County's Softball Stars Celebrate Season Under the Lights
ADAMS, Mass. – PIttsfield High’s Mia DeJesus went 4-for-4 with three doubles and four runs batted in Friday to lead her team to a 12-6 victory in the Berkshire County High School Softball All-Star Game.
Lenox’s Evelyn Julieano was 2-for-3 with a double, and Hoosac Valley’s Rachael Wnuk doubled in a pair of runs for Team Pires, named for Millionaires coach Amy Pires.
They were opposed by Team Thurston, named for McCann Tech coach Aubrey Thurston. Kenadi Arnhold had a big night in the loss, hitting a solo home run and a double in her two plate appearances.
The annual celebration of softball in the Berkshires got off to a soggy start when a storm blew through the central part of the county at around 6 p.m., leaving the varsity field at Pine Grove Park, the planned venue, unplayable.
Coaches, umpires and players regrouped and moved the party north to Russell Field, where the game was played just about a half hour behind schedule.
As always, the night started with the awarding of the county’s Sportsmanship Awards by the Berkshire County Softball Officials Association. This year, for the first time, the awards came with $250 scholarships for the two honorees: Lenox’s Grace Julieano and Mount Greylock’s Audrianna Pelkey.
Pelkey was one of several players named to the team who was unable to attend Friday night’s game. She was represented by her parents at the pregame ceremony.
In recognizing the two seniors, umpire Tim Morey noted that sportsmanship is a hallmark of all the county’s teams, which are a pleasure to officiate.
And when the players got down to “business” on Friday night, it was clear that they were as interested in having fun and joking with their high school “rivals” as they were in worrying about the score.
That said, Team Pires jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning with a five-run rally keyed by DeJesus’ two-run double.
Team Thurston got one of those runs back right away in the second with Arnhold’s leadoff home run.
But Hoosac Valley’s Gracelyn Wright and Lenox’s Cassidy Flynn held Thurston’s team to just two runs through the first five innings.
Meanwhile, Team Pires added two in the second and four in the fifth to take a comfortable 11-2 lead into the late innings.
Team Thurston rallied for three runs in the sixth, when Monument Mountain’s Lexi Carpenter drove in a run with a single.
DeJesus’ RBI single in the bottom of the sixth made it 12-5.
In the seventh, Lee’s Maddie Blair hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on an RBI groundout from Wildcat teammate Kayla Clark, but Wright was able to close out the game with her fourth strikeout in four and a third innings.