Div. 4 softball: High-powered Pittsfield knocks out Easthampton in Round of 16

Easthampton third baseman Christine Raymond manages to get the tag on Pittsfield Kamryn Renata for an out during the MIAA Division 4 Round of 16 on Tuesday in Pittsfield. PHOTO BY JESSE KOLODKIN/BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Published: 06-04-2024 9:09 PM |
PITTSFIELD – No. 3 Pittsfield started off Tuesday’s state playoff game against No. 14 Easthampton with five straight singles – and five straight runs.
Although the Eagles played the Generals tight for the remaining six innings, that first inning barrage was too much for Easthampton to come back from in a 9-3 loss in the MIAA Division 4 Round of 16 on Tuesday afternoon.
“They can hit,” Easthampton head coach Corey Robinson said of the Generals. “I think they’re the best hitting team in western Mass. and they earned that first inning.”
The 18-3 Generals completed an undefeated campaign against Hampshire County with Tuesday’s result. They’ve beaten Easthampton and Hampshire Regional three times each and South Hadley once. Pittsfield beat Easthampton 5-2 on May 1 and 20-4 on May 23 in the Western Mass. Class B semifinals.
Several of the Generals 17 hits were hard hit balls in the gaps and one even bounced off the outfield fence. Though Easthampton pitcher Rosie Follet settled down after those first five batters scored, Pittsfield put up baserunners in all but one inning.
“Rosie battled,” Robinson said. “After that first inning she could have gave in.”
On top of three hits of her own, Pittsfield starter Amanda Pou struck out 11 Eagles. She rested for the Generals’ Round of 32 game on Sunday and hadn’t pitched since the Western Mass. Class B title game on Thursday.
Easthampton managed just a hit and a walk through the first four innings, but started getting some good contact on Pou in the fifth. Megan Fickett and Madison Urban both reached base to start off the inning and scored on a Summer Routhier groundout and an Ana Growhoski single.
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The Eagles added on another run in the sixth when Samone Young singled, stole second and scored on a McKenzie McCarthy single.
Easthampton ends the season with a second consecutive appearance in the Division 4 Round of 16 and an 11-11 record. Of those 11 losses, eight were against top-10 seeds in the state bracket – Westfield (Div. 2 No. 4), Pittsfield (Div. 4 No. 3), Hampshire (Div. 4 No. 8), South Hadley (Div. 4 No. 10) and Greenfield (Div. 5 No. 1).
“When you look back on the schedule, look back and reflect on the season, the teams that we played, there’s no other sport in our school that plays the quality of teams that we play,” Robinson said. “We play the best teams in western Mass. We play them all.”
Robinson was intentional in scheduling those games against Western Mass. powers and said he was proud of how his team competed against schools much larger than their own.
He hopes Pittsfield can bring the Div. 4 state title back to Western Mass.
“I wish them luck,” Robinson said. “...I hope they go win the whole thing.”