ACS Swat 14U Wins County Softball Tourney
DALTON, Mass. -- Nora Moser struck out eight, and Ashlyn Lesure went 3-for-4 Wednesday to lead the Adams-Cheshire-Savoy Swat 14-and-under softball team to an 8-0 win over Dalton in the finals of the Berkshire County travel league.
ACS, which entered the playoffs seeded first, beat Dalton after the latter survived a 13-8 contest against the Bolt earlier Wednesday evening.
In the nightcap, Moser allowed just two hits, and the Swat played nearly flawless defense behind her.
“I have a lot [of confidence],” Moser said of her defense. “We’ve been doing it for, I think this is our fourth year. So we’ve been doing it for a long time. I know all their abilities.”
Moser was able to strand six runners, and she retired the last eight batters she faced after ACS scored its eighth run in the bottom of the fifth.
The Swat started scoring in the second, cashing in on a couple of free passes, a ball to the backstop and an error to take a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Maryn Cappiello led off with a single, stole second and scored on Lesure’s single. Ariana Rivard went to the plate with one out and Lesure on third and bunted her home, reaching first on the play.
Hannah Lord reached on a fielder’s choice that erased Rivard. Lord then moved to second on an error and scored on a single up the middle by Moser to make it 6-0.
In the fifth, Lesure and Aiden Champney started with back-to-back singles. After a ball to the backstop moved both into scoring position, back-to-back RBI groundouts fromRivard and Lord gave ACS the eight-run cushion.
Defensively, Moser pitched around a one-out error in the fourth by getting a swinging strike and a groundout to Maddie Saunders at second to strand the only Dalton runner to reach third base.
In the top sixth, Meg O’Bryan hit a leadoff single, but center fielder Champney fired to second and shortstop Lesure got the tag down to record the out.
Sam Kaley had the other Dalton hit in the first at-bat of the game. She was erased one out later when ACS catcher Cappiello snagged a popped up bunt and alertly threw to Paige Rochelo at first to complete the double play.
Kaley struck out three and walked just two in a complete-game effort for Dalton, her second complete game of the evening.
The Swat’s Moser said her side was not over-confident going into the league finale.
“We were like neck and neck with all the teams, especially this one, because we had five or six games, so it was pretty close,” Moser said. “Before the game, we were just waiting to see which team we would play.
“I think we all had good spirits, and we were all on. We were very positive today and came in ready.”
Dalton 13, Bolt 8
Dalton righted its ship defensively after a rough start to earn a spot in the county title game.
The South County-based Bolt cashed in on five Dalton errors in the first two innings to grab an early lead. The designated visitors ended up with seven miscues in the first four innings and trailed, 8-7, with three innings to play.
Dalton played flawless defense over those last three innings as it outscored the Bolt, 6-0, down the stretch.
Madi McCarthy went 2-for-3 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBIs in the middle of Dalton’s lineup. Mia Chaffee and Delayna Helms each had a double, and Sam Kaley went 2-for-five with a double and three runs scored.
Kaley also struck out four to get the win and start a marathon night for her and catcher Edri Collins; the Dalton battery remained in place for both ends of the semi-final/final double-header at Pine Grove Park.
The Bolt’s Mya Dupont struck out 12 but had to pitch around six of her team’s errors.
Amber Raifstanger went 2-for-five with a triple and scored twice for the Bolt, who got a double in a 3-for-five night from Lexi Carpenter. Brooke Decker went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice for the Bolt.
