NORTH EASTON, Mass. – Sophomore pitcher Mattea Sarnecki struck out eight, allowing just three hits and one earned run as Oliver Ames topped Quincy 5-2 in the preliminary round of the Division 1 South Sectional.
The Tigers grabbed runs in the first, fifth, and sixth innings while the Presidents scored both of their runs in the top of the seventh.
“That’s a great team victory,” Oliver Ames head coach Lindsey Allison said. “Everybody played a part in that win, from starters to people off the bench.”
Leadoff hitter Erin Lynch led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. On another wild pitch, she scored to give Oliver Ames a 1-0 lead.
The Presidents then retired 12 of the next 17 batters, but with Sarnecki in firm control, the game remained 1-0 into the fifth inning.
Up stepped Erin Lynch.
Lynch again reached first on a bunt single and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and took off for third. She reached third on an error that also allowed her to scamper home for another run, giving OA a 2-0 lead.
“We noticed that the small ball worked so we went back to it,” Allison said. “It got them a little rattled. Once we got them a little rattled we were able to get some hits in the sixth and get some security runs.”
Lynch’s ability to have success at the plate is something the Tigers are used to.
“She can get a bunt down in a pinch,” Allison said. “She’s one of the best lefty slappers I’ve had the pleasure to see play.”
What looked like insurance runs in the top of the sixth turned out to be the winning runs, and it all started with a key defensive play by freshman Jamie Gottwald.
Quincy reached first with two outs in the top of the fifth in a one-run game and a sharp hit ball into right field looked like it was going to cause the Tigers troubled, but Gottwald charged at it and made a sliding catch to rob a hit. In her next at bat in the bottom of the sixth, the freshman led off with a double to center field and scored the eventual game winner on a Jackie Healy double.
“When you have a great play in the field like that, you have to bring it right into you at-bat,” Allison said. “That was a game saving catch. That could have been a run or two and then they scored the two in the seventh inning and it’s a different game.”
Gillie D’Antonio scored as a courtesy runner for Healy on a passed ball and Krystina Lincoln added the fifth tally after she singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Kayla Soucie single, and scored on a passed ball.
Oliver Ames is right back in action tomorrow as they travel to Sandwich for a 1 p.m. start.
“We don’t really have much time,” Allison said. “We have to be mentally prepared to be able to hit any pitcher that they throw at us.”