Wilbraham & Monson Academy Softball Coach Erik Kindblom has been, in a sense, playing cards all season.
And in the biggest game of 2016, against the top-ranked team in the region, Coach Kindblom finally played his ace – and his ace proved to be the trump card.
Pitcher Ashley Michanczyk '16 pitched a five-hitter and allowed just one earned run as the Titans topped The Ethel Walker School 5-2 in the Western New England Prep School Softball Association Class B final May 22 in Simsbury, Conn.
Ashley didn't pitch against Ethel Walker in a 16-9 regular season loss, nor did she pitch in the league all-star game against any of the Walker batters. Ashley kept Ethel Walker's potent lineup from finding any kind of groove, holding the tournament's #1 seed to its fewest run total of the season.
Lead-off batter Emma Kindblom '17 was hit on the first pitch of the game and scored on a two-out single by Marissa Fabbo '17 to quickly put the Titans ahead 1-0.
The Academy came right back in the second inning and added three more runs, with Alexa Fleury '18 scoring on a error, Ally Faulstick '16 easily touching home on a sacrifice fly by Erin Demers '16, and Emma scoring from second when the relay through home got away from the catcher.
WMA tacked on another run in the fourth when Emma scored on a two-out stand-up triple by Erin.
Marissa finished 3 for 4, and Emma went 2 for 3 and scored three times.