RallyNorth.net

Grand slam sinks Wildcats

Monday, June, 07 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — Just one shot. That's all Whittier allowed Tyngsboro in Division 3 North preliminary round play and all the visiting Tigers needed.

The only time Tyngsboro had runners in scoring position all day, ninth hitter Kayla Grandalski's grand slam wiped out a 1-0 Wildcat lead and the Tigers held on for a 4-3 upset victory.

Now at 9-12 after a rugged season in the Dual County League, the No. 24 Tigers will host 25th-ranked Weston (7-12) in first round action today. Whittier, the ninth seed, finishes with a 14-7 record.

Wildcat sophomore Shannon Dube (four hits allowed, seven strikeouts) was off to a hot start in the circle, yielding a harmless two-out single over the first four innings and retiring 13 of the first 14 batters she faced. She also had a 1-0 advantage when senior April Richardson's slicing fourth-inning, two-out triple to right field brought home classmate Emily Pomer (single).

But Tyngsboro found the narrowest of openings in the fifth. DP Meghan McKenney reached first when her grounder glanced off of Dube's glove for an infield single. Alyssa Varanoske drew a walk and freshman Taylor Stimpson lashed a hard grounder that crawled through the glove of diving third baseman Tiffany Mannion, loading the sacks for Grandalski.

"I don't know what kind of pitch (Dube) threw," the buoyant sophomore said after the game. "I just kind of swung, looking for a single."

Grandalski drove the 3-2 offering over left fielder Jessica Brasil's head for not only her first career home run, but a game-changing grand slam.

"They just got that one timely hit and we just didn't get it," said Wildcat head coach Cheryl Begin, noting a pair of missed opportunities. Senior Tiffany Mannion tagged a two-out triple in the first inning but was stranded along with Richardson in the fourth.

The 'Cats jumped on a pair of fielding errors to crawl within one in the bottom of the fifth on Pomer's Texas-League single, but senior Melanie Freitas (one earned run, four hits, 10 K's) set down the final seven Whittier hitters to close out the victory.

"We knew Tyngsboro was a tough team loaded with senior leadership," Begin said, "but our league (the Commonwealth Conference) is very competitive and we prepared very well, going 3-0 against the MVC in non-league games. It just came down to one hit.

"We had a phenomenal year and a great senior class," Begin said. "(Richardson, Mannion, Pomer and Kristina Terry) were the backbone of the team and I'm going to miss them."

The next three seasons hold promise for Whittier as power-hitting catcher Cassey Glode (five homers this season) and leadoff hitter Caitlin McHugh (two round-trippers) will be returning."

"We have great incoming talent and the girls will be playing all summer in the Northern Essex league," Begin concluded. "I'm looking forward to next year."