LENOX, Mass. – McCann Tech’s battery was charged up Tuesday as the Hornets snapped a two-game skid with an 8-2 win over Lenox.
Pitcher Lukas Rylander struck out eight and scattered five hits in a complete-game effort.
And catcher Austin Buda went 3-for-4 with a double and a three-run home run in the sixth inning to help put the game away.
Buda’s first home run of the season sailed over the left field fence, giving him a team-leading 13 RBIs and giving McCann Tech a 7-2 lead at the time.
“Obviously, I wasn’t swinging for it, because if I was, I probably wouldn’t have hit it,” Buda said. “We played great defense, and I think that’s what kept us in the game the whole time, and then the bats just exploded there, obviously. An all-around team effort.
“I was just sitting for a fastball. I was trying to get on any way I could, and he put it kind of right in my wheelhouse.”
While the Hornets waited for their bats to heat up, Rylander kept the Millionaires on ice most of the afternoon, giving up single runs in the second and fourth innings and avoiding further damage with a strikeout to strand two runners in the fourth
“Lukas is our ace,” McCann Tech coach Justin Howland said. “That kid, every time he goes on that mound, it’s a potential win.
“He throws gas, and he’s got a nice breaking ball. And the team rallies behind him. Our defense was solid today, but Lukas is slinging it this year.”
Rylander improved his record to 4-0 with a 1.68 earned run average in 25 innings on the mound for a Hornet team that improved to 7-3.
Lenox got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second.
Robbie Bazinet singled to left with one out and stole second ahead of an RBI single from Blake Hoff.
McCann Tech answered immediately in the top of the third, scoring three times in a two-out rally to take the lead for good.
Jesse Brazee started things with a two-out double to left center, and he came home on Nick Gilman’s RBI single up the middle.
Rylander then helped his cause with a triple to make it 2-1, and he scored on Buda’s first hit of the game, an RBI single to left.
Lenox got one run back in the bottom of the fourth when Max Shepardson doubled and scored on David Kirchner’s single to left.
Buda then led off the top of the fifth with a double, moved to third on a dropped third strike and scored when Zach Howland reached on a two-out infield single to make it 4-2.
Buda’s double ended the day for Lenox starter David Kirchner, who struck out eight in four-plus innings of work. He was relieved by Bazinet before Jack Hicks went to the mound for the seventh.
Even in the loss, Lenox coach Kevin Downer was encouraged by what he saw from his young arms.
“I threw three freshmen today, and with Seamus [Cooney] throwing the other day, that’s four freshmen,” Downer said. “We’ve got to find a way to replace Max [Shepardson]. I’m worried about this year, don’t get me wrong, but …
“I’m very, very happy with our pitching today. We threw strikes. We kept their hitters off balance. Rylander’s a great pitcher, and we hit the ball hard. [The Hornets] made some nice plays. So hats off to McCann. They did a good job defensively today.”
On Saturday, Lenox senior Shepardson went the distance on the mound in a 4-1 win over McCann Tech in North Adams.
The knockout rally for the Hornets on Tuesday started when Gilman reached on a one-out error. Rylander then walked, and Buda homered to give his team a five-run lead.
After Bazinet got a strikeout, Troy Tassone reached on an error before scoring on Lenox’s third miscue of the inning to close out the scoring.
Lenox (5-4) will look to get back in the win column on Thursday morning when it plays Taconic in Cooperstown, N.Y.
McCann Tech is home against Mahar on Friday as it plays the next five games at Joe Wolfe Field and looks to build momentum toward the Western Mass tournament..
“Definitely today was a big turnaround after the last few games,” Justin Howland said. “We’ve got another tough week next week. We’ve got three games in four days. Get through that stretch and hopefully get a couple of ‘Ws’ out of it, and we’ll be in good shape for the post-season.”
