PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Mia Arpante hit a two-run double in the top of the sixth, and Mia DeJesus threw five innings of relief to lead the Pittsfield softball team to a 10-7 win over Wahconah on Friday.
For the second day in a row, the Generals’ offense rallied for a late victory as Pittsfield improved to 3-0 this spring.
“This was definitely a battle,” Pittsfield coach Brian MacDonald said. “They’re a very good team. They’re a solid team that can hit. … Definitely, we chipped away and chipped away and, hopefully, one of these days, we’ll get a nice lead and have some padding so we don’t have to come from behind again.
“But these girls are resilient. They just keep fighting. They’ve got the energy. It’s a cold day. They don’t want to be out here in the cold, but they came out and they fought, and they took home another win.”
Juliana Johansen, Amanda Pou and Bella MacDonald had two hits apiece in an 11-hit Pittsfield attack.
Pou led off the bottom of the first with an infield single and went to third on an error before scoring on a passed ball to give the Generals an early 1-0 lead.
Wahconah then battled back, tying the game in the second and going ahead with a four-run third.
Three straight walks to open the inning were followed by an RBI single from Taylar Hickey and a one-out, three-run double by Katelyn McCormack to make it 5-1.
The Generals responded in the bottom of the inning.
Again, Pou got things going, lacing a one-out single down the third base line. After she stole second, Bella MacDonald drove her home with a two-out single.
Neveah Lopez singled, and DeJesus worked a walk to load the bases for Paxton Ebling, who singled to left to drive in a pair of runs to tie it, 5-5.
Kamryn Renata then reached on an error to put runners at first and second for Johansen, who doubled to left to give the Generals a two-run lead.
This time, Wahconah punched back, picking up single runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game. Ainsleigh Sullivan hit a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth. Dani Barry doubled and ended up scoring on Casey Wilson’s sac fly an inning later to tie it, 7-7.
“We’re putting some hits together,” Wahconah coach Dustin Belcher said. “I thought that was a great pinch hit by Ainsley Sullivan down the line. We’ve got some really good hitters in our lineup.
“We’ve got a lot of players playing new positions, defensively, and until they get comfortable, we’re going to have to go through some bumps in the road. But I thought we responded well to that. We gave up that big inning, and then we came back and tied the game. So, those are things we’re going to build on.”
Just like Pittsfield answered Wahconah’s four-run top of the third with a six-run bottom of the third, the Generals immediately responded after the visitors tied the game in the top of the sixth.
Natalie Arnhold hit a one-out, pinch-hit single to start the winning rally. She got to third on a couple of balls to the backstop, and Belcher opted to intentionally walk Pou after she got to a two-ball count with two out to put runners at the corners.
Arpante spoiled that strategy with her game-winning double to make it 9-7. She then came home on an RBI single from MacDonald to provide the final margin of victory.
DeJesus finished things off with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the first time all afternoon Wahconah was retired in order.
Pittsfield scored in double figures for the second time in three games. The Generals are averaging 11 runs per game heading into Monday’s game at Easthampton.
“They can hit,” Brian MacDonald said. “Even the girls who are on the bench, one through 14. Even our team manager can hit once she gets out there. That’s the thing that’s hopefully going to carry us to a state championship, our hitting.”
