Softball: Hampshire can’t break through in 3-0 loss to defending state champion Westfield (PHOTOS)

By HANNAH BEVIS 

Staff Writer 

Published: 05-12-2023 8:22 PM

WESTHAMPTON — With the game still scoreless after two and a half innings, it seemed like the Hampshire Regional softball team was poised to make some noise in the bottom of the third.

Rachael Hickox reached first with a solid bunt and moved over to second when Hailey Wodecki unleashed a bomb to left field for a single. Emma Czarniecki walked in the next at bat and suddenly the Raiders had the bases loaded with nobody out. 

Westfield head coach Tyson James called for time, approaching the mound to settle his team. The momentum was entirely with the home team, but it didn’t stay that way for long – the Westfield defense threw Wodecki out at home on the next play and hauled in two fly balls to end the frame with three runners stranded.

“It's the situation. There's a lot of pressure on everyone, and we do have a young team and not everyone's been in that position before,” Wodecki said. “They had great defense, they were making all their plays. We try to swing the bats, we put the ball in play, but sometimes you just can't get the ball on the ground.” 

Hampshire left nine total runners on base in a 3-0 loss to defending MIAA Division 2 state champion Westfield — a second consecutive defeat after dropping a tight 9-6 game to Greenfield earlier in the week.

Pitcher Joss Mettey and her teammates kept Westfield off the board until the top of the sixth inning, when Allison Rehor slammed a home run to get the Bombers on the board and Grace LeDuc and Marlow Murphy scored two more runs shortly after.

Wodecki led the team with three hits, CC Thayer had two hits as did Hickox, who got on base with two bunts. Mettey threw all seven innings and had 10 strikeouts, throwing everything she had at Westfield to keep the visitors off the board. 

“She pitched good. A couple balls got up and those were the ones they hit. I told her if you keep balls down it's a better chance of success, but you know, that happens with the guys making millions of dollars – if you make mistakes, they’re gonna hit it,” Hampshire head coach Brian McGan said “I thought she pitched good — 3-0 game, can’t complain, and we had our chance. We just couldn’t get it done.” 

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After Rehor’s home run, Moja Premny singled and was replaced by pinch runner LeDuc on the bag. It didn’t take long for LeDuc to score; Murphy blasted a double that brought her teammate all the way home in the next at-bat. Murphy made it from second to home shortly after to give Westfield their third and final run and a 3-0 advantage.

Mettey pitched out of a number of jams to keep the score within striking distance – Westfield had runners on second and third in the first inning, and she struck out two consecutive batters to strand a pair in the top of the second inning. 

It’s the second time this season that the team has lost back-to-back games — the Raiders fell to Pittsfield (10-6) and Wachusett (3-0) earlier in the season before rebounding for a five-game win streak. Wodecki said Hampshire (10-4 overall) isn’t thinking about the losses, focused instead on learning from their mistakes and improving.

“Our team's been working really hard at practices, and I know some of us we haven't lost a lot in the past, but we are learning from these losses and taking what happens in the game and going to practice and working on we need to work on,” Wodecki said. “We have pretty high spirits on this team.” 

They don’t have much time to dwell on the loss – they’ll play Agawam on Saturday at 11:30 am, and will get a chance for revenge against Pittsfield on Monday at 4:30.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.]]>