Hampshire Tops Pittsfield in Softball Title Game

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Hampshire Regional pitcher Joss Mettey played with fire, but doused the flames every time to keep Pittsfield off the scoreboard in the Western Massachusetts Class B Championship Game.
 
Mettey struck out three and scattered six hits to lead her team to a 6-0 win over the Generals.
 
Amanda Pou had a pair of hits for Pittsfield, which had runners on base in five of the seven innings and three times left runners in scoring position.
 
Pittsfield (13-7), which earlier in the learned it is seeded fifth in the upcoming Division 3 State Tournament, lost for the third time in its last five games and dropped the season series to the Raiders, 3-1.
 
The Generals came out strong to start, getting hits from Pou and Bella MacDonald and a walk to Paxton Ebling in the first inning.
 
But a runner caught stealing at second helped quiet the rally, which ended on a grounder to Mettey in the circle.
 
That brought Hampshire to the plate, where it did most of its damage in its first turn at bat.
 
Mettey's RBI single was one of four Hampshire hits in a four-run rally to take control of the game.
 
The Raiders tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth, when the first three hitters in its lineup each got a hit.
 
That threesome of Ashley Cortis, Hailey Wodecki and Mettey did most of the damage for the Raiders, combining to go 6-for-9 with a double and a pair of RBIs in a nine-hit Hampshire attack.
 
Pittsfield's defense stepped up a couple of times to limit the damage. In the second, Kamryn Renata had an outfield assist from left to stop Cortis from turning a double into a triple.
 
Later in that inning, MacDonald made a diving catch at shortstop.
 
In the sixth, Neveah Lopez and Mia Arpante combined to turn a double plau up the middle.
 
But Pittsfield also committed five errors, making pitchers Mia Dejesus and Pou work for extra outs.
 
The Generals will be back in action in the state tournament on Monday when they host the winner of Thursday's play-in round game between Cardinal Spellman and O'Bryant.
 
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