AMHERST — The bigger the game, the better masterful Mackenzie Phillips gets.
The Turners Falls High School senior right-hander pitched another gem Saturday afternoon, firing a one-hit shutout and facing the minimum number of batters to power the Indians over Hoosac Valley High School, 7-0, and claim their third consecutive Western Massachusetts Division III softball championship Saturday afternoon at UMass’ Sortino Field.
Turners Falls (22-1) advances to the MIAA State semifinals against central Massachusetts champion Tahanto Regional School of Boylston. The Stags (17-4) beat Uxbridge High School, 13-9, in Saturday’s CMass title game.
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 a tidy 14 for the game. She did not walk a batter, only two hitters reached base, and the only ball that reached the outfield was a ground-ball error.
Phillips also went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, and leads the team in postseason hitting.
“I don’t think we could ever praise Mackenzie enough,” said junior right fielder Jordyn Fiske. “She is amazing and everyone knows it. Mac never ceases to amaze me.”
Hall of Fame Indians head coach Gary Mullins concurred: “She was terrific. In the first inning I felt good about what I saw from her, and she seemed to get stronger. Then we started to throw some change-ups in there and she just owned them.”
The only Hoosac batters to reach base were Haley Adelt and Alyssa Pause.
Adelt reached on a third-inning error but made the mistake of challenging the arm of Gabby Arzuaga. The Indians’ junior catcher blocked a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and Adelt broke for second. Bad decision. Arzuaga quickly grabbed the ball and fired it to shortstop Cassidhe Wozniak to gun down Adelt.
Pause bunted for a single in the fourth inning but fell victim to Turners’ signature pick-off play. Turners’ corner infielders came in, anticipating the bunt and setting up the play. Second baseman Jenna Putala furtively slid behind the first-base bag, raced to it after the second pitch to Kali Puppolo and received a pinpoint throw from Arzuaga to easily tag out the unsuspecting Pause.
Turners scored its first run on the final play before rain halted the game. Wozniak singled to right, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Melissa Hersey’s fielder’s-choice grounder to first.
After play resumed, Turners removed the drama by scoring five times in the third to take a commanding 6-0 lead, more than enough for Phillips on her worst day.
The Indians managed just two hits in the frame, but Hurricanes pitcher Puppolo was nowhere near her best, walking three batters, hitting another and uncorking three wild pitches, two of which hit the backstop in the air.
Turners, meanwhile, ran the bases with controlled aggression and took the extra base when given the opportunity, which allowed the two hits to produce four of the five runs.
Aly Murphy started the rally by drawing a one-out walk and moving to third on two of Puppolo’s wild pitches. After Jenna Putala walked, Gabby Arzuaga faked a bunt and distracted catcher Pause, leading to a passed ball. As Murphy scored, a heads-up Putala was able to get from first to third. Arzuaga was hit by pitch and stole second on the first pitch, then Phillips flared a single just over shortstop that scored both runners.
Olivia Whittier came in as a courtesy runner for Phillips and moved to third on another wild pitch. Then Wozniak waked and alertly raced to second on the same play. That brought up Fiske, who ripped a 3-2 grounder up the middle to plate Whitter and Wozniak.
“The past few games I haven’t been hitting as well, so I’ve been staying after practice to take extra BP,” said Fiske. “I went up each time trying to feel a little more confident and was hoping this would be the day I’d come through.
Fiske, who didn’t start the semifinal against Mt. Everett Regional School, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the final.
“I was little big discouraged (about not starting Thursday), but I had the mind set that if he’s going to play me next game, I’m going to be motivated,” offered Fiske. “That’s what I kept in mind today and I guess it worked.”
Turners tacked on a final run in the fifth when Phillips ripped a triple to the wall in right-center field and courtesy runner Whittier scored on Wozniak’s fielder’s-choice groundout to third.