NORTHAMPTON — Trouble appeared imminent in the second inning for Anna Kerwood and the Northampton softball team.

Westfield had the bases loaded with one out in the Western Massachusetts Division 1 quarterfinals and Kerwood had already allowed a home run to Samantha Schieppe that cut the No. 4 Blue Devils’ lead to a run.

But Kerwood struck out Morgan Zabielski then forced Nicole Clemente to pop out and preserve the lead.

“Once we got out of that inning, it was kind of like a reset button,” Kerwood said. “I think our team really adjusted well.”

No. 5 Westfield rarely threatened after that, and Northampton continued to put up runs in a 9-1 win. The Blue Devils (17-4) will face top-seeded Minnechaug (21-0) at 5 p.m. Wednesday at UMass’ Sortino Field.

Kerwood finished with 11 strikeouts and allowed just four hits and one walk. She sat down 12 of the final 13 batters she faced, striking out six.

“There’s not another pitcher I’d want out there,” Northampton coach Andy Pelis said. “She doesn’t get rattled, it seems, in the big games. She buckles down and pitches better than she does in the regular season.”

Northampton gave Kerwood all the run support she needed in the bottom of the first inning. Emilia Pelis drew a one-out walk then went to second on a wild pitch. Abby Pelis drove her in with a sharp single then stole second.

Amanda Mieczkowski followed with a single to right to put Northampton up 2-0.

“I felt really comfortable. I could feel the energy within our whole team,” Northampton senior Zoe Driscoll-Sbar said. “We all share the same goal to get to UMass.”

Driscoll-Sbar put the final stamp on earning the trip in the sixth inning. She belted a three-run homer to bring home Abby Pelis and Kerwood, who both singled. The Blue Devils gathered around home as Driscoll-Sbar rounded second, and they all fell back as she jumped on to the plate.

“I did know that she was pitching me outside, so I was going to see if that was the pitch,” she said. “I didn’t try to think a lot because when I do that doesn’t help me out.”

Northampton loaded the bases in the fifth inning after Abby Pelis reached on an error. She followed Kerwood reaching on an error and a Driscoll-Sbar double.

Mieczkowski hit a two-run single that put the Blue Devils up 6-1.

“She gives us solid at-bats every single time, and that’s what we need,” Andy Pelis said.

Driscoll-Sbar originally boosted Northampton’s lead to 3-1 in the third inning. She singled with one out, stole second then went to third and came home on separate wild pitches.

Calista Lebron kept it going in the fourth inning. She hit a home run to dead center field despite hurting her knee in the second inning.

“I’ve been in a slump here and there throughout the season, so I was looking for a good hit that would get me on base,” Lebron said.

Lebron hurt her knee when she and Kerwood collided in the second inning trying to corral a pop-up.

“When I hit the ground it snapped back and forth, that’s what’s been happening,” Lebron said.

A trainer evaluated her, and Lebron stayed at third base for the rest of the game. She needed further attention in the fifth after going to the ground following a throw to first.

“They said it was just a mild sprain,” Andy Pelis said. “We need her, she’s a huge part of this team. The trainer’s going to look at her tomorrow, and hopefully she’ll be ready to go (Wednesday).”

Top-seeded Minnechaug will await at Sortino Field. The Falcons bested Northampton 4-1 in mid-May. They’ve eliminated the Blue Devils from the past two postseasons.

“That’s definitely been in the back of our minds,” Driscoll-Sbar said.

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.

]]>