Hoosac Upsets Drury for Slot in WMass Softball Semifinals

By Ryan Holmes
iBerkshires Sports
05:48PM / Sunday, May 31, 2009

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Photos by Paul Guillotte Hoosac players celebrate their victory; top, coach Mike Ameen wears his beliefs on his T-shirt.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Ever since Mike Ameen started coaching softball, he's had one simple message for every single one of his teams.

"Why not us?"

Whenever anyone asked him how far his teams could go, Ameen would say those three words over and over again — regardless of the team he had or the talent he saw on the field. It was an easy concept to grasp but not so easy to actually execute.

That was until Saturday afternoon, when Ameen's ninth-ranked Hoosac Valley Hurricanes shocked top-seeded Drury, winning 3-1 against their archrivals in the first round of the Division 2 Western Massachusetts Softball Tournament.

This Hurricanes team was arguably the most talented group Ameen has coached at the high school level but even they couldn't match up with the No. 1 Blue Devils, who won the North Division with a record of 18-2 this year and were seeking their third straight Western Mass. title. Hoosac had already lost twice to Drury by scores of 3-0 and 7-4 this year and surely couldn't spring an upset on the Blue Devils' home field.

Or could they? As Ameen would say, "Why not us?"

"We were always ready," a Gatorade-soaked Ameen said when asked how he got his team prepared for the game. "We knew we had a tough game. We needed the experience and this was the experience. I told them we were going to use Drury as a building block. Win or lose, we're going to use this team as a foundation for gaining experience and going out there and playing hard, and that's what we did."

Hurricanes Defeat Monson

The 'Canes (14-8) opened the tournament with an extra-inning victory over No. 8 Monson in the first round and now advance to next week's semifinal round, where they will play either Greenfield or Palmer.

That should give them plenty of time to let the reality of Saturday's colossal upset set in.

"It's mind-blowing," Hoosac sophomore Amanda Meczywor said after the game. "I just can't believe we just beat the No. 1 seed. It's amazing, not to mention it's our No. 1 rival. I can't believe the way this team has formed this year. We went from being the inexperienced team last year to now beating Drury. Everyone said we're inexperienced and not much of a competition but look at us now."

They'll be a lot of people looking at Meczywor now after her performance on Saturday. The talented young hurler managed to keep the county's most potent lineup quiet all day, giving up just one unearned run on five hits while striking out four and walking none. She also reached base twice, including hitting the game-winning triple with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.

"Our defense did well," Ameen said. "We stayed up and focused. Amanda threw strikes, and we rallied around her. It was everything. It was no one person, it was everyone."

It was an uncharacteristic day for the Blue Devils, who constantly fell behind in pitching counts and who couldn't string enough hits together to score runs. Junior shortstop Stephanie Mirante was the one bright spot, going 3 for 3 at the plate, but only two other Drury batters would get hits on the day.

"This was a tough one," Blue Devils head coach Mary Ann Maroni said. "I kept it to myself for a very long time, but I thought my team peaked much too early. Maybe 14 games in, we're hitting the hell out of the ball, throwing strikes all the time and no one was going to beat us. The fire was in our eyes and we were ready to go.

"But the last five or six games we were a little shaky. I watched Hoosac a few games and saw them gradual increase in ability. I understand their last game was a little sloppy, but I told the girls that they were going to bring their A game to us."

Drury Takes Lead

The momentum of the game seemed to turn in the bottom of the second inning. The visitors had put runners on second and third base with one out in the top half of the inning, but Drury starter Kelsey Malloy (six strikeouts, four walks) was able to pitch her way out of danger. Mirante and senior Megan Boyer then hit back-to-back singles to start the home half of the frame, and the Hurricanes' defense helped the hosts by making two straight errors to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The bases were loaded with no outs and things were starting to look very bleak for Ameen's club.

Meczywor buckled down, however, and got Kendra Hinkell to ground out into a fielder's choice at home plate for the first out. She then struck out Kelsey Ouimet and got Kait Moresi to line out to end the inning.

"That was huge," Ameen said. "They got their run on that error and to come off the field with only one run was huge."

Hoosac's confidence only seemed to grow after that, both at the plate and in the field. The Hurricanes' defense played error-free softball the rest of the way and the offense responded by getting the lead runner on in the last three innings of the game.

The visitors tied the game in the top of the fourth on a very unique play. With runners on second and third and one out, Malloy struck out two straight batters to apparently escape danger. The third strike on Heather Peltier hit the dirt, however, and Moresi couldn't apply the tag quick enough as Peliter made her way down the line. Ouimet, playing first base, saw the umpire make the strikeout sign and started heading toward the dugout. With no one guarding the bag, Peltier made it safely to first base, allowing the tying run to score.

It seemed like a crushing blow to Drury, but it didn't factor into the final outcome after Hoosac added two more runs in the following inning. Senior shortstop Jess Robinson led off with a single past Boyer at third base and eventually moved to third on a pair of sacrifices. Meczywor came up next and drilled the first pitch she saw from Malloy over the head of Casey Scott in centerfield to give her team a 2-1 lead.

"I told her I needed a base hit," Ameen said. "I told her to take a deep breath, relax and make good, hard contact."

"It just came off the bat and I just ran until Mike told me stop," Meczywor said. "It felt amazing."

Junior Haylee Dix then came up with a single into the gap in right-center field, scoring Meczywor to give the 'Canes a much-needed insurance run. The Blue Devils didn't make much noise in the final three innings, getting just a single from Mirante and a hit batsmen as their only base runners."

Although its season ended unceremoniously, Drury still has a lot to look forward to next year. Both Malloy and freshman Lyndsey DeGrenier will return as the team's top two pitchers, while seven out of the eight starters in the field will also be back. Maroni said the loss of Boyer will be huge, however. The hard-hitting Drury captain has battled numerous knee injuries in her high school career but came back strong to play in every game in her final season, providing the necessary leadership to help her team to an 18-3 record, a North Division title and the No. 1 seed in Western Mass. tourney.

"I'm only losing Megan, but that's a tough thing," Maroni said. "Megan is the stalwart of our team. She's the anchor, and I hate losing her. She's been with us four years and I hate to see her go."

While Drury looks forward to next year, Hoosac looks forward to next week.

This is the first time the Hurricanes have made it to the WMass tournament in Ameen's two years at the school. How far can the inexperienced and ninth-seeded Hurricanes make it this postseason?

Just ask Ameen.

"I'm going to go home and gear up for whoever we play next," he said. "I told them the last two days to ask yourself one question, 'Why not us?' That's what I'm going to ask them again on Monday morning.

"Why not us?"

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