AMHERST — Mackenzie Phillips fired a 1-hitter and faced the minimum number of batters to power Turners Falls High School over Hoosac Valley High School, 7-0, and claim its thrid consecutive Western Massachusetts Division III Softball Championship on Saturday afternoon at Sortino Field.
The game was delayed for 1 hour, 48 minutes in the bottom of the second inning due to rain.
Phillips was in control from the outset, striking our five of the first six batters she faced and 14 for the game. She did not walk a batter.
Only two Hoosac batters reached base — Haley Adelt reached on a error but was erased when she tried to take second when a low pitch got away from catcher Gabby Arzuaga, but she grabbed it and fired tio shortstrop Cassidhe Wozniak to get Adelt; and Alyssa Pause bunted for a single but was thrown out on one of Turners’ signature pickoff, as second baseman Jenna Putala slid behind the first base bag, raced to it after the pitch and took a pinpoint throw from Arzgaua to tag out the unsuspecting Pause.
Wozniak scored the first run on the play before play was halted. She drew a walk, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Melissa Hersey’s grounder to first.
After play resumed, Turners scored five times in the third to take a commanding 6-0 lead.
Aly Murphy (walk) scored the first trun on a passed ball. Jenna Putala (walk) and Gabby Arzuaga (hit by pitch) scored on Phillips’ flare to left that fell in for a single, then courtey runner Olivia Whittier and Cassidhe Wozniak (walk) both came across on Jordyn Fiske’s single up the middle.
Turners tacked on a final run in the fifth when Phillips ripped a triple to the wall in right-center field and courtesy runner Whitter scored on Wozniak’s groundout to third.