Pittsfield Rallies Past Drury
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Ava McMahon hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the middle of a seven-run, sixth-inning rally that propelled the Pittsfield softball team to a 12-9 win over Drury on Monday.
McMahon pounded the ball deep to right field and raced around the bases behind Gionnah Levardi to make it 9-8, Generals.
Levardi had just tripled home a run in a six-hit rally that also saw Amelia Polidoro double and score.
“We made a little bit of an adjustment,” PHS coach Brian MacDonald said of his offense. “And then as soon as we got them pumped a little in the sixth, they decided to pump that ball up.”
Pittsfield collected six of its 12 hits and three of its five extra-base hits in the game-winning rally, which started the Generals behind, 8-5, and ended with them ahead, 12-8.
A back-and-forth game saw the Blue Devils score four in the top of the fifth to take a three-run lead.
Evelyn Richardson worked a leadoff walk to get things started for Drury.
After a hit-batter put two runners on, Jaylee Moran drove in a run with a single up the middle and Sloan Brothers followed with a two-run double to put the Blue Devils ahead. Brothers eventually moved up on a couple of pitches that got to the backstop.
But Polidoro ended the rally with a runner on second base with her third strikeout in four at-bats on her way to a complete-game victory for PHS.
“She’s pretty poised on the mound,” MacDonald said. “She’s a competitor, and she didn’t get out of this game when she got a little bit behind.
“She just kept fighting. That’s what she does.”
Polidoro finished with 10 strikeouts and five earned runs in the win.
Drury’s Richardson struck out five and gave up nine earned runs in a complete-game effort in the circle for the Blue Devils.
Brothers led Drury’s offense, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs in a four-hit attack.
Drury made the most of those four hits by working eight walks and stealing eight bases to keep the pressure on Polidoro and the Pittsfield defense.
After the Generals’ big inning in the bottom of the sixth, Brothers singled to center to lead off the top of the seventh. She stole second and went to third on a passed ball before scoring on Norah Wood’s single to the left side with one out.
Isabelle Chenaille worked a walk to keep Drury alive, but Polidoro closed out the game with her 10th strikeout followed by a flyball in foul territory to first baseman Ava Rachiele.
Pittsfield, which started the season 0-4, won its second straight to improve to 3-6 this spring.
“We had a day when we had [two errors], that was one of our best,” MacDonald said. “We need to keep cleaning that kind of stuff up. When we play these better teams, one or two errors is going to cost us the game. We know that.”
Pittsfield will look to stay in the win column on Thursday when it hosts Wahconah.
Drury (3-6) is at Hoosac Valley on Thursday.
Photos from this game to come.