PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Taconic softball team Monday continued its “season of firsts” by knocking off Wahconah for the first time since 2019 and qualifying for the state tournament.
Julia Pierce went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Rylee Paronto went the distance in the circle in a 16-5 win that gave the Thunder its 10th win of the season.
“I think we finally realized: We’re a good team,” Taconic coach Jaclyn Candelet said after Taconic won for the fourth time in its last five outings. “We can hang in these games. We can hit the ball. We’re making the plays. It’s finally all coming together. And they’re the point in the season where it’s like, ‘Let’s just keep going. We’re not done yet.’ “
And whatever happens with next week’s Western Massachusetts tournament, the Thunder will not be done as it improved to 10-6 to secure a spot in the Division 5 State Tournament.
“It’s a good feeling,” Candelet said. “We’re having a good season right now. We’re having fun. It’s all I can ask for.
“It’s a year of firsts. These seniors – they missed the COVID year, so it’s been three years – but they haven’t given up. They’ve had a lot of firsts this year. I’ve been here for six years, and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten 10 wins. Sweeping Pittsfield was huge. And beating Wahconah – they’ve always wanted to beat these teams, and we’re finally doing it.”
Taconic took control of the game in the bottom of the third, scoring five times to take a 7-3 lead.
Chey Goddard and Brenna McNeice each hit an RBI single in the rally, which also took advantage of three Wahconah errors.
“First of all, Taconic is a good softball team, they did a lot of good things,” Wahconah coach Dustin Belcher said. “They were better than us today and deserved to win the game.
“But we did not play well defensively. There’s really no way to tiptoe around that. There were far too many errors. … The kind of pitching that we have, we have to play good defense. They’re throwing at contact. They’re not power pitchers, neither Casey [Wilson] nor Taylar [Hickey]. They’re not going to rack up a ton of strikeouts. So the ball is going to be play.”
In addition to Taconic’s 17 hits on Monday, Wahconah committed six errors – none more costly than in that decisive third inning rally.
It answered a three-run rally for the visitors in the top of the third, when Wilson hit a two-run home run, and Elena Iovieno drove in a run with a double to give Wahconah a 3-2 lead.
After Taconic went ahead by four, Wahconah did not give up at the plate, getting a run in the fourth and another in the fifth on Katelyn McCormack’s sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.
But Taconic pulled back ahead with a six-run fifth.
Six players got a hit in that rally, including Pierce’s RBI double and Audrina Maloney and Lyniah Hadsell's two-run singles.
All nine players in the lineup for Taconic ended up with at least one hit in the win.
“Throughout our lineup, it’s really strong,” McNeice said. “Everyone contributes in some way, whether it’s in the field or at-bat. We also have a lot of subs who can come in and hit as well.”
Monday marked the 10th time this spring Taconic has scored in double digits.
All that support generally goes to help Paronto, who struck out five and walked just two on Monday to earn the win.
Taconic Wednesday will continue a six-game homestand on the newly christened Coach Kevin Harrington Field when Greenfield visits.
Wahconah (7-10) goes to Mount Greylock on Wednesday.
