Clutch Hitting, Strong Pitching Lift Wahconah Past Ayer Shirley

DALTON, Mass. – Two two-out rallies and one big performance in the circle propelled the Wahconah softball team to a 12-0 win over Ayer Shirley in the first round of the Division 4 State Tournament on Monday.

 

Julia McComish went 3-for-3 with a triple and three runs batted in, and Sydney Payson went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in a 15-hit Wahconah attack.

 

All of those hits – and all 12 Wahconah runs – came with two outs on the scoreboard.

 

Meanwhile, Marlee Arnhold mowed down the Panthers, giving up just four hits in the five-inning, complete-game shutout.

 

Arnhold struck out five and walked just one as seventh-seeded Wahconah (17-4) earned the right to host No. 10 Bellingham in the Round of 16.

 

“I thought Marley got better as the game went on,” Wahconah coach Dustin Belcher said. “And I thought, actually, Kenadi [Arnhold] is the unsung hero of the game behind the plate. I thought she had a really good game between calling the game and just kind of handling things back there.

 

“Really, I was proud of the overall effort. This was a good win to start the tournament.”

 

Wahconah’s offense got started with two runs in the bottom of the first.

 

After a pair of walks and a passed ball put runners at second and third, Ayer Shirley got a strikeout and a groundball to first. The latter went for an RBI for Marlee Arnhold that made it 1-0. McComish then ripped a double to left to give her team a 2-0 lead.

 

In the second, the Panthers retired the first two hitters, but Gracey Farley was hit by a pitch to keep the inning going.

 

The next seven Wahconah batters each got a hit, including Marlee Arnhold’s RBI triple to help her cause. The six-run rally put Wahconah on top, 8-0.

 

It added three runs in the third, again starting the rally with two out and nobody on base.

 

Payson, Kenadi Arnhold (2-for-3), Marlee Arnhold (2-for-4), McComish and Madison McCarthy (2-for-3) delivered five straight hits to make it 11-0.

 

Meanwhile, Arnhold held the Panthers at bay.

 

Wahconah ended the game without a base hit in the seventh. Ayer Shirley’s second pitcher of the game started the inning and issued four walks to send the 12th run across the plate.

 

Wahconah did commit a couple of uncharacteristic errors, which may have been, in part, a product of the schedule, which saw the team wait 10 days since losing its Western Massachusetts semi-final. Butit also turned in a couple of gems.

 

In the third, with one out and a runner on first, shortstop Sammie Kaley came on a short fly ball and made a diving attempt, just missing the catch but popping up to throw to Payson at second for the forceout. In the fourth, a hard grounder tipped off the glove of Farley at first base, and Payson grabbed the ball and threw to Farley, who recovered to make the out at the bag.

 

“We made a couple of mistakes, and I thought we got right back into it,” Belcher said. “We didn’t hang our heads. So I’m excited to see what we can do. At this point, it’s just good teams left, and we know that. So we just have to accept the challenge.”