Hurricanes Claim League Title
DALTON, Mass. – When they’re not crushing pitches, Hoosac Valley’s Izabela Tart and Rachael Wnuk are cutting a rug.
The Hurricanes’ sluggers dance in pregame, dance between innings, dance when in a team huddle and, presumably, also listening to coach Mike Ameen.
On Tuesday night, Tart and Wnuk were hoofing it and hammering the ball in a 7-2 win over Dalton.
Tart went 3-for-3 with a home run. Wnuk was 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs as the Hurricanes completed a season sweep of Wahconah, secured a Suburban West Division title and improved to 13-0 this spring.
And while the Hoosac Valley players definitely have shown they can lock in when it’s time to get down to business, they also know how to keep things light when appropriate.
“Dancing, I fear,” Wnuk said when asked whether the pair spends more time practicing their hitting or their dancing at this point of the season.
“I feel like it’s dancing,” Tart continued. “Our coaches really don’t want us to practice hitting too much because they know we’re amazing hitters. If you ask anybody, the first thing they think about when you talk about Hoosac softball is our hitting.
“So, I mean, we really focus on things to keep us fun and energized during games so we’re not in slumps. So, dancing? When there’s music going? It just keeps you happy.”
“Whatever keeps us up and motivated, energetic,” Wnuk added. “Whatever it takes.”
Tart and Wnuk lead that potent Hoosac Valley offense, batting .732 and .520, respectively. Tart has a team-high eight round-trippers. Wnuk is tied with Genevieve Lagess (.460) with six homers.
On Tuesday night, Wnuk’s double drove in Tart for the game’s first run in the top of the first inning.
Wahconah, which entered with an eight-game winning streak after taking its only loss of the season on a trip to Adams, answered with a run in the bottom of the first.
Madison McCarthy led off the inning with a walk and eventually scored when Gracey Farley reached on a bunt single.
In the third, Hoosac Valley scored three runs in a rally that started with a single from winning pitcher Gracelyn Wright (one earned run, six strikeouts in seven innings).
With one out and runners on second and third, Wahconah opted to intentionally walk Tart, which brought up Wnuk, who delivered an RBI single. Hannah Lord then followed with a deep triple to right field that might have been out on any high school field except Pine Grove Park, to chase home Wnuk and make it 4-1.
Wahconah got a run on McCarthy’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third to draw within two, but Wright closed the door from there.
It was, overall, a different game than when the teams met on April 13, a 15-11 Hoosac Valley win. The combined nine runs in the rematch is a testament to Wright and Wahconah starter Marlee Arnhold, who struck out four and had just the one intentional walk while allowing five earned runs.
“Marlee actually did a great job in the circle,” Wahconah coach Dustin Belcher said. “Every time we kind of made a mistake, I thought she came back with the pitch she needed to make. I thought she was incredibly competitive for us today.
“We didn’t get the timely hit. We had the bases loaded that one time and couldn’t get the timely hit, which hurts. We really couldn’t string anything together offensively.”
Wright also was helped by her defense.
Third baseman Tart made a diving play in front of the plate to catch a bunt in the bottom of the first, and shortstop Gianna Witek in the same inning made a diving play on a ground ball at second base, slapping the bag with her glove to catch a runner at first. Later, Tart started a 5-3 double play to end the fifth and threw out a runner at first from her knees in the sixth.
Hoosac Valley added two runs in the fifth on RBI singles from Lord and Ella Bissaillon, and, in the top of the seventh, Tart pounded a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left center.
“It’s the second one [I’ve seen],” Wahconah coach Dustin Belcher said. “Abby Wells [Wahconah Class of 2020] hit one as a walkoff a few years back. But that’s the second one in a high school game. That was a shot, no doubt.
“I mean, [Tart] is a good hitter, probably one of the best hitters around. That’s why we walked her [in the third]. You gotta play the odds there and see what happens.”
Wahconah (11-2) hosts Franklin Tech on Wednesday.
Hoosac Valley (13-0) is home against Monument Mountain on Friday.