Paul Leads Spartans to Win at Drury

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Early on during Saturday morning’s game at Drury, Monument Mountain softball coach Scott Annand was exhorting his team to give him a big offensive inning.

 

The Spartans came through in the top of the sixth.

 

Andrea Paul started the inning with a triple to center and later drove in a run with a single up the middle in a 10-run rally that sent Monument Mountain on to a 17-3 win.

 

“It was a tight, tight ballgame, and I said to them, ‘Let’s bring up our energy here,’ “ Annand said. “And good things can happen, right? That energy comes up, we get some hits and scrambles and score runs. It was a nice inning to get for sure, absolutely.”

 

And it was nice for the Spartans (3-4)  to keep some momentum with their second straight run-rule win after a 1-4 start.

 

“We have had a really challenging beginning to our season,” Annand said. “We can’t take anything for granted, and we can’t change the past. All we can do is work on each game.

 

“We’ve got a lot of games to be played, and it’s good to get a positive game like this.”

 

The Spartans got off to a quick start with two runs in the top of the first.

 

Lexi Carpenter led off the game with a single and scored on Paul’s first triple of the game. Paul then came home on an RBI groundout from Ember Raifstanger to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.

 

Drury got a run back in the bottom of the first, and the Spartans scored in the top of the second on an RBI single from Paul (5-for-5, two triples, four RBIs).

 

In the bottom of the second, Drury’s Madilyn Demary dropped down a sacrifice bunt to get the Blue Devils within a run. And in the third, Sloan Brothers singled and scored to tie the game, 3-3.

 

The Spartans scored four in a fourth-inning rally keyed by an RBI double from Carpenter (3-for-5, triple, double).

 

But Drury pitcher Evelyn Richardson stopped the bleeding with a pair of ground ball outs to shortstop Norah Wood, keeping it 7-3. And in the fifth, Drury’s defense turned in a highlight when Demary caught a fly ball in center and got the ball to Jaylee Moran, who relayed to Wood at second to double off a runner.

 

“We were right there until that sixth-inning massacre,” Drury co-coach Morgan Shafer said. “We were in it today. We wanted this win. I just think that our bats were a little cold today. For some reason, we were having a difficult time at bat. And Monument did a good job of getting their bats going and hitting it where our players weren’t.”

 

Monument Mountain’s offense cranked out eight hits in the 10-run sixth and produced 18 hits in the game.

 

Meanwhile, Paul, after allowing three runs in the first three innings, settled into a groove and finished with eight strikeouts against three walks and three hits allowed.

 

“And her bat didn’t hurt either,” Annand said. “I mean, she smashed the ball with five legitimate line drive hits. … She’s such a wonderful leader. And she’s thrown a couple of good games. Hopefully that can help us.”

 

Monument Mountain goes to Lenox on Monday.

 

Drury (3-8) is home on Tuesday against Pioneer Valley.

 

Photos from this game to come.