Taconic Downs Mount Greylock
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Both the Taconic and Mount Greylock softball teams got good production from the tops of their lineups on Thursday.
The Thunder got a little more from the bottom of its order in a 12-7 win.
Ella Stodden and Kylie Duhamel each had three hits, and Cheyann Goddard and Madi Barber split time in the circle as Taconic snapped a three-game skid with its second win of the year.
Mount Greylock got two home runs from Malia Koffi and another from Mila Marcisz, but the pair combined for just four RBIs as Goddard was able to keep runners off the basepaths ahead of the Mounties’ top hitters.
“That was the plan,” Taconic coach Bree Goddard said. “We know they have some pretty hard hitters in the top of the lineup, and keeping the bottom of the lineup off the bases was key. Solo home runs are a lot less damage than a grand slam.
“We know that they have good hitters. They’ve got a good team.”
Taconic jumped on top of that good team with three runs in the top of the first inning on Monday.
A leadoff error opened the door, and Duhamel’s double and an RBI single by Nina Maloney made the Mounties pay for the miscue.
But in a pattern that would repeat throughout the afternoon, Mount Greylock cut into that lead, getting an RBI double from Kelsey MacHaffie in the bottom of the first.
In the third, Marcisz hit a leadoff home run for Mount Greylock. She was leading off the inning because of an inning-ending double play by the Thunder’s infield in the bottom of the second.
“They’re young, the bottom of the lineup,” Mount Greylock coach Mark Pierson said. “You know, they’re all middle school kids. Their at-bats are good. They’re just not getting much luck. But they keep working hard, so we’ll keep at it.”
Taconic stretched its lead to 7-2 with four runs in the top of the fourth, when Maloney’s RBI double plated Goddard and Duhamel.
Again, Mount Greylock fought back, getting three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-5.
This time, Koffi started the inning with a home run. Kaleigh Jaros and MacHaffie followed with singles to get a little rally going.
“I’m happy about the way we kept coming back,” Pierson said. “It’s been a tough spring, so hopefully we’ll get some nice weather and start winning some of these close ones.”
Taconic tacked on three runs in the top of the sixth, but Mount Greylock kept it close with a two-run homer by Koffi in the bottom of the frame to make it 10-7.
A one-out single by Madi Barber started a two-run rally for Taconic in the top of the seventh.
And in the bottom of the inning, Barber relieved Goddard to pitch a scoreless inning, working around a pair of walks and ending the game on a deep fly ball to Stodden in center field.
After seeing eight different Taconic players contribute at least one base hit, Bree Goddard was pleased with her team’s offensive depth.
“We’ve actually been reworking our lineup each game, because it depends on who’s hot that day,” she said. “But we can hit. All 13 of our players on our team can hit. We have a young team, but their bats come around, and that’s the best way to get them more at-bats.”
Taconic (2-3) goes to Mohawk Trail on Friday.
Mount Greylock (1-4) hosts Lee on Friday.