NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The North Adams Steeplecats were locked in a tense battle with the Vermont Mountaineers, but when the game reached its biggest stage, Matthew Colella rose to the moment.

 

Colella’s bases-clearing double in the bottom of the eighth inning shattered a tie and sent the Steeplecats surging to a 7-3 victory over Vermont.

 

North Adams struck first in the opening inning, piecing together a two-out rally against Vermont starter Luke Deschenes. Chris Diaz reached base before Sebastian Rhoades ripped an RBI single into center field to bring Diaz home with the game’s first run. Jake Butler moved up on the play and later scored when Tony Woodie lifted a sacrifice fly to left, giving the Steeplecats an early 2-0 cushion.

 

Butler delivered another RBI with a single up the middle in the fifth to make it a 3-0 game.

 

Vermont punched back again in the sixth.

 

Elliot Miles opened the inning with a single, and Aidan Botti followed with another hit to keep the rally alive. David Alvarez then stepped in and hammered a two-run single to bring the Steeplecats level. A groundout later in the inning pushed across another run, tying the game at 3-3 and sending the matchup into the late innings with everything hanging in the balance.

 

After North Adams starter Niklas Pavia’s outing ended in the sixth, Jakob Foster entered and helped keep Vermont off the board before Richie Kerstetter took over in the seventh. The Steeplecats’ pitching and defense held firm, buying the offense one more chance to seize control.

 

That chance arrived in the eighth.

 

Butler jump-started the rally with a one-out single, and Sebastian Rhoades followed with another knock. Tony Woodie was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting the table for Colella.

 

With the game teetering, Colella unleashed the night’s defining swing — a double that cleared the bases and blew the tie wide open. Three runs raced home, North Adams vaulted ahead 6-3, and the dugout erupted as the Steeplecats seized command.

 

Owen Arias tacked on another run with an infield single, stretching the lead to 7-3.

 

From there, North Adams slammed the door. The defense backed up the pitching staff with several key plays, including a strong defensive effort from Colella in the ninth inning, and the Steeplecats finished off the win.

 

What began as a back-and-forth showdown ended with one thunderous inning, as Colella’s clutch double transformed a deadlock into a four-run triumph for North Adams (7-18), which goes to Lynn to play North Shore in double-header on Tuesday.