WESTHAMPTON — Sometimes, it’s easier to let your play do the talking.
In the first inning of the Western Mass. Class B semifinal between No. 1 Hampshire and No. 5 Southwick on Wednesday afternoon, the Raiders and Rams traded a couple of messages on the field. Catcher Teresa Saltis threw a couple warning throws at a Southwick runner on first before finally catching her too far off the bag, firing the ball to first baseman Hannah Wodecki who tagged her out. We’re keeping an eye on you.
In response, Mia Della-Guistina unloaded a home run just two batters later to give the Rams an early 2-0 lead, rattling the Raiders a little on their home diamond. Just a couple days removed from knocking off No. 4 Pittsfield 11-2 in the quarters, Southwick was hoping to go on another offensive tear against Hampshire. We’re ready to pull off another upset.
But while Della-Guistina’s homer might have shaken another team, the experienced Raiders squad buckled down and got to work closing the gap. They scored three runs of their own to retake the lead in the bottom of the first, and never gave it up in a 7-2 victory.
Joss Mettey threw all seven innings for Hampshire, striking out six, and all but one member of the Raiders’ lineup finished with at least one base hit. The win punched a ticket to the Class B final, against either No. 2 Wahconah or No. 3 Easthampton next week at Westfield State University. The other semifinal is Thursday in Dalton.
“We’ve been kind of handling teams a little bit in the past, but it’s a good way to go into this final game because it shows that these kids didn’t get rattled too much,” Hampshire head coach Brian McGan said. “First inning was a little uneasy I think for them, I don’t think nervous, but more uneasy – we hadn’t seen these guys, I had no idea. I didn’t get a chance to scout.”
Despite not seeing Southwick prior this season, the Raiders were more than capable of generating runs of their own, though it wasn’t easy. Rams pitcher Sarah Hough struck out Hampshire’s first two batters before the home team got its bats going. Saltis picked up a double, stole a base and then scored on Mettey’s double shortly after. Bri Sulikowski reached base via an error and scored the third and final run of the inning to give Hampshire the lead.
“We all wanted to come in strong, we wanted to come in more confident, not so much arrogant. We wanted to go in believing we could win rather than knowing we could win,” Saltis said. “We know our abilities and we play the game like we do anyone else – zero-zero the whole way.”
Though the Raiders’ offense added runs throughout the game, the difference between the two teams came in the field. Southwick made a few errors during the game, struggling at times to get the ball to first base. In comparison, the Raiders were nearly perfect in the field, a fact made more impressive as just a few days earlier, Hampshire lost its starting shortstop, Emma Czarniecki, to an injury that put her on crutches. As a result, McGan had to do a little shuffling of his defense, moving right fielder Ashley Cortis to second and shifting second baseman Sulikowski to short.
“(Cortis) definitely stepped up. She usually plays right (field), and she’s been doing a really good job at second base,” Mettey said. “She’s been working her butt off to do the best she can, her and Bri stay after some times to be able to master that short and second positions.”
Both players made critical plays throughout the game, including what McGan called the play of the game at the top of the fifth. With the tying run on third, Cortis snagged a tricky bouncing ball and got it over to Wodecki at first to end the inning and preserve the lead. In the bottom of the second, Hough walked three batters and the Raiders muscled out three more runs to build their lead to 5-2. They scored twice more in the bottom of the sixth to round out their scoring.
Now the Raiders will turn their attention to the Western Mass. final. The Raiders have won seven of the last nine finals, a dynasty that’s immortalized on a banner that hangs by the field. Hampshire will hope to etch another year to it in a few days.
“Knowing that our team can make it this far consecutively, very consistently, you look at the sign… year after year, we’re here,” Saltis said. “It just goes to show that not only our team, but our coaching staff, that whole group — it takes a lot to get us where we are.”