Miscues Cost Millionaires in Western Mass Final

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Franklin Tech softball team Saturday managed just six hits against Lenox's pitchers.

 

But, with a little luck, the Eagles generated enough offense to hand the Millinoaires a 5-2 loss in the Western Massachusetts Class C Championship Game.

 

Lenox committed seven errors that led to four unearned runs against starting pitcher Evelyn Julieano, who combined with Cassidy Flynn to strike out three and walk just one in a losing effort.

 

A 1-1 game took a big turn in the top of the third, when Franklin Tech got all those unearned runs to grab a 5-1 lead.

 

"Four errors in that inning, and that was, I believe, the difference in the game," Lenox coach Amy Pires said. "Just giving them extra bases and throwing the ball around, not being able to field the ball cleanly."

 

Pires said the early 10 a.m. start time at Westfield State could have been a factor in her team's performance, but she pointed to another cause.

 

"Probably the early morning game, but we also have our prom tonight," Pires said. "So we've got four girls on the team that are going to prom, and that might have been on the minds of a couple of them, because moving the game up totally messed with their plans of getting ready for prom.

 

"I get it. We've just got to role with it. But, you know, it's a young team. It's our first time being here [in the regional final], and I thought other than that one inning, I thought we played well."

 

Lenox made the first mark on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.

 

Grace Julieano worked a one-out walk and moved up on a passed ball and a groundout before coming home on Cassidy Flynn's single to left field.

 

The Eagles bounced back to tie it in the top of the second, and then came the disastrous third, when Franklin Tech scored four times without the benefit of a base hit.

 

Lenox got one back in the bottom of the frame.

 

Evelyn Julieano led off with an infield single and went to third on her sister's sacrifice bunt before Lilly MacDonald dropped an RBI single into right field to make it 5-2.

 

But that was all the damage Lenox could do against Franklin Tech pitcher Brayleigh Burgh, who, without overpowering speed, mixed up her velocity effectively to keep the Millionaires off balance at the plate.

 

"She's a good pitcher, a smart pitcher," Pires said. "So that foold a lot of our players, and we tried to adjust as the innings went on, but we just couldnt' get more runs in."

 

Lenox had runners on second and third with two out in the bottom of the fourth, but Burgh got the final out on, appropriately, an off-speed pitch for a called third strike, one of only two Ks for the Eagles' pitcher.

 

The Millionaires had runners on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh as well but could not get the timely hit to extend the inning.

 

Lenox (12-7) is not done, of course. On Wednesday, it learns who it will open play against in the Division 5 State Tournament.

 

But whatever happens the rest of the way, getting to Westfield State was a major step for the program.

 

"Last year, we went undefeated [in the regular season], but of course, [the league] wasn't realigned like it was this year," Pires said. "This year was a lot more difficult. And even with the realignment, to come back and make it to the [Western Mass] finals is huge.

 

"I'm just so proud of these girls. We've got 11 players, and half of them are middle schoolers and freshmen. So they did really well, and I'm excited to see what we'll bring next year. We'll lose [senior Grace Julieano], so that will be a blow and a half, but we'll see what we can do.

 

"Now, we're looking forward to states and hopefully getting a couple of home games before we have to travel."