LENOX ― When two talented teams go head-to-head, the margin of error becomes razor-thin.
Every swing and every throw carries more weight, because every mistake can cost you the game.
No. 6 Lenox softball and No. 15 Hoosac Valley duked it out on Saturday afternoon and the Millionaires narrowly prevailed, 5-3, behind a crystal-clean team performance.
The Hurricanes led briefly in the top of the second after Hannah Lord came around to score off an RBI ground out. Lord made the most out of a leadoff single, stealing second base on the second pitch of the following at-bat before advancing to third on a passed ball two pitches later.
Gianna Witek picked up the RBI opportunity for Hoosac, giving the visitors a slim advantage.
But the Millionaires did not wait to respond, loading the bases within their first three at-bats after earning a walk, a single and another walk. Hoosac Valley’s Gracelyn Wright fought back well, striking out the next two batters and nearly got herself out of the jam.
As Evelyn Julieano stepped into the batter’s box, she knew all-too-well just how valuable each runner was to her team’s cause – and her own confidence within the circle.
After taking strike two to level the count, Julieano did not miss out on the next pitch in the zone and smacked a deep fly ball to left-center, a grand slam to empty the bases and put the Millionaires firmly in front.
“I (was) looking for a good pitch to drive and just get the runners in,” Julieano said after the game. “We needed those runs very badly.
“I’ve seen (Wright pitch) a couple times, she’s a smart pitcher. If you’re chasing something, she’s going to throw it again. You just got to wait for your pitch to drive it.”
Julieano sat the Hurricanes down in order to open the third, but the visitors were not deterred. Charged up after a nifty inning-ending double play to close the third, Witek continued her strong day at the plate with a single, moving the runner from first to third and setting up Ashlyn Lamke with an RBI opportunity.
After Witek stole second and put herself into scoring position as well, Lamke hit into a groundout on the right side, bringing in the run and crucially moving Witek to third.
Kendall Moran stepped in for the Hurricanes and swung on the first pitch, providing a two-out, RBI single.
Continuing to be aggressive on the paths, Moran stole second on the first pitch of the next at-bat. But as the at-bat progressed, Moran toyed with the notion of stealing third. Moran took the risk after fourth pitch and was thrown out by Julieano with a clean tag by Lexi Witherell to end the inning.
Lenox led off the fourth with a pair of singles, but Wright sat the next three batters down in order, holding the hosts to their one-run lead.
After getting the first two batters out in the fifth, Julieano found herself in a jam after surrendering a walk and a single with the dangerous Izabela Tart stepping up to the plate.
Understanding the present danger – with four home runs and over 25 RBIs already this season for Tart – Julieano took the risk of loading the bases, intentionally walking Tart and taking her chances at the next batter.
Julieano’s decision proved right, picking up the strikeout in five pitches.
With the Hurricanes knocking on the door and threatening to reclaim the lead, Grace Julieano opened bottom of the fifth determined to get on base and spark the Millionaires’ offense.
While she didn’t quite manage to ignite the rest of the team, Grace matched her younger sister by smack a deep fly ball to center field, a solo home run that doubled the hosts’ advantage.
“I was really just hoping to put it in play because I was 0-2 prior to that,” Grace said. “My dad told me to just get up there and hit it over and then Lily (MacDonald) told me the next one was going over.
“My teammates have confidence in me and I just wanted to get it in play. I saw the pitch and I hit it.”
Grace provided another key contribution after Witek picked up her second hit of the day to lead off the inning – only to get caught in a pickle between first and second. Hailey Armold, Evelyn and Grace Julieano executed the rundown to perfection, with Grace barely getting the tag on the runner.
Pitching in relief of Evelyn Julieano, Cassidy Flynn knows she can lean on her defense in these late-game situations.
“Just think about my pitches and trust my defense, because I know they have my back behind me,” Flynn said. “No matter what, they were there for me (today) and even if there was a hit here or there, we would (get through) it together.”
Flynn took care of business down the stretch and secured the win for Lenox.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game all season, we knew it was going to be tough with Hoosac being undefeated coming in until Wednesday – and then we knew they were hungry for blood (after losing to Pittsfield),” Lenox coach Amy Pires said. “But we just kept our composure, we’re just very confident (and) really working hard on our defense.”
The Millionaires have experienced tremendous success so far this season, with Evelyn and Grace Julieano reaching major career milestones along the way this past week.
“We’re very competitive when it comes to each other,” Grace Julieano said. “So we both kind of try and get our own things, but I think it’s really helping our team chemistry and we’re just doing really well this year.”
Lenox (13-0) will look to maintain this momentum when the Millionaires visit No. 18 Monument Mountain on Tuesday, May 5 at 4:30 p.m.
Hoosac Valley (9-2) will look to bounce back from back-to-back losses when the Hurricanes host Chicopee on Wednesday, May 6 at 4 p.m.
“Every game’s an experience,” Hoosac coach Mike Ameen said. “You learn from experiences, you learn from positive and negatives… you learn from base running errors, from throwing errors and you retain that information and you get better down the road.
“You have to play games like this in order to get better. You have to play tough games that come down to a particular play and then you fail and then the next time you’re aware of it and you may be a little stronger in that situation… You learn more from the bad things because once you realize ‘Oh, you shouldn’t touch that stove’ – you only got to be told once, right? But if it’s not a stove, if it’s something else (less dangerous), you got to be told a few times and eventually, they kick (will) in.”
