Wild County Final Ends with Force Black on Top in 14U Division
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – In the sixth inning of Monday’s Berkshire County summer league 14-and-under championship game, the Berkshire Force Black team got a couple of bad breaks.
Then, it got the biggest break of the night and cashed in to score three runs and take a 9-8 win over the Force Teal squad.
Madilyn Demary went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and walked and scored the winning run in the decisive three-run rally as the top-seeded Force Black prevailed in a back and forth game that saw three lead changes.
Amelia Polidoro struck out eight and walked just two in a complete-game win in the circle for the Black.
But it was the Teal team that had all the momentum late.
Cailin Fields (2-for-3, two RBIs) singled and drove in Liana Steiner in the top of the sixth to break a 6-6 tie for the Teal. Fields then stole second and came all the way around to score on the play thanks to a couple of misplays in the field to give her team an 8-6 lead.
Daisy Coron singled and Julie LeBarron doubled to give the Teal two runners in scoring position with two out. But Polidoro closed the door with her eighth K of the game to get her team back in the dugout.
Grace Hunt and Ava McMahon led off the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles, and Polidoro worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out as it looked like the Black was back in business.
But Alliah DiPietro’s line drive to center was fielded by Fields, who threw to second to double off McMahon.
Then Demary worked a walk to reload the bases with two out, and Arianna Perkins lifted a fly ball behind second base.
That is when the Black got a little lucky.
Two Teal infielders collided, allowing Demary to reach and Hunt and Polidoro – who were running on contact – to score. Demary rounded third and briefly got into a rundown, but a throw to the plate was off target, allowing her to score the go-ahead run.
Polidoro made the one-run lead stand up in the top of the seventh, pitching around McKenzie Boody’s one-out infield single to leave her at first base and secure the championship.
Force Black coach Brian MacDonald said his team responded well to falling behind by two runs in the top of the sixth and giving up two quick outs in the bottom of the frame.
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” MacDonald said. “But they came through when the pressure’s on. They came out to swing those bats, that’s for sure.
“We got a little confused out there [during the double play]. We forgot what we were supposed to do a couple of times. That happens. Luckily, we were able to bounce back from that, for sure.”
Early on, the Force Black bounced back from a 1-0 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the first, when Giannah Moses hit an RBI double.
It stayed 3-1, Black, until Force Teal scored five times in the top of the fourth.
Steiner doubled and scored a run, and Fields hit an RBI triple in that rally.
The Black responded right away with two in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-5. DiPietro (2-for-3) drove in a run with a single, and Demary hit an RBI double to get the Black within a run.
Then it tied the score in the bottom of the fifth. Spratling singled, stole second and scored on the same play thanks to a passed ball and an error in a play that Fields would echo one inning later.
That made it 6-6 going to the sixth, setting the stage for the Teal’s surge and the Black’s final comeback.
