Calautti, Luf Anchor Spartans in Home Win

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – The Monument Mountain baseball team Saturday scored early and often in earning its second win of the season.

 

But the Spartans got a big lift defensively to get them started on the way to a 10-0, six-inning win over Mount Greylock at Memorial Field.

 

The Mounties put their first two hitters on base by means of an outfield error and a Cole Creighton single.

 

But the Spartans erased the first runner when catcher Dom Calautti fired down to second to foil a steal attempt. And they ended the inning when second baseman Kyle McMahon and shortstop Theo Curletti executed a 4-6-3 double play.

 

“Defense … we’ve got a lot of new parts out there, and Dom’s been a great leader all year,” Monument Mountain coach Tom Hankey said. “He and Gus [Luf] have been leading by example like you couldn’t believe.

 

“It was nice to get out of that first inning with executing some plays.”

 

Luf went on to limit the Mounties to five hits while striking out 10 to earn the complete-game win.

 

Meanwhile, Monument Mountain’s offense rode the momentum of that defensive execution by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first.

 

Luf led off with a single, moved up to third when Levi Koldys reached on a bunt. With runners at the corners, Calautti grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Luf with the only run the Spartans would need. Another bunt, Liam Smith’s sacrifice, gave the home team a 2-0 lead.

 

Monument Mountain then tacked on two runs in the third and two in the fourth.

 

The Spartans came close to ending things in the bottom of the fifth.

 

Luke Fenig got things started with a single to right and went to second on Kyle McMahon’s sac bunt. Curletti walked but was erased on a fielder’s choice that put Caeden Thayer on first and scored Fenig. Mateo Buffoni reached on an error to put two on with two out for Luf, and he doubled to left-center to drive in two and give the Spartans a 9-0 lead.

 

Mount Greylock pitcher Emery Rotter was able to extend the game by inducing a fly ball out to end the inning.

 

And the Mounties got some life when Rotter singled to lead off the top of the sixth. But Luf got a groundout, a strikeout and a fly ball to Calautti, who made the grab while falling backward in the left-handed batter’s box, to preserve the shutout.

 

Calautti then led off the bottom of the sixth with a double, stole his fourth base of the game and scored on a passed ball to end it.

 

Luf ended up going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs to lead Monument Mountain’s offense.

 

Rotter went 2-for-3 at the plate and allowed just four earned runs for Mount Greylock (4-7), which hosts South Hadley on Monday.

 

Monument Mountain (2-10) continues a trying season on Sunday against Hopkins Academy, when the Spartans will look to build on momentum from Saturday's win and Thursday’s one-run loss on the road at Hampshire.

 

“It’s been a challenging season for us,” Hankey said. “We have a new breed of kids that are learning how to compete, and we’re learning how to win, and today was a great step towards that. Actually, even the last game, although we lost, we came back from a 6-0 deficit, and we fought.

 

“Pretty much, that’s all I can ask for out of this group right now. … They’re very talented. We just to learn how to win. We need to learn how to execute. And we need to learn how to be tough in certain situations. And the last 14 innings that we’ve played, we’re really starting to make strides toward that.”

 

Photos from this game to come.