PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Pittsfield baseball team took control of the game in the first inning, and Ben Cornish stayed in control on the mound throughout on Wednesday as the Generals handed Wahconah a 10-0, five inning loss at Clapp Park.
Jackson Almeida went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, and Morrie Fried hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to help end the game early.
Cornish needed just 58 pitches to earn the victory on the mound. He struck out just four but also finished the game with eight straight outs – six on fly balls to the outfield.
“I was throwing strikes, and I had my teammates behind me,” Cornish said. “Lot of plays in the field. Not a lot of strikeouts. But we got it done.
“It’s less pitches for me. I get to get out there and have my teammates behind me. I feel confident whatever I throw. It feels good.”
Pittsfield coach Drew Pearce felt good watching his senior hurler.
“It really always starts with our pitching and defense, and Ben Cornish was doing exactly what we preach: strike one, getting ahead, staying ahead,” Pearce said. “And when he does get behind, getting right back on it and pitching to contact.”
After Cornish stranded a man at second in the top of the first, his offense got right to work in the bottom of the frame.
Ben Jacob led off by drawing a walk and stealing second. He moved to third on Cam Sime’s single and scored on a groundout from Nick Brindle for all the offense the Generals needed.
After Tommy Mullin walked to put runners at the corners, Jake Duquette drove in Sime with a single up the middle to make it 2-0. Mullin came home on an error attempting to catch Duquette stealing second. And Santino Arienti lifted a sacrifice to left to drive in Duquette and make it 4-0.
“They’re starting to do a lot better staying on top of that baseball and putting the ball in play,” Pearce said of his offense. “Early on, we were swinging a little haphazardly. Right now, we’re using the field and going after pitches we can handle and being aggressive.”
The Generals then tacked on single runs in the second, third and fourth against Wahconah starter Colby Robb to make it a 7-0 game.
Wahconah coach Steve Messina was happy to see Robb limit the damage, stranding five runners through the middle innings after giving up the four-run first.
“That’s what we wanted out of him today,” Messina said. “We needed somebody to chew up a lot of innings, and that’s exactly what he did today. It’s a raw day, and I don’t think he was as warm as he should have been in the first inning. Because he did settle down and gave up just three runs in the next three innings after that.
“And then in the last inning, I think he just kind of ran out of gas. But he did what we wanted him to do today.”
Messina also was not too disappointed in his offense, which hit the ball hard throughout.
“Pittsfield’s got a good team,” he said. “I was actually pleased with the way our guys played defensively. We made some good plays defensively. We put the bat on the ball. … I was actually pleased, even though it was a lopsided score. I was pleased with the way we played today.”
Arienti led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to left field. And Fried came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit bomb over the left field fence to make it 9-0.
Almeida then doubled and came home on Brindle’s double to left to end the game with one out in the bottom of the fifth.
The home run was the first varsity hit for the ninth-grader and made him the 15th different General to have at least one hit through the first six games of the spring.
“We keep a good sized squad because we’ve got a bunch of good athletes and a bunch of great kids,” Pearce said. “And when we handle our business, it’s the next guy up. And they’re ready to go. And on a day like this, you have to be ready to go and take advantage of any situation you get put into.
“And they’re doing it. They’re doing a great job from the bench all the way through the starters as well.”
Pittsfield (4-2) hosts Chicopee Comp on Friday.
Wahconah (4-5) is at Easthampton on Friday.
