Jacob Quinn drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Jaden Whiting, lifting Greenfield to a 6-5 walk-off victory over Northampton in an elimination game of the Western Mass. Summer Baseball League playoffs on Monday night at Vets Field.
Second-seeded Greenfield advanced to play Wednesday night against No. 5 Easthampton in yet another elimination game at Vets Field (7 p.m.). The winner would advance to the final day of the tournament.
“The intensity and focus was really there, on both sides,” Greenfield skipper Kyle Phelps said. “Every inning goes by in an elimination game, whether it’s a Legion tournament or any sort of playoffs, everybody gets a little more tense. Usually the team that can stay calm the longest pulls it out.”
It was almost a carbon copy of last year’s playoff game between the two teams, which Greenfield also won via a 6-5 margin en route to winning the district championship.
Fourth-seeded Northampton tied the game in the seventh inning, and looked destined to take the lead in the top of the eighth on Monday night. A walk, an error and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs in a 5-5 game, but Greenfield relief pitcher Jacob Berry rose to the occasion. The Mahar Regional alum struck out two batters and was aided by a fielder’s choice to escape without allowing a run.
In the bottom of the eighth, Greenfield worked the count to earn the walk-off victory. With Whiting on third base (walk), Owen Phelps on second (walk) and Garrett DeForest on first (walk), Quinn drove in the game-winner with another free pass.
Greenfield’s lineup looked very different than it did earlier this summer. With several players saddled with injuries and other commitments, the roster included a handful of players called into action from the Junior Division team. Phelps was pleased that his club came together under the circumstances.
“Before the game we talked about how we never thought we would play all these games and be at this point of the summer,” Phelps explained. “We had a lot of young guys playing so just stay loose and have fun.”
Bryan Baumann walked three times and scored a run out of the leadoff spot for Greenfield. DeForest also walked three times, while Phelps walked twice and drove in a run. Matt Gardner scored a run, Quinn added a single, and Berry led the way with two hits.
Owen Phelps went seven innings on the mound for Greenfield.
West County wins again
The visiting West County Warriors, sponsored by Hilltown Hardwood Flooring, scored the only runs they would need in the top of the first inning and held on for a 2-1 victory over Hatfield in a Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League Mickey Mantle game Monday night at Smith Academy.
Tyler Dubreuil and Liam O’Donnell got the rally started with singles in the top of the first inning, and Shawn Davenport made it 1-0 with a fielder’s choice. Cullen Brown moved Davenport to third with a single of his own, and Rosco Palmer made it a 2-0 game with an RBI ground out.
While Hatfield scratched a run across in the bottom of the first, West County pitching kept them off the board the rest of the way. O’Donnell struck out two in 1⅔ innings before Sam Schreiber came on and tossed 3⅓ innings of scoreless relief, striking out five. Davenport earned the save, striking out three in two innings of work without allowing a walk or a hit. With a runner on third and two outs in the seventh, Davenport recorded a strikeout to end the game and seal the victory.
O’Donnell paced the offense with two hits, including a double, while Jaden Moore, Dubreuil and Cole Johnson each added a hit. Brown was 2-for-2 throwing out runners on the base paths from behind the plate.
The Warriors now turn their attention to tonight’s home game (5:30 p.m.) against top-seeded Frontier, which sits just ahead of West County in the Mickey Mantle standings.
Brattleboro edges Frontier
Will Miscovich had three hits, and host Brattleboro built a 5-0 lead it would not relinquish en route to a 10-7 victory over Frontier in a PVYBL Sandy Koufax game on Monday.
Frontier’s Sam Whitney, Grayson Loos and Davey Mazur all had two hits on the night, while Aidan Heffernan, Dylan Camp and Thomas Unkles each registered a hit.
Dylan Camp struck out four in two innings of action on the mound, while Tyler Cusson (two innings, one strikeout), Owen Babb (one innin, two strikeouts) and Kyle Begos (one inning, two strikeouts) all saw action.