AMHERST — Against undefeated Minnechaug, the Northampton softball team had the go-ahead run 120 feet away in the Western Massachusetts Division 1 Tournament semifinals Wednesday.
Down a run in the seventh, Anna Kerwood singled and Zoe Driscoll-Sbar walked before passed balls moved them into scoring position.
It ended there for Northampton.
Minnechaug’s Katelyn Thompson shut down the Blue Devils in a 1-0 loss at Sortino Field.
The fourth-seeded Blue Devils (16-5) only had one baserunner against Thompson before the seventh inning.
“I told them to fight and that it’s not over until the last out,” Northampton coach Andy Pelis said. “They did that, and they have done it all year.”
Kerwood gave up one run on nine hits in the circle for the Blue Devils.
Thompson was dominant. The sophomore gave up two hits with nine strikeouts.
“I’ve gone head-to-head with her before,” Kerwood said. “I knew what to expect. It was going to be a battle. She’s got a big career ahead of her.”
Driscoll-Sbar ended a stellar career at Northampton with the best run she’s had as a part of the program.
“It’s been an amazing season,” Driscoll-Sbar said. “I love this group of girls. The winning was amazing, but the bond that we had was something like no other.”
Driscoll-Sbar will continue playing softball next season with Merrimack, a Division II program.
“I am excited to meet a new group of girls and continue playing the sport I love,” Driscoll-Sbar said.
Driscoll-Sbar and Hannalise Rivera-Lovett are Northampton’s only seniors.
“I have a young team and they didn’t play like it,” Pelis said. “They are really tight. They could have crumbled at the beginning of the game. We had a chance at the end, we just didn’t capitalize.”
Thompson got a pop-up and a strikeout to end the game.
When Kerwood led off the seventh with a single, she mistakenly approached the at-bat thinking it was the sixth inning.
“I wasn’t as nervous,” Kerwood said. “I was relaxed and thought it’s my third at-bat, time to get a hit.”
Standing at third with one out, Kerwood wanted any opportunity to tie the game for the Blue Devils.
“I was hoping for a fly ball,” Kerwood said. “Really anything. The backstop is short so a pass ball would have been iffy, but I would have taken off.”
The Falcons got their lone run in the fifth inning.
Nina Langone tripled to right field before Thompson’s bloop single brought her home.
Anna Connly had Northampton’s other hit in the top of the third.
Jenna Subocz then lined out to directly to Thompson, who doubled up Connly at first to end the inning.
The Blue Devils prevented a potential run in the first inning. With a runner on first base, Minnechaug’s Rachel Crafts drove a ball toward the foul line in left field, but Rivera-Lovett made a running catch to keep the runner at first.
Kerwood got one of her three strikeouts against the next batter, Emma Hicklen, to strand the runner.
Minnechaug will play Pittsfield on Saturday for the championship.
Minnechaug 1, Northampton 0
Northampton 000 000 0 — 0 2 0
Minnechaug 000 010 x — 1 9 0
WP—Thompson LP—Kerwood
Records: Northampton (16-5); Minnechaug (21-0)
