Westfield pitcher Kate Menard winds up for a pitch. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – The postseason has never quite seemed to be a frightening prospect for the Westfield High School softball team. But on Saturday, the Bombers received quite a scare.
No. 1 Westfield, winners of 18 of 19 regular season games, rallied to defeat No. 10 Chicopee 3-2 in a Western Massachusetts Division I softball quarterfinal game Saturday. While the Bombers’ offensive drive and solid pitching propelled them all season, it was their defense that proved to be the difference in the end.
Chicopee (11-11) surprised Westfield (19-1) by jumping out to an early 2-0 lead when Shannon Denault drilled a two-run line drive single off Bombers’ pitcher Kate Menard in the first inning. It was the only run-scoring hit Menard would allow.
Westfield bounced back with big hits from Lexi Minicucci (2 RBIs) and Katelyn Puza (RBI). The Bombers would not be denied.
In the sixth, Westfield’s Macee Candiano tracked down a deep fly ball from Chicopee’s Cassidy Fournier to the right field corner, making a nice running over-the-shoulder catch while fighting off the sun. With runners at second and third, Jess Pratt made a diving catch in left-center field to end the inning.
“That was quite exciting,” Westfield coach Joe Stella said.
Although it was a quiet day overall for the Westfield offense (at least compared to some of its regular season outbursts), several Bombers managed to get involved.
Westfield’s Maddy Atkocaitis finished with two hits and a triple, and Emily Chrzanowski, Kate Menard, Syd Ezold, and Candiano each had a hit.
The Bombers advance to the semifinals where they will take on the fourth-seeded Agawam Brownies (15-6) Tuesday at Sortini Field at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, beginning at 3 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to that,” coach Stella said. “Going back to UMass is always exciting for the kids.”
DIVISION III
No. 2 Wahconah 10, No. 7 Southwick-Tolland 2
Elsewhere, seventh-seeded Southwick (16-5) lost to top-seeded Wahconah (18-2) in a D3 softball quarterfinal at Pine Grove Park. The Rams were tied 2-2 in the fifth before the opposition pulled away.
“They were too much,” Southwick coach Darek Long said.
