PITTSFIELD, Mass. – After scoring the first runs of the game on RBI walks, the Taconic baseball team broke out the thunder sticks late in a 9-0 win over Monument Mountain on Thursday afternoon.
Antonio Scalise doubled in a pair of runs in the fifth, and Evan Blake hit a grand slam in the sixth to break open what had been a pitchers’ duel between Arthur Labrie and Matt Lee.
Taconic’s Lee ended up going the distance, striking out eight and allowing just one hit as the Thunder improved to 8-1.
Labrie could not make it out of the fifth inning for the Spartans (10-1) who saw their hopes for a perfect season dashed.
Taconic just missed on scoring double digit runs for the sixth straight game.
Although it has had plenty of offense the last couple of weeks, hitting remains a concern for veteran coach Kevin Stannard.
One recent bright spot: Scalise, who homered on Saturday against Pittsfield and went 3-for-4 on Thursday.
“He’s been great behind the plate this year and has let us keep [Nick Guachione] at first,” Stannard said. “But [Scalise’s] bat has been solid. I think just about every game, he’s gotten a hit or so for us. And today was three big hits, especially the double in the gap.”
Taconic got all the runs Lee needed in the top of the second.
Three straight singles by Scalise, Lee and Stevie Zuccalo loaded the bases with one out.
Then Kaden Cody and Bo Bramer worked RBI walks before Labrie was able to shut the door with a strikeout and a fly ball to center field.
Monument Mountain only managed one base-runner, on a game-opening error, until Jack Bissaillon hit a leadoff single to start the fifth and end Lee’s no-hit bid.
Lee got the next three batters on a pair of strikeouts and a groundball to Guachione at first to quiet that threat.
Then Taconic’s bats got going to reward its starter.
Guachione led off the home half with a single. Then, after Adam Lazits reached on a one-out walk, Scalise doubled to right field to make it a 4-0 game.
In the sixth, Codey led off with a walk and eventually scored on a ball to the backstop.
Behind him, Bramer singled and Sam Sherman and Guachione walked ahead of Blake’s third home run of the season to put the game out of reach.
Taconic is off on Friday ahead of a strange Saturday – going to Springfield Central for a game in the afternoon before driving to Southwick for the resumption of a game that started earlier this season.
Monument Mountain will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when it hosts Pittsfield.
