ACS Swat 16U Squad Wins County Title
ADAMS, Mass. – The ACS Swat took a 12-run lead and held off Dalton’s comeback bid for a 15-10 win on Thursday in the Berkshire County Summer Softball League 16-and-under division championship game.
Nora Kondel went 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs, and Maggie Wohrle struck out six in five innings of work to secure the win for the Swat.
ACS coach Lou Moser said he was not surprised to see the visitors battle back from a 12-0 deficit after four innings to make a game of it.
“Over the years, we’ve been playing against the Dalton teams,” Moser said. “They’re always gritty. They’re always tough. That’s a younger group of kids over there, but they’re very well coached.
“And they don’t quit. That’s what you’re trying to instill in all your players regardless of the sport. Hats off to them.”
Dalton stepped up to the challenge of playing in a 16U league this summer despite fielding a 14U squad.
“The whole Berkshire County, every other team was 16 and up, pretty much, except the one [Berkshire] Force team, and we played with everybody from the start to the finish,” Dalton coach Leo O’Keefe said. “Every game, we battled.
“I was happy that we got here. Came up a little short tonight, but I’m still proud.”
Wohrle (4-for-4) started the Swat with a triple to left field to jump start a three-run rally in the bottom of the first. Aiden Champney and Jaylee Moran each drove in a run in the inning.
In the second, Wohrle worked a one-out walk and eventually scored on a pitch to the backstop to make it 4-0.
ACS jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the third, when Wohrle and Kondel had back-to-back singles in the middle of the rally.
In the fourth, Gabby Driscoll hit a leadoff double, and Ashley Lane, Kondel and Rachael Wnuk each had an RBI single to push the lead to 12-0.
“I’m just proud of our kids,” Moser said. “Something we very much stressed here this season was manufacturing runs. We worked very hard on our hitting, and you can see we hit the ball pretty good here tonight.
“That’s what we needed to do.”
The Swat racked up 16 hits in the win .
Dalton got its offense going in the top of the fifth, when a Sydney Payson single and some patience at the plate led to three runs to get within nine.
ACS got all three of those runs back in the bottom of the frame, but Kaylee Prew, who went the distance on the mound for Dalton, got a swinging third strike to end the inning with two runners on base, keeping her team within 12.
In the sixth, Dalton’s Layla Soules worked a bases-loaded walk, and Abby Munday hit an RBI single to make it 15-5.
And Prew pitched around an outfield error in the bottom of the inning to hold the Swat scoreless for the first time all night and keep her team in the game.
“I love our fight, but if we play hard the first couple of innings, it’d be a different game most of the time,” O’Keefe said. “But, like I said, they’re a young team. We knew tonight we had to bring our ‘A’ game, and we didn’t bring that out until like the sixth inning.
“It is what it is. I’m very proud of them, though. Good fight right to the end, and it’s been a great summer.”
Dalton batted around in the top of the seventh, getting an RBI double from Mallory Radwich and singles from Prew, Munday and Cali St. John.
But with the bases loaded and two out, Wohrle, who pitched innings one through four and six for the SWAT, got back-to-back strikeouts to leave three runners on base and secure a five-run win.
“Maggie’s been a pitcher for a number of years and took a couple of years off,” Moser said. “I think with a little bit of maturity, she’s a super nice little athlete. She kind of came right back into this thing, and it wasn’t like she missed a beat.
“She’s got the right temperament and composure that you need from a pitcher. They’ve got to be the toughest lady on the field, right? Because if they lose that, things go sideways. She’s a good little competitor and a good pitcher. We’re happy to have her, and I’m glad she could come in and close this thing out for us.”
Photos from this game to come.
