SCOTTIES TOP HORSES IN QUARTERFINALS
Ballston Spa tops Troy High 7-2 in Class AA softball
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. >> Despite a slow start Ballston Spa fought back for a 7-2 win over Troy High Tuesday.
The win advances the Scotties to Wednesday’s Class AA semifinals.
Ballston Spa coach Amanda Fifield said the team had a never say die attitude.
“I told the girls that you only get beat if you quit, so by not quitting we are not going to get beat,” Fifield said. “That is exactly what the girls did. They fought hard, especially in the top of the first inning when Troy put runners on in scoring position, we didn’t give up. The heart was there and I couldn’t ask for more. We got out of that inning, got comfortable and played the game we could.”
Lauren Kersch, the Scotties’ starter, said the team came ready to play today.
“We came out ready to go at 2:30,” Kersch said. “We came out here, we were hitting and we showed what we could do.”
The first inning saw Troy come out firing on the base paths having runners on second and third with one out. Kersch worked her way out of the jam, getting a strikeout and a fly out to right to end the inning and the threat.
The Scotties bats would come alive from there, scoring at least a run in every inning except the
second inning.
Kersch scored the first run after she was walked. Grace Thompson knocked her in to get Ballston Spa its first run of the game.
Ballston Spa went up 2- 0 in the third inning, with Angelina Stile scoring off a Sarah Pritchard RBI single.
The big moment of the game and the clincher for the Scotties came in the fifth inning off the bat of eighth grader Ana Gold. Gold knocked one out of the park for a two- run home run to put the Scotties ahead 6- 0.
Troy fought back in the sixth inning as Troy senior pitcher Hunter Levesque and Natalie Stoner scored runs. It looked like Troy could push a few more across, but Kersch managed to strike out the side
to end the inning.
Kersch said she was in the zone in the circle.
“Today I was on fire,” Kersch said. “My curveballs were working and I just felt confident going in.”
Fifield said it was big for Kersch to come out and control the game.
“She can control the tempo of the team,” Fifield said. “When she is on, the whole team is on. Her energy level affects everyone’s energy level, so seeing her come out ready to go; the entire team was ready to go as a result.”
Kersch put an exclamation mark on the win with a home run of her own in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-2.
Fifield said the team is coming together at the right time.
“Being a young team, we took a bit to grow together and we are bonding so well that at this point, I don’t even have the words right now to say it,” Fifield
said. “We are definitely peaked right now. Ana Gold, played our leadoff position, and in the first couple of at bats you could tell the nerves were there. In her third at bat, I knew it wouldn’t happen three times and she crushed a home run.”
Ballston Spa now moves on to face Colonie in the semifinals Wednesday.
Colonie won the previous meeting between the teams in league play.
Fifield said playing Colonie is going to be a challenge.
“We played Colonie earlier this season down on their fields,” Fifield said. “As long as we carry the momentum over and Lauren is on from the start, we should be good to go.”