WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Two standout rounds for Mount Greylock and one standup move by one of its opponents combined to give the Mounties a two-stroke win over Monument Mountain on Tuesday at Waubeeka Golf Links.
Matt Wiseman and Kyle Alvarez tied for medalist honors with rounds of 38 on the par-36 front nine to lead Mount Greylock to a 172-174 victory over Monument Mountain. Ben Gillooly (46) and Lilly Crolius (50) rounded out the scoring for the Mounties.
But the play of the day was made by Monument junior Mike Basile on the par-3 7th hole.
"I hit a 6-iron off the tee, and it went far left over the green and into the tall grass," Basile recounted. "The ball was buried, and you couldn't really tell where it was. I couldn't see it myself. One of my partners spotted it and pointed it out.
"I should have checked it, but I just played it. Once it was on the green, I saw it was Titelist 3, which was not my ball. ... I hit it into the bunker [from the tall grass] and hit another shot with it, but I didn't realize until it was on the green.
"I just said, 'It's not my ball.' "
Instead of a earning respectable bogey on the par-3, Basile was assessed a two-stroke penalty, per USGA rules -- inflating his score to a 57 and ultimately providing the margin of victory for Mount Greylock.
Not that any of that mattered to Basile at the time.
"I didn't really even know the rule," he said.
Would he do the same thing again?
"Of course," Basile said. "I didn't even think once about it. ... I don't have any remorse about it. I wouldn't have felt good about the score if I had played it -- even if I was just playing for fun."
Mount Greylock co-coach Brian Gill was impressed with the display of sportsmanship.
"Can you imagine a kid calling that on himself?" Gill said. "I mean, no one would have known. He could have played the rest of the round and no one would have known.
"That's what's great about this sport."
The sport was pretty good to Alvarez on Tuesday. The Mounties sophomore turned in his best competitive round of the fall, closing it out with a birdie on 386-yard, par-4 ninth hole.
"I had a lot of good chip shots," he said. "That's probably the only thing that saved me today. I hit the pin twice -- on the second hole and the sixth hole, and the stopped about a foot away.
"And on the last hole, I made a 15-foot birdie putt to end with a 38, so I was pretty pumped."
Mounties co-coach Brandon Asplundh was pumped to see the low scores at the top of the team's lineup and the contributions throughout, particularly from junior Crolius.
"Matt and Kyle played awesome," Asplundh said. "Thirty-eight is an incredible score, especially on this course. So we're really pleased with that.
"Lilly has been battling a sprained wrist. She really came through for us with the 50. That was the difference maker. We're incredibly proud of her for battling through that."
Asplundh said Crolius sprained her wrist about two weeks ago.
"She fought through it today and played great," he said.
Monument was led by Bryce Schuler with a 42. Owen Hunter and Dylan Buffoni carded 44s for the Spartans.
Mount Greylock (4-4) travels to play St. Joseph next Wednesday. Monument (4-3) travels to Wahconah on Monday.
