Mount Everett Does 'Little Things' in Win over Springfield ICS
SHEFFIELD, Mass. – Mount Everett made the most of its six hits in a 6-3 win over Springfield International Charter School on Friday.
The Eagles may not have mashed the ball, but they did everything else they needed to do to win their second straight game and improve to 5-2 behind the pitching of Sean Warren and Cam Coon.
Mount Everett turned two double plays and stole five bases. Its catcher threw out a runner attempting to steal second, and JJ Schneider had the most consequential out of the afternoon – getting hung up in a rundown between third and home long enough to allow the runners behind him to advance to second and third.
And the Eagles committed just one error while taking advantage of five SICS miscues.
All those little things were more than enough to make up for the lack of a big hit.
“These last two games, Athol and this game, weren’t hitting,” Mount Everett coach Dan Lanoue said. “So we had to steal, we had to bunt, we had to look to do the little things to get going – find a way to get on, put the ball in play.
“Johnny Ireland had a helluva game. He hit the ball to second to score a run, turned a double play [at second base]. The little things are what we’ve got to work on.”
After Kreis’ throw to second prevented SICS from taking advantage of a leadoff walk in a 1-2-3 first inning for Warren (four innings pitched, three earned runs), Kreis got the one big thing the Eagles accomplished all day on offense: a double to right center.
But that came with two out, and the Eagles were not able to get him over.
They did get their first run in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead.
Brady Carpenter led off with a single, moved to second when Coon reached on an error, took third on a passed ball and came home on Ireland’s RBI single.
The visiting Bulldogs answered with three runs in the top of the third. Xavier Calderon hit a two-run double deep to break a 1-1 tie.
Mount Everett was able to tie it again in the bottom of the fourth.
Schneider started the inning by reaching on a dropped third strike. He stole second, and, after Coon walked, a wild pitch moved them to second and third.
Levi Boardman then grounded into a fielder’s choice. The choice was to throw home to try to catch Schneider, who stayed in the pickle long enough to make sure there were still two runners in scoring position.
Coon then scored on a pitch that got to the backstop, and Ireland’s second RBI of the day, a ground ball to second, made it 3-3.
Mount Everett took the lead for good an inning later.
Matt Lowe led off the fifth with a single, and he eventually came home on Warren’s RBI single. Warren advanced on a balk but was erased when Carpenter reached on a single. Schneider then singled to put runners at first and second, and the pair executed a double steal to put two runners in scoring position with two out.
Boardman then hit a ground ball to the left side that was misplayed, allowing both Carpenter and Schneider to score and make it 6-3.
Coon, who took over in the top of the fifth, benefited from a double play for a 1-2-3 sixth and pitched around a walk and a single by ending the game on a strikeout with two runners aboard in the seventh.
“We’re a tough team,” Lanoue said of his Eagles. “They’re a gritty team. They find ways to win. I mean, even when we played Pittsfield, we were down 10, and we found a way to get a run to play seven [and avoid the mercy rule]
“The confidence is there. We’ve just got to keep working on it and keep grinding.”
Mount Everett (5-2) is at Smith Academy on Monday.