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Whitman's Comes Back to Even Torchia League Title Series

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Sarah Sweet went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI and pitched Whitman’s Crystal Clean to a 7-4 win Monday to even its best-of-three championship series in the Pat Torchia Softball League.
 
Whitman’s will take on Pizza House on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at DiSanti Field to decide the title. Last Thursday, Pizza House opened the championship series with a 10-4 win.
 
On Monday, Pizza House again started strong, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to go ahead, 3-0.
 
Robin Finnegan hit an RBI double, Katie Hancock drove in a run with a single to left, and Becky Duquette drew a bases-loaded walk to give their team the early lead.
 
Whitman’s got its offense on track in the third.
 
Taylor King led off with a single to left to start a five-hit, five run rally. Melissa Girard, Sweet, Crystal Poulen, Kristin (Paryzch) Hildabrand and Kate Galli each singled before it was over. Galli’s two-out single to second scored Hildabrand to make it 5-3.
 
Whitman’s picked up some insurance runs in the fourth thanks to a double by King, who moved Kristen King to third. With two players in scoring position, Amy Belawender’s RBI groundout brought one home, and an error on the same play made it 7-3.
 
Pizza House rallied for a run in the fifth on an RBI single by April Varelli, but Sweet stranded two to keep it a three-run game.
 
She then left one in the sixth and retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to close it out.
 
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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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