TURNERS FALLS — If the St. Peter-Marion High School softball team had not heard about Turners Falls High School freshman Jade Tyler, the Guardians now know all about her.
Tyler not only struck out 10 in a three-hit shutout but one-upped her pitching performance at the plate by crushing a pair of two-run home runs in the Powertown’s 5-0 independent softball win Sunday night at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.
“Jade was the show, no question about it,” Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said after the win. “She played really well for us.”
Playing their first game with their new Thunder nickname, it was Tyler who hit a pair of thunderous shots in her first two plate appearances to stake Turners to a lead. In the first inning, Cassidhe Wozniak led off with a walk and was erased on a fielder’s choice by Aly Murphy, which brought Tyler to the plate with two outs. St. Peter-Marion starting pitcher Emily Smith worked the count to 2-2 against her, but the freshman made her pay on her fifth pitch by lining a rocket over the head of St. Peter-Marion left fielder Erin Mackay that carried over the fence and gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead.
Turners (15-2 overall) was not done. Olivia Whittier followed with a single and came around to score when Hailey Bogusz belted a double to make it 3-0.
In the third, Taylor Murphy led off with a single and her sister Aly Murphy followed with a fielder’s choice that erased Taylor and left Aly again standing at first base as Tyler came to the plate. This time, Smith worked the count full against Tyler, but once again the Turners Falls freshman made her pay for a pitch that caught too much of the plate. Tyler deposited the ball over the fence in right-center for her second two-run home run in as many plate appearances.
Tyler said that it doesn’t matter what the count is when she is at the plate. The key is to remain calm.
“I try not to get nervous,” Tyler said of hitting with two strikes. “I just try to see the pitch and hit it.”
Tyler was just as dominant in the circle, where she did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and surrendered just three hits. She also walked two batters and hit two others. Early in the game, Tyler did have several Guardian batters work the count deep, and she allowed two walks in the first three frames but did not walk a hitter after that.
“I was definitely nervous at the beginning of the game and had some trouble with my change-up,” she said. “As the game went on I think I got a little more comfortable.”
Mullins agreed with his pitcher’s assessment. He said that he was happy with her overall performance but would like to erase the walks and hit-batters, both of which are just as good as base hits for opposing teams.
“She was throwing well but there is room for improvement,” Mullins said. “Not that we are a great defensive team behind her, because we’re not. We’re not playing real well defensively right now, but we don’t want to walk people.”
The two bombs gives Tyler a team-leading eight on the season and put her two home runs away from Jenna Putala’s 10 home runs in 2016, which is believed to be the most in a season by a Powertown player. Turners now has 21 home runs as a team on the season.
Taryn Thayer and Katie Garcia each added a hit for Turners on the night.
Jodi Opuda broke up Tyler’s no-hit bid with two outs in the fourth inning and finished with two hits on the night to pace St. Peter-Marion. She also pitched three scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts. Smith suffered the loss, striking out one and walking two in three innings.
Turners hosts Pioneer Valley Regional School on Tuesday night.