BELCHERTOWN – Kouji Ishida stopped at second base and asked Belchertown shortstop Eli Sayball-Wimmer. He’d never hit a home run over the fence before — not just in high school, in his whole life — and the Hopkins Academy senior wanted to be sure it went over the fence.
“I got a first-pitch fastball and it was right down the middle. I took an approach where I just wanted to get on the ball,” Ishida said. “When I rounded first base, I started slowing down because I wasn’t sure if it was out. I just got lucky I put the bat on the ball and it went over the fence.”
The homer tied the game in the second inning and sparked four consecutive runs for the Golden Hawks, which won 9-5 on the road in Hampshire League West action Thursday.
They had to fight back from two deficits to get there. Belchertown’s Tim Mitus ripped an RBI single in the bottom of the first to put the Orioles ahead 1-0.
Hopkins freshman Cody West evened the score with an RBI single in the top of the second, then Belchertown regained the lead on a Chris Misiaszek RBI single in the bottom half.
Ishida’s homer made it 2-2, then Andrew Ciaglo helped his cause with an RBI single to go ahead, 3-2.
The next half inning, Jack Feltovic extended the lead to 4-2 with a crisp single, and Braeden Tudryn pushed it to 5-2 on a fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth.
Belchertown added a third run when Andrew Fijal grounded into a double play with runners on first and third.
“We can hit the ball, we know that. Our one through nine every day is strong hitters. We preach put the ball in play,” Belchertown coach Evan Berneche said. “We don’t try to crush the ball or anything like that. We say that sometimes, that’s baseball.”
Orioles ace Misiaszek, who entered the game with a 0.00 earned run average according to Berneche, kept Belchertown in striking distance. He walked Feltovic to lead off the sixth inning and end his day. Misiaszek finished with eight walks and five hits but worked out of jams that could have put Belchertown in a bigger hole.
“I’d rather him have his performance today than in the playoffs. It’s good that he faced a little bit of adversity,” Berneche said.
Hopkins Academy batted around in the top of the sixth and scored four runs. Three walks loaded the bases, then Ciaglo dropped an RBI single just over the shortstop’s head. Liam Flynn drew a walk to make it 7-3. Then Chris Mushenski added a sacrifice fly, and West – the No. 9 hitter – laced his second RBI single of the day.
“People usually underestimate the bottom of the lineup,” West said. “I’m just there looking for my pitch. I’ve been in the cage working on a quicker swing, getting my hands back.”
Belchertown didn’t go quietly. In the bottom of the seventh with one out, Sayball-Wimmer wore a pitch, then Matt Roy walked. Fijal singled to load the bases, and Berneche brought in Aiden Torna to pinch hit. Torna was called up from junior varsity that day, and it was his first varsity plate appeareance. He hit a two-run single that made it 9-5.
“That’s one of the core values of our team this year, we don’t give up,” Berneche said. “We’re going to always be in it.”
Ryan Decoteau smashed a line drive to Flynn at first base, and he stepped on first to end the game with a double play.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.