Springfield advances to semifinals

For the first time since 2011 — when the Cosmos won the state championship — Springfield has advanced to the VPA Division 2 softball semifinals.
http://eagletimes.villagesoup.com/p/springfield-advances-to-semifinals/1358022

Springfield advances to semifinals First semifinal appearance since 2011 By Chris Doherty | Jun 06, 2015 Share on print Share on facebook Share on tumblr Share on twitter More Sharing Services 0 SPRINGFIELD — For the first time since 2011 — when the Cosmos won the state championship — Springfield has advanced to the VPA Division 2 softball semifinals. No. 3 Springfield defeated No. 6 Mt. Abraham 7-2 to solidify its spot in the final four. “For us to advance to the semis this year is a credit to this group of kids and especially this group of seniors,” Cosmos head coach Andy Bladyka said. A five-run fourth inning guided the Cosmos to victory over the Eagles. Already ahead 2-0 after a two-run third inning, Springfield sent 10 batters to the plate. Jade Twombly ignited the inning with a triple down the left-field line. Two batters later, Maygan Daly dropped a bunt down and reached safely after the pitcher was caught looking Twombly back to third. Calista Polidor grounded out to third in the next at-bat and Twombly scored on an obstruction call at home plate. The top of the order continued the playmaking as Brooke Willey singled home Daly to increase the Cosmos lead to 4-0. Lina Geyer followed with an RBI single that scored Willey, who stole second earlier in the at-bat. Chelsea McAllister and Cassidy Otis each singled to load the bases for Corrina Nichols. She chopped one through the third baseman for an error and it cost the Eagles two more runs as Geyer and McAllister scored to push the lead to 7-0. “That was a huge inning for us,” Bladyka said. Mt. Abraham head coach Kelly Trayah knew giving Springfield extra outs would come back to hurt them. “That’s a good enough hitting team where if you make a mistake they’ll make you pay for it,” he said. “It got away from us for that one inning.” Twombly was in the circle for the Cosmos and after receiving a bit of a breather in their first-round win over Lamoille, she was sharp. The junior pitched all seven innings surrendering just two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Twombly only needed to throw 18 pitches through the first two innings and that helped settle her into a groove. “It’s really nice to be get the first few innings nice and quick,” Twombly said. Bladyka was impressed with how Twombly used both sides of the plate to make the Mt. Abraham hitters uncomfortable. “She (Twombly) and Maygan Daly worked a really nice game of working inside and outside together,” he explained. “She was in a good place today.” Through two innings Springfield was having a hard time figuring out the Eagles’ starting pitcher Rachael McCormick, who struck out five of the first seven batters. That wasn’t something Bladyka was too concerned with. “Honestly, I wasn’t too worried about that,” he said. “Our kids have done a good job this year of seeing a pitcher once through the lineup and doing a better job the second time.” The second time through is when the Cosmos broke the scoreless tie. After McCormick struck out the first two batters of the frame, she walked Willey and Geyer before McAllister singled to drive in the game’s first run. Geyer later scored on a wild pitch to give Springfield a 2-0 lead. “We did a great job the second and third time around the order of making contact and making things happen,” Bladyka said. Once Twombly got a lead, she knew she had to keep up what she started in the early innings. “The attitude going into the circle (after getting the lead) is to hold them and stay strong,” she explained. “You can’t ever give in and give them an inch.” Mt. Abraham had chances throughout the middle innings, stranding two runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Eagles grabbed two runs in the sixth on a Mary-Kate Clark single but were unable to sustain the rally. Twombly would go 1-2-3 in the seventh the seal the deal for the Cosmos. The win sets up a semifinal match up with No. 7 Randolph, which upset No. 2 Fair Haven 1-0. “The beauty of this is we stay at home for the semis,” Bladyka said. “We know we’re going to be up against another very good pitcher. … I’ll take my chances being at home.” The game between No. 3 Springfield and No. 7 Randolph is slated for Monday at 4 p.m. but could be changed due to a school trip. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 BFA-Fairfax will face off against No. 4 Milton. Box Score SPRINGFIELD 7, MT. ABRAHAM 2 MT. ABRAHAM (10-8) — AB-R-H-RBI: Katelynn Oullette 2b 4-0-1-0, Brooke Perlee c 3-0-0-0, Rachael McCormick p 4-0-1-0, Dani Forand 3b 4-0-0-0, Kelsey Haskins 1b 1-1-0-0, Anna Hauman ss 3-1-1-0, Ashley Boise cf 2-0-0-0, Tabitha Vincent lf 2-0-1-0, Mary-Kate Clark rf 3-0-1-2, Totals 26-2-5-2. SPRINGFIELD (13-5) — AB-R-H-RBI: Brooke Willey ss 2-2-1-1, Lina Geyer lf 3-2-1-1, Chelsea McAllister 3b 4-1-3-1, Cassidy Otis 1b 4-0-1-0, Corrina Nichols 2b 4-0-0-0, Jade Twombly p 3-1-1-0, Alyssa Lucius rf 3-0-0-0, Maygan Daly c 3-1-1-0, Calista Polidor cf 3-0-0-0, Totals 29-7-8-3. Mt. Abraham 000 002 0—2 5 2 Springfield 002 500 x—7 8 0 3B: S — Twombly. IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO: MA — McCormick 6-8-7-4-3-10. S — Twombly7-5-2-2-2-5.