GREENFIELD -- The Charles H. McCann Technical School has established a reputation for its strong vocational programs, preparing students for the vast opportunities in today's job market.
But during the last several years, McCann Tech has come to form in a new arena that it once lacked: the field of sports.
The baseball team is the latest example of McCann's rejuvenated athletic program. Though the Hornets had their season ended on Thursday, a 6-1 loss to St. Mary's in a Division III Western Massachusetts semifinal, McCann players walked off the field with their heads held high.
The 2009 Hornets (17-7) set a school record for wins in a single season while also shattering the program's mark for stolen bases -- a jarring 135 swipes out of 140 attempts.
The baseball team fell just short of its first-ever appearance in the Western Mass. title game, but the Hornets were mighty proud of their season -- and quite pleased with the current state of McCann athletics.
"When I came to McCann, all the other schools were like ‘Oh, it's McCann. Easy win,'" Hornets senior catcher Andrew Champagne said. "It's a lot different now, and not just with the baseball team; the basketball, softball, football, soccer and golf teams all did well this year. During my last four years, it's been a complete 180 with our teams."
McCann, seeded 12th, rolled through the first two rounds of the tournament, both wins coming on the road, setting up Thursday's showdown
McCann's bats never came alive, tallying five total hits and no more than one hit in a single frame. The Hornets also committed four errors and stranded seven runners.
"We had some mental errors out there today and we just weren't on our ‘A' game," Canales said. "But that happens to everybody; that happens to the Red Sox and it happens to the Yankees. Either way, the boys have a lot to be proud of because they had a hell of a year."
McCann senior Matt Bak started on the bump and worked his way out of jams in the first two frames with his nasty breaking pitch. He ran into trouble in the third, opening the door for St. Mary's game-breaking rally.
With one out, the Saints' Sam Farnsworth singled and took second on a steal. Designated hitter Matt Czach walked, setting the stage for Noah Parker, St. Mary's starting pitcher.
Parker ripped a double just out of the reach of centerfielder Ben Raimer, scoring Farnsworth and Czach. Down 2-0 in a must-win game, Canales pulled Bak and called on Ben Zieba for relief.
"They were getting on Matt, so I had to get Benny in there," Canales said.
McCann really missed ace pitcher Bryce Horsfall, who was 5-1 as a starter before breaking his thumb mid-season. Though Horsfall did return to the lineup Thursday in right field, his hurling services were sorely missed.
"I think if we had Bryce today, maybe the result would have been different and we'd still be playing," Champagne said.
Zieba was rudely welcomed to the game by Anthony Collins, who roped a double into left-center to make it 3-0. A McCann error allowed St. Mary's to jump out to a 4-0 lead before the side was retired.
Hornets first baseman and senior captain Sean Cota said the third inning was a sucker punch to his team's ego, one that they never recovered from.
"After that inning, we were kind of dead," Cota said. "Our heads were kind of out of it and we didn't really respond with our bats."
The final line on Bak was three earned runs, five hits, one walk and three strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings. Zieba went the rest of the way, allowing three runs (one earned) while striking out five and walking none.
Parker got the win for St. Mary's despite some control issues, walking five over three innings, but McCann couldn't capitalize.
McCann's best chance to mount a comeback came in the fourth after Parker walked Corey Briggs and Champagne to start the inning. Felix Chapdelaine relieved Parker and on his first pitch, Colton Primmer smacked a single to left to plate Horsfall, who was pinch-running for Briggs.
A legion of McCann fans, positioned down the left-field line, started to make some noise as their team appeared destined for a rally. The Saints didn't panic, forcing a double-play to squash the Hornets' hopes.
"Today we were a little more patient and we didn't make a lot of mistakes out there," St. Mary's coach Troy Collins said. "McCann is a very good team. If we played them six more times, we'd probably each win three games. It's nice to have two Tri-County teams make it this far because [the league] is often overlooked."
St. Mary's, who will make its first appearance in a Western Mass. championship game since 1979, tacked on a run in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Rob Benoit scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Farnsworth. Another Hornets error led to the game's final run in the fifth.
"We thought we could make it farther this year, but it has still been an incredible season," Champagne said. "We beat the 15-win record, qualified for the [State] Vocational Tournament and we set like six records total. It's amazing what we were able to do."
Champagne, along with Bak, Cota and Art Zander, will graduate this month and while their contributions will be missed, Canales said the best is yet to come for his Hornets.
"I can't say enough about these kids; what a great group," Canales said. "We're bringing back almost all of our pitching staff, and the kids on our JV level had an outstanding year, so we'll be back."
Raimer, McCann's junior leadoff hitter, and Primmer each had two hits on Thursday, while Horsfall had a single in his only at-bat.
Greylock girls' tennis
SOUTH HADLEY -- The Mount Greylock girls' tennis team was eliminated from the Division III Western Mass. Tournament on Thursday, dropping a 3-2 decision to No. 2 South Hadley.
The third-seeded Mounties (15-3) got victories from No. 1 singles Sophia Santore and No. 3 singles Cleo Levin. Santore defeated Katelyn Callahan 6-1, 6-3, while Levin improved her individual record to 17-1 with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Dana Rockowski.
South Hadley took both doubles matches, which left a trip to the finals on No. 2-singles. Greylock's Tijana Samardzic pulled a muscle in her leg during the first set, setting up a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Emily Eckman.
"You don't want to make excuses but [Tijana] definitely wasn't 100 percent," Mounties coach John Jacobbe said. "Tijana lost deuce games in both sets, which could've swung the match the other way. She was playing a human backboard; [Eckman] didn't make any mistakes."
Jacobbe was thrilled with his team's efforts this spring, improving on a five-win season in 2008.
"I told the girls that they have a lot to be proud of," Jacobbe said. "This team took five wins and turned it into 15 this year, and we gave the No. 2 seed all it could handle. It's a testament to the hard work the girls put in during the offseason."
The Mounties will lose three seniors to graduation -- Kelsey Shanley, Sarah Crosky and Janelle Van Luling.
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