DALTON, Mass. -- Emma Wixsom Tuesday threw two shutout innings to lift the Berkshire Force 10-and-under softball team to a 16-7 win over Dalton and a Berkshire County Summer Softball League Championship at Chamberlain Park.

 

Wixsom struck out eight hitters in the game, which ended after four innings due to the time limit.

 

She allowed just one hit and stranded three runners over the final two innings after giving up five runs in the first.

 

"She came in hot late, and that's exactly what we needed at the time," Force coach Tom DiPietro said. "I felt like it started with the confidence at the plate. Once we started hitting, the confidence on the mound just went.

 

"She's been our ace all year, and we tried not to overuse her. So we pretty much saved her for these last two games."

 

The Force advanced to Tuesday's championship game with a win over Northern Berkshire in Monday's semi-finals. Dalton, the top seed in the three-team league from the regular season, had a bye into the finale.

 

And Dalton held serve early.

 

After the Force got hits from Mila Ostellino and Kayleigh DiMassimo in a two-run top of the first, Dalton responded with five in the bottom of the frame.

 

Riley Prew and Stella Sondrini had back-to-back singles in the rally to give the hosts a three-run lead.

 

In the top of the second, Berkshire maxed out with six runs to go ahead, 8-5.

 

Wixsom, DiMassimo, Sophia Tardibuono and Camille Dascanio each had an RBI single in the most productive inning of the game for either team as the Force took the lead for good.

 

In the bottom of the inning, Dalton scored a couple of runs without a base hit, but Wixsom got a called third strike with the bases loaded to end the inning.

 

She then retired six of the next nine.

 

It helped that the Force changed up the battery by putting Tardbuono behind the plate after the second inning, helping to limit the number of pitches in the dirt that helped Dalton early on.

 

"Our catcher, Sophia, blocking everything that came to her helped a lot," DiPietro said. "She's been our real workhorse back there all season."

 

Offensively, continued to get production from Ostellino (2-for-3, RBI), Wixsom (2-for-3, two RBIs), DiMassimo (3-for-3, two RBIs) and Tardibuono (2-for-2, two RBIs) in four-run rallies in the third and fourth innings to put the game away.

 

The win capped a summer of growth for the Pittsfield Girls Softball squad.

 

"It was getting them the basics of running bases, taking their leads, listening to signs and just believing in themselves and being confident to play," DiPietro said. "Once they got that, a lot of girls got going great. And once they did, we got on a tear."