AGAWAM ― After two losses in two days against hard-hitting opposition, No. 14 Taconic bounced back with a solid road victory on Wednesday.
The Tunder put runs on the board early and late, securing a 10-3 victory over No. 10 Agawam.
The Thunder got rolling early after Cheyenne Goddard reached second with a one-out double. Kylie Duhamel drove her in with an RBI single.
Toni Ahoussi drilled a two-out, two-run double later in the inning to put the Thunder up three before Agawam could close the frame.
Ahoussi could feel how valuable those runners on base were for her team as she walked up to the plate – but she certainly did not shy away from her pitch.
“I was honestly scared, my legs were shaking,” Ahoussi said after the game. “But I’m glad I did good, it was unexpected for me.”
The hosts fought back in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases with no outs after a lead-off walk and two singles.
A ground ball to Goddard at short led to the first out at home, but a sac fly from Payton Malanson put Agawam on the board. The Thunder’s lead vanished after a wild pitch allowed Madison Georgina to score and a RBI single from Taylor Stairs leveled the score.
A lead-off walk for Madi Barber was followed by back-to-back outs. With Barber on second after advancing on a wild pitch during one of the previous at-bats, Goddard’s RBI single to center drove Barber in. Duhamel followed up with her second RBI single of the day, doubling the visitor’s advantage.
Avery Gordon quieted the Thunder through the middle innings, but Taconic’s defense backed up Abby Bliss, helping her escape a jam in the second inning.
With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Goddard caught a line drive at short and tagged the runner out for an inning-ending double play.
After Bliss completed the third inning unscathed, Goddard took over in the circle, settling in quickly and finding her groove.
When pitching in relief, Goddard uses what she sees in the field to prepare for her approach — and from the shortstop position, Goddard has a clean look at how each batter approaches every at bat.
“I try to pay attention to where a lot of the hitters are missing the ball or have a hard time hitting when I’m in the field,” Goddard said. “That way, when I get (in the circle), I can hit those spots.
“I just make sure to paint the corners and get it all over the place so it’s not right down the middle.”
After three straight innings going down in order, Barber led off the seventh for Taconic with a single. Two more singles loaded the bases, but an infield fly and a fielder’s choice gave Agawam two outs without allowing a run.
But Nina Maloney stepped up for the Thunder and connected on the first pitch, drilling a hard ground ball down the third-base line that brought two runners in. Abby Soto followed with a two-run double to center before Ahoussi cleaned up with a RBI double, capping the visitor’s burst at five.
With a seven-run cushion behind her, Goddard put Agawam down in order – a not-so-easy feat against a squad that had just defeated No. 3 Frontier on Tuesday behind a four-run rally in the seventh.
“(The added runs) definitely put an ease on my mind,” Goddard said. “We’re all good hitters, so it’s good to know that if we’re in the field and it doesn’t go our way, we can come up and fight back.”
The Thunder entered Wednesday’s game after losses to No. 2 Turners Falls on Tuesday and No. 15 Hoosac Valley on Monday. Playing in their fifth game in seven days — with one more scheduled for this week — Taconic softball coach Bree Goddard highlighted how taxing such a jam-packed schedule can be, but even in the losses there were positives to be found.
“We knew coming into this week it was (going to) be a tough week,” Bree Goddard said. “… we played a great game against (Turners Falls), compared to what we played the other night (against Hoosac Valley), so that gave us some good momentum coming in.
“This was a huge win, (Agawam) killed us last year, coming off the first inning… once we get those bats going, they’re usually (scoring a lot) – once they’re gone, they’re going, it’s a domino effect.”
Taconic (9-8) will look to close out its regular season on a high note when the Thunder face Mount Everett on Thursday, May 15 at 4 p.m.
Agawam (10-7) will hope to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss as the team prepares for a road matchup with No. 4 Greenfield on Friday, May 16 at 4 p.m.
“We didn’t bring the energy today that we usually bring,” Agawam softball coach Kathy Georgina said. “We’re just kind of quiet, we’re tired. That was (Avery Gordon’s) third day in a row pitching, I just think they lost a little energy and they weren’t as up for the game.
“We had trouble with the slow pitching, that really killed us today… we’re (going to have to) fire up the machine and get them ready for Greenfield.”
