GREENFIELD — Bri Sulikowski encased herself in her bubble.
There were two outs in the top of the sixth inning against Greenfield. The Hampshire Regional softball team just tied the game with two outs. The bases were loaded after an error.
“It does get a little stressful, because obviously it’s tied. There’s two outs. Oh my god I have to get this,” Sulikowski said. “I know that I can hit the ball. I keep my confidence, I don’t try to psyche myself out, just stay in my own little bubble and stay in my own head.”
That calm space allowed her to rip a go-ahead RBI single, bringing in Catelyn Charles. It was part of nine consecutive Hampshire runs over the final two innings to secure an 11-6 win at Veterans Field on Friday.
“A little more discipline at the plate. We were chasing some bad pitches and letting some good ones go (earlier),” Hampshire coach Brian McGan said. “We got focused in a little bit more, we made adjustments in the batter’s box.”
The Raiders (3-1) pulled both first and hardest in the tug of war game. They scored two runs in the top of the first inning. Hannah Wodecki started with a one-out single then stole second. After a strikeout, Theresa Saltls nailed an RBI single to make it 1-0. Ashley Cortis followed with an RBI single to put the Green Wave (3-2) in a 2-0 hole before they could even bat.
Greenfield’s Kelsey Richardson responded with an RBI double in the bottom half that made it 2-1, but she was thrown out trying to take third after the throw home.
Richardson delivered again with an RBI single in the third to tie the game at 2.
The Green Wave went ahead 4-2 in the fourth on a two-run triple that lead off hitter Kaitlin Lavoine demolished to right field.
“We didn’t over think things. We saw the ball, hit the ball,” Greenfield coach John Hickey said. “I feel like we started to guess a little bit.”
Hampshire senior Laci Chapdelaine was administering the quiz. It was her first career start and second career win (the first came in relief last season helping avert a collapse against Westfield). She struck out seven.
“The change-up was a good pitch for her. She set us up well for it,” Hickey said. “She had our number.”
The Raiders had her back. When Hampshire trailed 4-2, it started laying off high pitches and solidified its defense.
“It was emphasized that we needed to stay behind her and make sure she knew we were behind her for the plays,” Sulikowski said.
Hampshire began its climb back in the fifth. Saltis drove in her second run of the game to shave the deficit to 4-2, then Chapdelaine sat Greenfield down 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
Hampshire’s Ella Malanson led off the sixth with a single, then Hailey Wodecki flew out. After an Emma Czarniecki and a lineout, the lineup turned over.
Leadoff hitter Katelyn Baker ripped a game-tying single up the left field line after flying out deep her first two at bats that made it 4-4. That brought up Hannah Wodecki with two runners on and a chance to blow the game open.
She swung just under a pitch and popped it up to the first baseman. But the ball dropped, loading the bases and keeping the inning alive.
“I was thinking, ‘man, I’m so lucky.’ It happens,” Hannah Wodecki said. “It’s happened to every single person on that field.”
Sulikowski ran with the chance Wodecki gave her, knocking in the go-ahead run. Then Saltis, who finished with four RBIs on a three-hit day, knocked in two more runs to put Hampshire ahead 7-4.
“Errors usually come back and haunt you,” Hickey said. “That one did for sure.”
Czarniecki stretched it to 8-4 with a one-out RBI single in the top of the seventh. Malanson and Hailey Wodecki led off the inning with back to back singles, then a fielder’s choice put runners at first and third for Czarniecki.
Baker popped out, giving Hannah Wodecki one more chance to make a splash. She popped a three-run homer to deep left field that made it 11-4.
“We knew going into the game that they wanted it because of what happened last year with us,” Hannah Wodecki said.
Hampshire took down Greenfield to win the Western Massachusetts championship thanks to a miraculous diving catch by Baker to bring a home run back in that ended the game.
Bottom 7: Hannah wodecki cannot be contained. 3-run blast. It’s 11-4 @GoHRRaiders pic.twitter.com/TQLn3Bmzoz
— Kyle Grabowski (@kylegrbwsk) April 15, 2022
“We knew we had to battle hard because they were coming right for our throats,” Hannah Wodecki said.
Greenfield added two runs in the bottom of the seventh: a bases-loaded walk by Rachel Dodge, and Richardson came home on a two-out Anna Bucala single, but a put out on the baselines ended the game.
“Our independent schedule is very strong for a reason,” Hickey said. “That prepares us for postseason play. You’ll learn a lot playing good competition.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.