Greenwich baseball hosts Hoosic Valley.
GREENWICH — One of the disadvantages of being a reigning state champion is that you’re apt to see every oppo-nent’s best game. Such was the case Thursday for the Greenwich softball team, reigning state Class C champs, which needed three runs in the bottom of the sixth to put away a pesky Hoosic Valley squad 4-0.
With the victory, the Witches remain undefeated in the Wasaren League at 12-0. The Indians fell to 5-7.
“We knew one run wouldn’t be enough,” said Greenwich coach Greg McGuirk. “Hoosic Valley is always competitive; you have to be on your toes. I felt like we were a little bit flat today. But like I said to the girls, ‘If that’s flat and we can win 4- 0, that’s a
nice day to have.’”
Sarah Heimbach limited the Indians to a pair of singles, both by clean- up hitter Taylor Cox. They were the only balls hit out of the infield against the Witches’ ace left- hander. Tracy Anderson was nearly as effective for the visitors — at least for the first five innings — holding Greenwich to five scattered hits and one ( unearned) run prior to its sixth-inning outburst.
“Tracy pitched very well,” said Hoosic Valley coach Blake Bochette. “She handled their hitters pretty soundly, and she had some good strikeouts when she needed them. But errors and that passed ball hurt us. You can’t give away freebies to Greenwich because they’ll jump all over you.”
The Witches struck for a single run in the first inning. With one out, Ashleigh Maines sent a ball all the way to the fence in center. Rounding second, she decided to try for three, and when the relay sailed over the head of third baseman Marissa Charlebois, Maines came in to score.
Both of Cox’s singles came with no outs. In the second inning, she was sacrificed to second but was thrown out trying to steal third. In the fourth, Cox was erased on a force- out after her leadoff single. With two out, and Marisa Moore on second, Heimbach got Brittany Whitford looking to end the threat.
In the home half of the sixth, with the Witches nursing their 1- 0 lead, Heimbach started things off by stretching what appeared to be a sure single into a double, beating the throw to second after the ball was slow coming in from the outfield.
“She’s an athlete and she knows how to shake things up,” said McGuirk. “She had a great read on the ball and she knows what she can handle. And she certainly had the green light.”
Kali Nolan then singled off Anderson’s leg, putting runners at the corners. After Case popped out, Mariah Linnett was intentionally walked to load the bases. Easton Murray then looped a single into short center, scoring Heimbach and leaving the bases loaded. The final two runs were unearned: Nolan came in on a passed ball and Linnett on a throwing error.
Hoosic Valley went down in order in the seventh.
“We didn’t do a good job at the plate today,” said Bochette. “We watched a lot of pitches go by. We just didn’t get a lot of opportunities.”
Both teams have had to replace a lot of graduated seniors. The Indians have seven new starters this year. Greenwich lost fewer players but has only two starters playing the same positions it did last year. The shifting around has made the Witches a more versatile team. They also have good depth.
“I don’t want kids who can do only one thing,” said McGuirk. “The way things are now, if something were to happen and we had to make a switch, I don’t think we would miss a beat. We’re deep right down the bench.”