PITTSFIELD, Mass. – One day after a performance that left head coach Matt Stracuzzi wanting more, Pittsfield answered the challenge in convincing fashion.

 

Behind a dominant outing from PJ Garner, timely hitting throughout the lineup and a defense that made every big play it needed to, Pittsfield rolled to a 13-3 victory over Dalton on Friday to sweep the best-of-three District 1 Championship Series.

 

The win was exactly the response Stracuzzi hoped to see after speaking with his team following its previous game.

 

“I kind of challenged the kids [Thursday],” Stracuzzi said after the win. “I don’t think we played that well yesterday. I thought the first inning [Friday]] we played okay, but from the third inning on, I thought they played to their capabilities. They played as good as we can play. They hit the ball well, their heads were in the game.”

 

Pittsfield wasted little time setting the tone.

 

Knox Daniels opened the game with a single before Garner crushed an RBI triple into the gap to give Pittsfield an early lead. Luca Bassi followed with an RBI groundout to bring Garner home, and after Henry Chevrier doubled and Caleb Tierney singled, Pittsfield had Dalton on its heels before Camden Duma escaped the inning with a strikeout and a fly out.

 

Garner immediately carried that momentum to the mound. Dalton put two runners on with singles from Finlay Storti and Weston Dietlin in the bottom of the first, but Garner stranded both runners with help from his defense. After a walk loaded the bases with two outs, Jayson Haskins lined a ball toward center field that Daniels tracked down for a terrific catch to end the inning and preserve Pittsfield’s 2-0 advantage.

 

The defensive effort was something Stracuzzi emphasized after the game.

 

“They stepped up big time,” he said. “That’s what I said to them. Listen, we’ve got to make those plays. Good teams make those plays, bad teams don’t. So today we made the plays, and it showed in the score.”

 

Pittsfield extended its lead in the second inning after Thomas St. John worked a leadoff walk. He eventually crossed the plate to make it 3-0 before Garner returned to the mound and continued to settle into a groove, striking out three hitters over the next two innings while limiting Dalton’s opportunities.

 

Dalton finally broke through in the bottom of the third. Storti singled for the second time, Murphy Duquette reached on a walk, and Camden Duma delivered an RBI single to trim the deficit to 3-1. But Pittsfield answered almost immediately.

 

Chevrier drew a walk in the fourth before Tierney singled to put two runners aboard. After a line drive was hauled in by Dalton’s Weston Dietlin for a nice defensive play, Levi Doyle came through with an RBI single to stretch the lead back to three runs.

 

The game turned for good in the fifth.

 

T.J. Davies sparked Pittsfield’s five-run rally with a perfectly placed bunt single before Grayson Christopher worked a walk. Jayden Klinger followed with another bunt single to load the bases, and Thomas Crawford lined an RBI single to center. Daniels added another run with a sacrifice, bringing Garner to the plate with runners in scoring position.

 

The Pittsfield right-hander delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon, ripping a bases-clearing triple that blew the game open. Bassi, Chevrier and Tierney followed with consecutive singles to keep the line moving, capping a huge offensive inning that put Pittsfield firmly in control.

 

Garner also flashed his athleticism in the bottom half of the inning, making a diving stop on a comebacker for the first out before Daniels came on in relief and retired the final hitter of the frame.

 

Pittsfield wasn’t finished.

 

In the sixth, St. John reached with another bunt single before Davies walked. Klinger drove in two runs, Crawford added another base hit, Daniels was hit by a pitch, and RBI singles from Garner and Bassi pushed the lead to 13-1.

 

Dalton battled until the final out. Weston Dietlin and Murphy Duquette reached to begin the bottom of the sixth before Blake Preston singled home a run. Haskins followed with an RBI triple, but Pittsfield cut down another Dalton runner trying to score on the play, ending the rally and sealing the 13-3 victory.

 

Both Pittsfield and Dalton-Hinsdale advance to the Section 1 tournament; with one district not fielding a 10-year-old squad, District 1 gets two representatives in the four-team, double-elimination tourney that begins on Thursday with Pittsfield traveling to the District 2 champion and Dalton-Hinsdale traveling to the District 4 champ.

 

Garner was the catalyst all day on Friday, starring both on the mound and at the plate with two triples, multiple RBIs and a strong pitching performance that kept Dalton off balance. Daniels reached base multiple times, drove in runs, made a pair of outstanding defensive plays in center field and closed out the game on the mound. Bassi, Tierney, Chevrier, Crawford, Doyle, Klingel and St. John all contributed key hits in a balanced offensive effort that saw Pittsfield score in five different innings.

 

For Stracuzzi, however, the most encouraging part of the afternoon wasn’t the final score. It was the way his team responded after being challenged.

 

“I’m very proud of the way they showed up today compared to yesterday,” Stracuzzi said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s about doing better than the day before, getting better each day. We keep continuing to work hard, and this team is a really fun group to coach. I’m really enjoying it.”