Windsor
While it may have unpleasant for most folks, Jade Twombly and her Springfield mates couldn’t have had it better. The Cosmos walked their way to a 17-1 win over the Yellowjackets at MacLeay-Royce Field.
Even though Springfield received 20 walks from two Windsor pitchers, Twombly served as the game’s star. The slender right-hander, who throws her curve just as quickly as her fastball and also owns a break-your-back change, tossed a nine-strikeout, one-hit gem, throwing just 74 pitches, 53 for strikes.
Twombly admitted that she relies on the curve a lot. “Maybe a little too much,” she said. “I love that pitch.”
Added Springfield coach Andy Bladyka: “Whatever accolades she gets, she deserves. She works at it in the offseason, sometimes twice a week with her father.”
The only hit off Twombly was a crisp one-out single to right by Windsor’s Carrah Rugg in the second inning. Twombly did not walk a batter and had just two three-ball counts.
The game was called after the fifth inning by the 15-run mercy rule.
Windsor coach Phil Hathorn has been at this coaching business now for a few years, and he knows that if his pitchers don’t throw strikes, there isn’t much hope.
“We walked them around the bases in the first inning (seven walks, five runs), then Carrah settled down before tiring later,” said Hathorn, who had five freshmen on the field. “We’ve got some work to do, but we’ll get better.”
Hathorn hopes for improvement at the top of the batting order as well. The Jacks need hitters 1 through 4 to make more contact; on Friday, they combined for seven strikeouts.
“They have to do better at putting the ball in play,” Hathorn said.
After scoring five runs in the first off Windsor starter Emily Williams, Springfield added five more in the second off Rugg and one in the third. A six-run fifth produced the game’s early end.
Springfield finished up with six hits. Calista Polidor had Springfield’s only multiple-hit performance, delivering three singles and four runs batted in.
Windsor’s only run came in the fourth, when two errors and a Williams stolen base combined to get the Jacks on the scoreboard.
Despite the free passes, Windsor did enjoy some bright spots from its pitchers. Down five runs with the bases loaded and just one out, Rugg entered the game and produced a fly ball and a strikeout to end the threat. She also faced just four batters in the fourth inning.
Springfield’s program continues to flourish, with a state championship in 2011 and a trip to the finals last spring. Bladyka plans on keeping things going for a while longer.
“Some schools do not have a junior varsity program,” he said. “We have 15 freshmen playing junior varsity.”
Windsor is off until April 19, when it hosts Brattleboro. Springfield goes to Rutland on Tuesday.