’s feeling proved to be true as No. 5 Westfield took down No. 1 Minnechaug 4-0 in the Western Mass. Division 1 softball semifinals. The Bombers will now take on No. 3 Agawam in the finals Saturday at UMass at 5 p.m.
The Falcons committed a game-high six errors in the field.
It all started in the top of the fourth inning when Westfield designated player Nikki Clemente reached first base on an infield error and then advanced to second in result of a throwing error.
Brittany Kowalsi then followed up at the plate as she too reached first on an error that allowed Clemente to score and give the Bombers the early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Westfield showed that capitalizing on errors was not all it had up their sleeves. After Kelsey Kiltonic started a one-out rally by reaching first base from another throwing error, Kiltonic was able to steal second. Second baseman Casey Almeida beat out a groundout at first base and then stole second to put runners on second and third with just one out.
Leadoff hitter Morgan Zabielski put the ball in play with a groundout, allowing Kiltonic to score. Pitcher Hayley Moniz became another Bomber hitter who beat out a groundout play to first base as Almeida scored to increase the Westfield advantage to 3-0. The Bombers then were able to push across their fourth and final run when Minnechaug made two errors in the top of the sixth inning.
The aggressive base-running certainly paid off for the Bombers, helping them extend the lead over the top team in Western Mass.
Westfield first baseman Grace Barnes stretches to make a fantastic play at the bag. (Photo by Bill Deren)
“That’s what we’ve been doing all season,” said Moniz. “Now that we’ve been practicing that and doing that in games, it worked, it clicked right here.”
Moniz also had something clicking as she pitched seven shutout innings, on five hits and five walks.
“She’s just matured so much throughout the season and she’s learned a lot in terms of approaching batters,” said Seid. “She executed very, very well. She knew what she had to do mentally.”
Despite the errors in the field, Minnechaug freshman pitcher Katelyn Thompson went seven innings, allowing four hits while registering six strikeouts.
Knowing that Minnechaug is a very good hitting team, Moniz had a strong game plan on the mound.
“With a team like that, I’ve got to really change sides of the plate really efficiently,” said Moniz.
As Agawam now stands in the way of Westfield winning a Western Mass. championship, Seid always had the belief her team could make it this far.
“We knew we were just going to keep working hard for that goal and just eliminate all of the distractions,” said Seid.
