Softball: MSC rides hitting in 8-7 upset win over Cranston West

Mount St. Charles Academy, the #9 seed in the tournament, made #3 Cranston West its latest upset victim, 8-7, in eight innings, in the winner’s bracket of the RIIL Division One Fastpitch Softball championship playoffs on Wednesday night at Rhode Island College.

 MSC pushed across five runs in the last two innings to overcome what had been a 4-0 deficit. But it appeared this 28-hit affair between the two clubs- Cranston West with 12 and MSC with 16- was in the grasp of the Falcons for the Mounties had left 12 runners on base and the Falcons were ahead, 6-3, to start the final inning.

In the third, Falcons catcher Ashley Rousseau hit a three-run homer to put the Falcons ahead 4-0 on a towering shot just inside the pole in left field, driving in Denise Archetto who had doubled and Isabel MarcAurele, who reached on a single.

But MSC needed just five pitches at in the top of the fourth to get right back into the contest. Alyssa Lanzi singled, Nicole Grinsell doubled and Taylor Messier reached on an infield hit to load the bases before Briana Castro belted a three-run double.

Olivia Hendricks came in to relieve MSC starter Briana Castro in the fifth and was greeted by a Denise Archetto triple and she later scored on a wild pitch. Isabel MarcAurele walked before Rousseau singled in another run for a 6-3 lead.

A solo blast by Aria DiMeo in the seventh gave the Mounties a glimmer of hope. After Emily Hendricks walked and Nicole Silva singled, Falcons pitcher Kelly McDonough retired the next batters on popups. But one out away from a win, an infield throwing error on a ground ball allowed Hendricks to score. Then Messier came through on a game-tying single.

The Falcons squandered a chance in the seventh to end the game when Rousseau delivered a long hit to the outfield. But she was thrown out by several steps trying to stretch a double on a relay from Taylor Messier to Emily Hendricks to DiMeo, who applied the tag at third. DiMeo was shaken up on the play, but walked off to leave the game.

With a runner at second to start the extra innings, Bethany Davis, replacement for DiMeo, bunt singled to advance the designated runner to third. Olivia Hendricks singled to left to drive in the go-ahead run before Nicole Silva doubled in Hendricks for an 8-6 advantage.

Salisbury singled to lead off the eighth for the Falcons to advance designated runner, Julia Maccarone, to third. A sacrifice fly by Hershey drove in Maccarone and Melissa Martino singled to put runners at the corners with the go-ahead run at the plate. But Hendricks struck out the last batter for her fifth K to seal the victory..

“Olivia (Hendricks) tired at the end, but the intensity she showed was real good,” said MSC head coach Clifford Matthews. “I was surprised the way the game went since there were so many 3-2 and 1-0 games, but we finally exploded offensively. I thought we were going to break it open early, but we left a lot of runners on base. But I don’t  think you’re  going to see so many runs scored in the finals.”

McDonough often lived on a tightrope, but was supported by heads-up defense and savvy pitching and worked her way out of several jams. Three times MSC runners were thrown out at home. And the Mounties already left seven runners stranded in the first three innings.

In the third inning, MSC had three singles and another batter was hit, but still could not score when leftfielder Courtney Salisbury picked up a short single on a hop and snapped a relay throw to third baseman Victoria Branca who tagged Emily Hendricks when she overran the bag.

MSC, undefeated in the tourney, now has the upper hand, and will await the winner of Cumberland and Cranston West in the loser’s bracket on Friday before the championship round begins on Saturday. Either squad will have to win three times, including twice against the Mounties, to capture the title.

“We had a chance to score in the seventh, but she (Rousseau) was thrown out at third and that was a cardinal sin,” said Cranston West head coach Jeff Smith. “Their homer in the seventh gave them some momentum and then we just we just couldn’t get the last out.”

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