Pittsfield Heads to Postseason with Win, Depth
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Tommy Mullin drove in a run in the bottom of the fifth Wednesday to give the Pittsfield baseball team a 10-run margin and a 12-2 win over Monument Mountain on Buddy Pellerin Field.
The Generals got contributions up and down the lineup and scored in every inning to support Connor Lavinio and Simon Mele, who combined to strike out five and allow just two hits.
Teamwork on the mound has been a theme for Pittsfield, which has used 11 different pitchers this spring.
Mele, with two innings of relief, became the sixth different General to earn a win on the mound.
“It’s really nice to have guys step up on the mound and see what they have,” Pittsfield coach Drew Pearce said. “In a shortened season – we only had 17 games scheduled – there’s not a ton of opportunity to get guys in the game.
“So I do feel good going [into the playoffs]. If we pump strikes, we play good defense and we have good at-bats, we can play with anybody.”
Mele and Cam Hillard each made their first appearances for the varsity in the last week of the season, and each picked up a win – Hillard a complete-game gem against Westfield on Monday.
Pearce said he feels confident going to either of the underclassmen if they are needed in next week’s Western Massachusetts tournament or the state tourney to follow.
“That’s one of the big things that coach [Ben] Stohr and I, our JV coach, talked about: I wanted Hillard and Simon Mele to be down in JV and pitch regularly, so when we call on them, they have extended pitch counts and they can come in and be ready to go,” Pearce said. “And that’s exactly what they did.”
Lavinio was in good shape when he left the mound on Wednesday. Monument Mountain scored a pair in the top of the third to cut into a 6-0 deficit, but Pittsfield answered with three in the bottom of the inning to make it a 9-2 game before Mele took the mound to start the fourth.
The Generals opened the scoring with two in the first thanks to singles by Walker Abdallah and Mullin, who each ended up scoring on balk calls.
In the second, Morrie Fried (2-for-3) hit a double, and Abdallah (2-for-3) hit a two-run single to highlight a two-out, four-run rally.
In the third, Cam Sime drove in a pair of runs with a single. In the fourth, Roshan Warriar drove in Santino Arienti, who reached on a two-out single.
After Mele left the bases loaded in the fourth and stranded a runner in the top of the fifth, Pittsfield went to the bottom of the inning needing two runs to end the game.
For the third straight inning, the Generals got things going with two out.
Will Kinne worked a pinch-hit walk and moved up on Ty Roloson’s pinch-hit single.
Nick Brindle then crushed a ball to left field that would have driven in two runs but for the fact that it bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double that allowed Kinne to score but sent Roloson back to third.
Mullin then hit a ball deep to left-center that would have gone for extra bases but instead went into the books as a game-ending single when Roloson came home.
The Spartans got hits from Jack Bissailon and Dom Velasco and sacrifice flies from Jayder Raifstanger and Cole Bissaillon.
Shaun Frank led three Spartans to the mound, taking the loss on three innings of work.
Despite Wednesday’s loss Monument Mountain coach Tom Hankey, like Pittsfield’s Pearce, is happy about how the Spartans are playing heading to the post-season.
“I’m really pleased with where we’re at,” Hankey said. “Tip of the cap to Pittsfield. They’re a good team. But I’m pleased with where we’re at effort-wise, the way we’re swinging and so on.
“Today was our fifth game in six days. We don’t make excuses, but we had some kids out there for the first time on the mound. They got their feet wet, which is good for the future.”
The Spartans and Generals both get a little time off to rest, practice and get ready for next week’s Western Massachusetts Class B tournament.