Stellar Defense Pushes McCann Past Lee
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Defense has been completely critical to the McCann Tech softball team recently.On Friday, the Hornets made six errors and bumbled their way to an 11-6 loss at Southwick. Saturday was a different story, however, as Robin Finnegan's club played mistake free for seven innings strong, helping limit a strong-hitting Lee team in a 3-2 win at home. McCann, which improved to 9-6 with the win, erased a two-run deficit by scoring once in the bottom of the fourth and twice more in the fifth.
Senior captain Katyln Haring held the Wildcats (5-10) scoreless over the final three innings of the game. She replaced starter Erika Ziemba in the top of the fifth, striking out two batters and walking one to improve her season record to 7-5.
"This was a great game with two defenses playing well," Finnegan said. "Ashley Alibozek and Bryana Malloy made great catches in the outfield. Lee was tagging the ball, and my defense stepped up. Erika only allowed two runs in the first four innings, but I had to make the switch as Lee was timing her perfectly. Kate came in and shut Lee down thanks to her accuracy and the defense behind her."
Alibozek and Malloy also got the job done from the top of the lineup, reaching base twice in order for teammates Katie Hancock, Amanda Cariddi and Haring to drive them in with timely hits. Cariddi had the best day for the Hornets' offense, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.
McCann next hosts Easthampton for a 4 p.m. game on Monday afternoon.